The Death Of Live Music 

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When I was 17, I dated a nurse. I felt inadequate because she was saving lives, and I was just a musician. When I told her how I felt, she was shocked. She said that she may be saving lives, but musicians make those lives worth living. Live music is central to our human experience, and gives far more back to people than it takes financially

Greed is killing live shows. Ticket prices are absurd. I'd rather pay $20 and see a lesser known band in a club (and usually meet the band and maybe even share a drink or a story) than $100+ for a ticket to sit in nosebleed and realize i forgot to bring binoculars.

Us old folks remember when you went to a concert, tickets were $30 - 35, and getting tickets a week before a show was no problem. Live Nation and Ticketmaster have ruined the whole experience, and do nothing for the consumer.

Watching live music in a stadium is like looking at the moon from your garden.

Who wants to pay $400 to sit up in a stadium? Plenty of people, I guess, but not me.

Sadly, it wouldn't be the first industry to sacrifice long term future for short term profits.

I used to be a local live music photographer. I saw a worrying pattern at the majority of venues. When venues had multiple unsigned bands on each band would have their own crowds made up of family and friends.once the band performed they left and so did their crowd. Once you got to the last act there was hardly anyone left in the venue

One useful shift we've seen recently is more early shows. Traditionally live music doesn't start until late, but both bands and audiences complain about not getting home until the wee hours of the morning. Recently we've seen venues start to book more 'happy hour' gigs. They seem to draw more people to begin with, and more of those people stay until the end.

whether it's a quote of Churchill or not - It would be a good one: "When Winston Churchill was asked to cut arts funding in favour of the war effort, he simply replied, ‘then what are we fighting for?’" I (as a german) can't image a world without the music from the UK.

Without small venues and the indie artists nurtured by them, all of our music culture will consist of highly produced "acts" chosen for their looks, not their poetry.

Why pay 40 bucks for an intimate evening with an artist when you can pay ten times that to stare at a screen 'cause you're too far away from the product you worship to actually see it.

In 1975 I saw Chicago live in the Fabulous Forum near L.A. for about $20. We bought the tickets at the box office at the Forum and got front row seats. It was awesome.

Here in the states, it seems like when schools trim budgets, the music, trades, and other arts get cut. All the money goes to sports.

I believe that, at least in the US, the monopoly of Ticketmaster/Live Nation and ticket resellers (who used to be called scalpers - which used to be illegal) are the leeches who are killing the live music industry by hurting both the small venues, as well as up and coming artists and bands that can barely afford to tour, because their return is so low.

Until recently my only experience of live music was arenas and stadia, paying £100 a ticket to see crusty old favourites... but this year I started going to smaller gigs around North London, deliberately trying out artists I'd never previously heard of, and it's been a complete revelation... getting up close and personal in a crowd of fellow music lovers is so much more of an experience... not just live but "alive"... along with all the fun of interacting with them at the gig or Instagram... buying a little bit of souvenir merch which you know will be appreciated... I'm a total convert.

Here in L.A many clubs I grew up knowing, have come and gone on Hollywood blvd and the sunset strip. Now in their place are high priced vacant condos , offices and Netflix studios. I’m 45 now. I was raised a block away from Capital Records and the Pantages Theater from 79-93. I remember seeing Hair Metal dudes and Real Punks walking up and down Hollywood blvd from earliest memory at age 3. I remember seeing guys and gals unpacking their vans and tour bus. The smell of leather jackets coming out from the shops on the Blvd. When you watch a classic hair metal band video that takes place in Hollywood or the film Airheads. That’s what the vibe felt like. A never ending Party. I know there must be small clubs. But the magic of going out, getting to know other band and artists has dwindled for the current generation. But I’m grateful that we can make our own music at home. Put out an album/single on The World Wide Web. Venue maybe closing but if you look back in NYC in the 70s and 80s. People got creative and got into empty buildings, theaters and warehouses. Also Schools have auditoriums. They may want to make a buck as well. Morrissey played at my old high school in 2013.

We have lost so many venues in Australia. A big problem has been the building of luxury flats next to venues. These rich people move in next to venues that have been homes to live music for 50+ years and then they complain about the noise. The Palace in Melbourne was originally a movie theatre, my grandmother used to go there when she was young. It became a live music venue at some point and hosted all kinds of amazing concerts. I saw Richard Ashcroft, BRMC and Ace Frehley there. Then the new neighbours complained until the owners gave in and sold the building to developers. There was a campaign to save it, but the new owners had already demolished the interior before enough money could be raised. I really hope that this doesn't happen to any more iconic live music venues as we've already lost too many.

Lets all remind ourselves, that if we take interest to seek local shows, they might happen more. The overflowing pop crowd is always going to fill stadiums, but those of us who want the close up experience have to put ourselves into it.

Love supporting my local music scene in Brisbane Australia. Ive discovered so many amazing bands who are playing for the love of it, they're not making money. And when you play for the love it really shows, more than words can describe. Its really important to help out your fave loval bands buy helping them and buying their merch because they're just scraping by.

The same is true in the UK, young people (18-21) have virtually no small venues left to develop live experience. Everything is now based upon RU-vid or other online performances. It’s a real shame as small venue music is an amazing experience for both artists and audiences alike 😢🇬🇧💙💙💙💙🙏🇬🇧🌈♥️

Greed has always been the big enemy of all the arts but especially music. Now all the consolidation, unreasonable increases in production costs has ticket prices so high many fans simply can't afford to attend a show.

So true. Without small venues, music can not breathe. Thanks for speaking out!

I grew up musically between about 1969 and the 80's with so many great bands it was staggering. Pink Floyd, the Beatles, the Stones, the Who, Genesis, Yes, Moody Blues and the list is almost endless. No auto tune for a fraction of the cost now adays. Sadly that time ended long ago but I remember it like it was yesterday.

You are wise beyond your years - I love to listen to your talks about music, the music business, the arts and so forth. Keep up the great work you're doing,

I'm 65 years old and back in the 70's and 80's we went to local bar shows all the time, we had a few bands we followed and went to most of their shows in the area. Some actually produced albums (not CD's) and we bought those as well. One of our Chicago FM stations produced an album showcasing up and coming Chicago bands, which a couple went national and did pretty well. It's not the same scene, now. So expensive, if any bar or club even has live music anymore. I remember when the bars went from live to DJs, and of course, that started a decline in live music at that time. The consumption of music today is so different and unfortunately, some older ways die off. Change is always a constant. Just looking at a few websites on the Chicago scene, it seems vibrant and strong today, and I hope it never dies, because you can see and hear pretty much whatever you want there. There is nothing better than seeing a live act and enjoying it with others. It makes a lot of fun memories.

The small music venues here in North Carolina in the medium sized towns support so much. Music goers support the numerous restaurants, clothing outlets, beer gardens (breweries), the Uber drivers, those inside the venue selling merchandise, beers, chips, CDs, the guys running the lights and soundboard, all this and more. I've almost given up seeing huge shows. They are almost like watching a movie. But hearing an artist in a small venue is like having them in your living room. Your presence matters. And you feel like you have really seen them, not on some jumbotron screen. And one of the best kept secrets is the sound quality in smaller venues puts that in the stadiums to shame.

Thank you for putting this so well. It'sa worry loads of us low-mid level touring artists face. A appreciate your good work.

Thank you, for your highly knowledgeable observations about the practical challenges facing the post-covid gigging situation. I do hope that the general public and especially those who value the experience of attending live concerts, become aware of the problems and act to help musicians and venues continue to put on shows. Videos like this hopefully help.

Watched this on Nebula but came here to comment. In my youth, I was in a band. We played small gigs and had a full set of our own material. This was the late 80s and there were venues like the Jericho Tavern in Oxford - where we played a bunch of times. There was a thriving scene in the area of small bands plugging away, doing their thing. Bands that did break through from there were Ride, Supergrass, Radiohead. We didn't make it - due to lack of talent - and I work in IT now. But I have played the same venue as Radiohead so there's that. For a band trying to get started now, well look at how many acts have rich parents.

I’ve recently lost my left arm, my fretting hand. I have deleted EVERY music related you tube channel except yours, I want to see you. You are a beautiful soul, carry on.

I was working Security at a Garth Brooks concert in the 90's. He was on stage above me and I was facing the audience. There is an energy that passes from performer to audience, audience to performer, and it is so incredible. I highly doubt that AI or any other non-live performance could duplicate it.

I saw the Crue in Montreal for $20 buying the ticket outside once the show had started. Amazing concert to my great surprise.

I’m 55. I’ve been done with concerts for a few years now. Thankfully I saw hundreds of shows when I was young. I was in band in early 90’s Seattle, and saw everyone multiple times. Usually for $5 or less in the clubs. Big concerts by national touring bands or Lollapalooza for instance, were rarely more than $20-$25. Now it’s just not worth it. Not to mention every idiot on their phones the entire show.

The performing arts are under threat across the board unfortunately. my college alma mater is cutting the entire performing arts department after this academic semester, which included programs in musical theater, dance, classical, jazz, technical theater, and music education. I am also the technical director for a small non-profit arts organization and can't even get a thousand dollars approved by the board for replacement fixtures that died last year because the money just isn't there. It's a challenging and scary time to be in the arts in any capacity right now. All we can do is support each other as much as we can and encourage EVERYONE to go to shows, buy some merch, drop a few dollars in the donation box, and anything we can spare because once these places go away, they rarely if ever come back. Thank you for shining a light on this, Mary.

Great video, So many awesome small venues have closed down. I remember Playing loads in the brighton scene when studying there. and everytime I go back ti seems another one closes.... Sticky mikes frog bar, and The Haunt to name a few... Hope this message spreads and gets poeple supporting more!

good stuff. thanks for sharing. hope ur shows go really well.

The problem is much more than financial for these small venues. As Mary states in this video many communities are now complaining about noise whereas in the past this wasn’t an issue. Here in Stockholm, Sweden there’s an awesome little club (Melody Box) that has been putting on fantastic concerts for decades and it’s located smack dab in the middle of a residential neighborhood. Yet only in the past 2 or 3 years have the “noise complaints” started. There’s simply a lot of people who take pleasure in destroying others happiness now.

Great video! Thanks for advocating!

All very well said. Much respect for responding to the respondent of your newsletter; there's was a compelling argument. Most would've avoided speaking to it altogether. Not only did you acknowledge it but you came back with an equal serving of food for thought. Really impressive, homegirl.

I lost the live music places I played in London after lockdowns and I have heard that the police told many places they can have their alcohol license or music license back but not both after lockdowns. I am an old Essex Bluesman and when I started playing live gigs at thirteen in 1979 you could make a living out of the scene, not a great living but a living. I have watch over the years as more and more rules and regulation stoped music in its tracks! If things were as free as the 1950's then we could have another 1960's!

Another risk that arose from venues going bust during lockdowns was that of cultural monopoly. A theatre near me could no longer afford to run. A large multinational was very interested in purchasing it, and they have a particular roster of artists and shows that they have deals with and would not have given the same access to local projects or left field projects that werent as commercially viable. Whether intentional or not, this one company and their roster becomes the taste maker the area; decides which stars will rise and whose voices will be heard. I think the email you received highlights a bigger issue - does art or music need to exist based on whether or not it is profitable? As a long suffering jazz fan, I say we need to support the small and counter-cultural venues or risk losing the unique voices and histories. We need venues where its safe to experiment, try new ideas and have them fail or succeed so they go on to influence the next wave of musicians.

We are traveling to England this fall and I hope to see you while over there!

Great vocal sound. Nicely produced video. Worthy content too. 🙏

I only wish I could brag about seeing Beatles in the Cavern or in Hamburg. I didn't. I did see them in Empire Stadium in 1964. Row 17 for $5.50

Totally agree keep it small keep it real often at the end of a gig you can talk to the artist.have now given up large venues

Amen, great message. Please continue to kick ass

This is definitely happening here in Australia too. Our small venues and even a lot of our well-established festivals are folding at an alarming rate. Very tough times for small and rising artists.

I performed live in small venues with a classic rock cover band for 10 years. 1990-2000. Also working a day gig, I did not have a single day off for 10 straight years. Holiday? Local festival. Mostly bars with

My wife and I quit going to shoes. There are no cheap seats anymore. I quit playing gigs too. The pay is less than a quarter of what it was 20 years ago. I’m amazed when I hear a musician is working at all. Most bars and clubs just have DJs and or karaoke.

This has been going on since the 90’s here in the Netherlands. I remember in the late 70’s , when inwas 15 and had just started playing guitar, you can walk the largest street in our town and you would have countless bars that had bands playing regularly, even on a Sunday afternoon or so. It was fantastic to grow up this way. Me and my best friend would spend many weekends going to gigs of local bands , blues festival and larger shows from bands like Rainbow , Judas Priest, tears for fears ( later on) , just around the corner. In the early 80ies we even organized our own little festival during the weekend of the PinkPop festival which was still taking place in our town. Today there is nothing outside of Amsterdam or a few other big venues . Such a shame

So well said Mary. Your points hit home and need to communicated far beyond the reach of this channel.

You know, with the ballooning costs of concert tickets for these large arena shows I'm surprised people have the money to go to those shows. A local show would be more intimate, less of a logistical nightmare (traffic, parking and such), and less money.

And you forget to mention that many youngsters consider live music a rave party where a dj presses play waves his hands and shouts that everybody should say hey or ho - good topic you picked this time

It's all by design. There's a common move towards bigger, consolidated structures and away from small, independent businesses. Also true for farming where small farmers are dying out - due to exploding cost and insane regulations - as we speak. They don't want the little guy participating. And only few care - the masses are happy with the big names, even if they have to save up for a year to get a ticket for a Taylor Swift show.

Here in little old Boise, Idaho, we just had the 12th Treefort Music Festival. Five days of bands and artists playing in venues all over downtown. It was pretty fantastic. We definitely need more venues supporting local and independent musicians. Hopefully that comes up. Thank you, Mary 🙏🏻🤍

Art is an essential service to society. It's a fundamental right, and I have no shame in saying that. It communicates ideas, raises people's morale, alleviates mental health issues, and brings people together where they don't have to feel like an isolated individual. Everyone loves a good party, and we deserve as a right to have a place to have that party in. Venues are 3rd spaces, places of community, vital for a thriving society where everyone feels valid and able to express themselves. Venues are important even for meeting people and forming relationships. Most people who have met their partners for life have done so in clubs, in pubs, in beer gardens, at fairs, at festivals. This is vital to have. You cannot have a society of just houses and offices.

2:56 Julia on Bass 😍

Thanks, beautiful soul. Very well presented...best of luck. I'll need it, too!

Poignant points raised and agree 100% with your view. Creatives work is a window to our souls and we all refer back to those "works of art" for comfort. As Banksy says " Art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable". We ALL find solace in works of art, whether music, sculptures, architecture, painings, etc. in Love your videos!! And this is no exception as I come from a background in finance while siblings ( and cousins) in music . So your muso/finance/history fusion videos are fantastic. Happy subscriber!

Support local music.

I've been very fortunate in that I spent decades in radio, very rarely had to pay to see a show, and when I did I got a better "shot" at tickets before the public could. I also know that live performances have replaced the revenue that an artist used to earn on record sales, so I don't begrudge artists for charging more. That said, it is downright criminal what Live Nation has done to the concert business. The fees alone are more than the price I paid for tickets back when I was a young lad, and the fact that they control so many facets of the industry (including the venues, promotions, and even scalpers...sorry..."ticket resellers." they are utterly indistinguishable from a monopoly...which here in the US is supposed to be illegal. I haven't seen a big show since Rush's final tour, because while I love live music, I can't countenance supporting Live Nation.

Its going terribly here in west australia. Theres maybe a few pubs left that do gigs in the whole state of a couple million people. When I was going to gigs in the 1990s, there where many hundreds of gigs a night. Bands are having to resort to backyard parties and the like just to get heard. We used to have a band scene that produced several significant international acts. Now, the only WA bands known internationally are Tame Impala and Voyager, with Tame Impala having hit its international stride well over a decade ago, and Voyager through a Eurovision run.

Great, I shared this with some theater owners in Portland, Oregon. I like the idea of the big tours paying some into the local scene. Also, they could host opening acts from the local town.

Here in the middle of Canada, I got to see some class acts when they first started out in a venue of less than 200 people - this includes Bryan Adams, Loverboy, KD Lang, and Midnight Oil - and a few famous drop-ins like Burton Cummings (The Guess Who), BTO, and ZZ Top. I met both Sting and Bono in clubs in my city where they played small-ish shows. We are lucky - we still have venues here to see new acts, but it isn’t easy for them! I can’t imagine what it’s like in the Big Smoke overseas! 😳🙏 It does feel like we lost something magical! 🎶

It’s a terribly sad tale Mary. Birmingham City council is pretty much bankrupt seemingly through financial mismanagement so I understand what they are doing, but it only makes matters worse. Very small brains working there. Cornwall, where most of my gigs are, is suffering because traditionally most of the organisation has been done by volunteers, and these days younger people don’t volunteer. Also very sad.

Damn, your voice is so clear and smooth. Definietly need to try your music

Thanks for the insightful video. I have a promoter in Scandinavia and tour 5 countries. I’ve seen the affects of Covid and other external forces on live music venues. All the venues I play expect me to only play cover music but on quiet nights I can throw in one of my own. I’m lucky to have contracts etc for each booking. I know not everyone is in the same boat as me. Being around the arts for 30 plus years I think you are right in saying we need to support the smaller venues by paying for shows etc. I believe by the time the venues are ready to close and are in need of help it is too late unless a millionaire investor comes in. Keep up the great work Mary ❤

Sorry, you just can't beat going into a pub/venue and listening to live music, be it a band or solo artist. Even if you do not like these sounds, it is still a worthwhile experience.

I went to a couple of local venues a lot in the 90's, but even when big stuff came through town it was like $20-50 for a typical seat. The prices now for everything I look at are just eye-watering insane.

Some of best gigs as a teenager were at smaller venues. Henry’s Blueshouse helped launch Black Sabbath. Even Birmingham Town Hall became a more intimate venue as NEC came on line

One big factor is that as much as we complained about companies like big radio stations, rolling stone and mtv having such influence, it helped in making artists stars, both big and small that we cared about. There was a hierarchy where you could fill up all types of venues. Then artists that could headline small venues would open for artists playing medium, etc. anyone who was around 20 years ago in the punk/hardcore/emo scenes saw that happened to literally hundreds of bands. I remember when My Chemical Romance was opening VFW halls playing first out of six or seven bands. They then grew. We need some kind of curation to fall in love with artists. Everything is anonymous songs on a playlist 99% of the time now.

I agree with everything you said! I love live music and I go to 4-8 shows a month and all different sized venues in the Seattle area. I am so grateful to live in a place with so many local venues and I don’t take that for granted. 🎸

Well said. An important conversation to have.

I went to my first 6,000+ seat venue concert in over 5 years a few weeks ago. It also was the first concert of any kind regardless of venue size I had attended in the last 5 years where I wasn't in the first few rows and/or where my tickets weren't part of a package that included a meet and greet or something like that with the artist. And while I was happy to see one of my favorite artists of all time....I was sad at the same time because I realized it was probably the last time I'd see them because I had an epiphany at the show..... I no longer care for that type of experience. The seats we had were mid-tier priced to lower upper tier priced. Not nosebleeds by any stretch, good sight lines, not insanely far away, decent but not by and means stellar sound. And I remember sitting there thinking.... I'm not having as much fun as I used to and I'm not sure the cost, even though I'm fortunate enough for that not to really matter in this instance, is worth it. Part of that is probably age, maturity and evolving tastes....hotel, tickets, dinner, concessions at venue, parking etc. were probably $700ish and that's picking quality but still relatively cost effective options. But for that I could do what instead. Well a couple nights and few days somewhere beautiful where hikes galore and photographing landscapes are an option. Versus a few hour show surrounded by 12k people many of which were drinking quite a bit, traffic, etc. I also could spend that for a front row VIP package, private show beforehand, smaller venue, better sight and sound seating, meet and greet with a less popular artist like one I'm going to see in June. Something which to accomplish with a larger artist would probably cost several thousand dollars. Which at that point I can afford it but I won't for just that experience for one evening. So for me I'd say that a combination of a change in personal priorities along with the value dynamic not being what I'd like it to be will probably cause me to be unlikely to attend any larger (you know....more than a few thousand people venue) concert again unless its a premium package experience that's at most no more than probably $500 for a pair of tickets all fees included and doesn't involve a ton of travel from where I live. Which means.....even at 45 years old I may only attend a handful of concerts the rest of my life. Does that make me sad? Yeah a little but at the same time I know its just an evolution in life and that's a happy thing. And that doesn't mean the age of artists touring is dead because the opposite is actually the case. Venues aren't really being built much bigger than the last 30 years but the population is growing and therefore you have the same seating supply but more seating demand. That population growth also means there's a larger number of people with sufficient incomes to support higher ticket prices and still fill venues. At least in the near future anyway - one does wonder in 20 years (or even 10 for that matter) if there will even be enough acts still touring big enough to sell out larger venues. There will likely be a few, but I doubt many.....and at that point one does have to wonder if live music on a larger scalle? Will then be a thing of the past.

Live entertainment is like 1000% better than watching a movie at home. I agree - the stadium players should subsidize the smaller venues.

On the other hand, I work in a 2,000 seat venue and the hall struggles to get performers / bands with regional name recognition. The majority of contracts want at least 5,000 seat venues and a guaranteed minimum so the risk is all on the venue. What's keeping the place going are tribute bands since their contracts are still reasonable and music festivals where we bring in money from food, drinks, and t-shirts. The named headline performers wouldn't give this small venue a second thought but they will play at casinos where they're a loss leader just to get people in the doors and the performers get a guarantee fee plus all expenses and wide media coverage. The economics no longer makes sense to keep a small venue open.

I’ve not heard of you before but having watching this I’m really impressed. Excellent.

We've lost so many pub & club venues in Norwich over the last 55 years that I can remember.

I'm beeing honest: I think we're at the age of music democracy. That dream of becoming a rising artist is failing so many. I'm a musician, producer, writer and vocal teacher and whenever one of my students say they wanna pursue a music career I'm gonna have to say them: "Prepare yourself to have lot of fun, lot of stress, worries and have your heart and soul be broken a lot of times. Prepare yourself well music is pretty darn expensive. Surviving, healing and just beeing able to keep on going is the only way to succeed in the face of things getting harder..." For some students I try to cut the bank and help them find affordable gear to keep on going or simply just starting out. And to be honest I don't think music should be accessible only to rich people but all. But right now it turns out more and more this way...😢

In 1975 a dozen eggs were $0.77, ------------------> now they are $5.00. Multiple band, arena shows were $17.50, -----------------> now they are >$100, and that's for one artist. Local music is dying because the value of the dollar no longer affords most people access to it. This is across the board, musicians to the audience. None of this changes as inflation eats into the purchasing power of the dollar... it just continues to make access less affordable.

I'm a Scala gig type of person. I've seen The Midnight over there in 2019 and now they are much bigger and I find difficult to even access their tickets. When I go to big concerts in Wembley or 02 Arena I make sure I pay more to get closer to the stage, I don't see the point in being miles away from the stage. Smaller events are my favorites.

Coming from Australia - although I spent an awesome 7 years in London during the late 2000's seeing some great bands at some great smaller venues - I've seen the local music scene here change so much. I remember before I went to London in 2005, there were loads of people going out to see bands at smaller venues. There'd be all ages gigs on Sundays. Plenty of venues for bands to play shows at many nights a week to hone their craft. Being a musician myself who wants to go and perform - I look around and see how hard it is to get people to show up to gigs or to find venues supporting local music. It feels like younger people aren't super interested in discovering local music or seeing music live. I guess having whatever music you want on demand for very little money has made it less of a draw as it used to be. Even if you're not about making money from music and you just want to share your songs and be part of a scene, it feels like a lot of hard work for little reward. Yet what choice do we have as artists when we are compelled to create - and part of that is to perform and share it with the world, however that might look.

Are we talking about live music or live entertainment? It feels like the live music market is undergoing the same horrible transition from art and performance to Business and product recorded music went through. The dominance of Live Nation over all the industry is crushing the live and the last cent out of any one but the biggest artist. They control all aspects of the market and take a cut at every level down to a percentage of the merc sold buy the artist at the gig. And if you oppose you don;t get booked, they own the booking agency, they own the venue or strong arm them to not book the bands why don't conform.

While I don’t disagree with any point in this the fundamental issue is the last point you touched on. People are going out less and less , the venues (even the bad ones) would survive if people went through the doors but people are not doing that. Cinemas are becoming a venue at risk. Restaurants struggle.nightclubs are closing . People can stay at home and get entertained , fed and communicate with others with out leaving the house. I hate to suggest it but venues love streaming events could well be answer. The tech is available, artists Arw doing their own live pre show streams , behind the scenes and maybe part of the gig . Venues with better sound / video could charge small fees

We aren't big on holidays here but do love an intimate local-ish gig regularly, one we just can't do the designated driver thing. Will happily shell out for a hotel for the night and pumping some cash into the pubs/clubs and whatever else is close by. You make so many unexpected like-minded friends on the way.

Granted, a super popular artist in many ways needs to play large venues to accommodate demand….. Yet, nothing compares to the wonderfully small and very intimate venues that are still around that can give both fans and the artists, a very connected and wonderful experience that large venues and stadiums can’t. Anyhow, it would be nice to see big artists start to rediscover and embrace doing small venue shows like they used to, and perhaps make it part of their usual tour. It would be a win~win situation, and the revenue would keep all of these wonderful venues thriving for generations to come….

Like everything else in this chaotic world, the element of greed is killing way more than music! Real estate prices and rents are outrageous. Food and fuel are equally expensive. The rich get the gold mine while the rest of us get the shaft! Hold on to your hats because it is bound to get worse.

You don't often see Mary this emotional. And it's completely understandable.

A few years ago I went to a DCI Competition for the first time. Found out they do it at the same location every year. I'm pretty sure I will go to a DCI Competition every year until I die. It is awesome! Can't wait for July to come back around!

I worked and played in the business for years, when I started as a backline tech we had so many small gigs throughout the week, late load outs were how we topped up our low wages, that slowly dried up and we just did the festivals (horrible work) and big shows. Live nation are terrible to work for, sometimes you don't even know you're working indirectly for them. After brexit and lockdowns my work has gone down the pan. The best gigs of my life were in front of 80 drunken people at the 12bar in soho, it's all gone.

Truth is the best real music is in small venues. The experience is much more intense being close to the artists and the sound is way better. Conclusion; no more stadiums for me!

From April 1978 until Covid I was able to make a living performing live. Clubs, small halls retirement residences. That’s simply not possible now. My advice: if you want to play music for a living - marry a nurse ❤

Small venue shows are the only ones I can afford to go to. I can't afford a Live Nation event in which the tickets are $1000. However, I can afford a $10 cover charge at a small club. That's my only chance to ever see live music. That's why supporting your local scene is so very important.

I saw Weye’s Blood twice last year in smaller club style venues and saw The Cure and Depeche Mode both in arena-stadium venues. As much as I love those two bands especially, Weye’s Blood was above and beyond the best shows that I went to and a lot of it was due to how intimate and connected with the audience she was and that was due to the venues.

The decline of local live music in restaurants and clubs has been rising since 2001. Clubs that used to host house bands are lucky to have a live band on Friday and Saturday. Many places that hosted bands now only book solo or duo acts. It's not so different here in the US.

I love how ‘this is all new and the end is nigh’ but we had exactly the same situation back in the late 80s / early 90s because the PRS wanted higher fees for anything more than a duo act and AC/DC couldn't fill the Riverside because they were asking too much and poor Angus had a cold, bless him

So much truth.... and then big artists are charging hundreds of dollars for tickets... everything i so unbalanced! Loved the points you made and you voice is so soothing, I wish you well!

A few acts we heard the last year in smaller venues for < €20: Bros Landreth, Ariel Posen, The Other Favorites, Billy Strings (okay, that was € 24), Bony King, ... We would have loved to see John Mayer and Madison Cunningham in Amsterdam last week but with those prices I can go to 20 other fine gigs. Eternal gratitude to the every venue we attended last year (Be, Nl, De).

Hey Mary. Here's what you neglected to say: the music publishing companies insist on making the venues pay for the local bands that play covers. People will come out to see a band playing classic music. Original music is something the average passive music fan isn't very interested in paying money and coming into a venue (bar,concert hall,etc) so the conundrum is insane.