Live music suddenly in demand!?

Cafe Society
1

I’ve been an amateur musician all my life (guitar, vocals, harmonica). When I was in high school and college, I made money playing in bar bands. In one night, I could make the equivalent of one to two 8-hour days of minimum wage work. And we weren’t very good.

After graduating and getting a day job, I became interested in playing out about 20 years ago, solo acoustic guitar this time. Live music had fallen in value. For one thing, it was easier to learn to play and sing half-ways decently, from all the online resources (no more learning songs off records) so there were more musicians looking for gigs. Also, technology had reduced the value of live performances, and even DJs (who could put their entire night on mp3 players, and later, iPhones). Karaoke appealed more to a lot of people (and they worked for free) than live bands. Bars were more likely to ask bands to play “for exposure”. No one asked us to play for exposure in the 1970s.

I’ve continued to play pretty much every day, and am always learning new material and styles, and writing. I play out occasionally, usually in support of friends’ bands and venues, gratis. It’s nice to not need the money, having done well in my day job. I also enjoy the freedom of playing whatever obscure repertoire I want to, vice the same tired Skynyrd/Buffet/Zeppelin canon I played forty years ago.

But recently…

I’m playing in two new venues. FOR MONEY! Not much money. Not as much as I made in high school (accounting for inflation). But both venues (a bar, and a bookstore) had notices up that they were hiring musicians. I called, emailed them links to my performances, and was in.

WHAT GIVES?

One possibility: with the COVID lockdown, lots of musicians who were playing out for money–and wanted/needed the money–had to give it up and find other part-time employment. That leaves musicians who aren’t interested in making money.

Another: the lockdown created a pent-up demand for public gatherings of all kinds.

Thoughts?

2

I think it’s pent-up demand. I know three working musicians, all in separate groups, one in another city. All three have been playing more gigs lately: small, bar-type gigs, community events, corporate events, you name it. I can’t say whether they have more work than they did in 2019, but they do have more work than they did six months ago.

3

I’m not sure I’m seeing more opportunity across the board, although after Covid, it is true that more people are eager for live music. A lot of clubs bit the dust during the lockdown though, so I don’t think there are more places to play than there were.

Regarding money - If you are an established cover or tribute band with a respectable following, you can make decent money. If you don’t have a great following, but sound okay, you are going to top out at about $100 a guy per gig, and probably play for less in many places. If you are an original band, no matter how good, you probably aren’t getting paid.

For whatever it’s worth, I’m in an established cover band with 10K followers on Facebook. I average about $400 a gig and have just shy of a hundred gigs booked for the rest of this year. If you put in the work, it’s not a bad supplemental income.

4

Ehh, I’ve been in some very good and some not so good bands playing primarily originals, I’ve never really been in a straight cover band. The closest was a (IMHO very good) surf rock band, and even that was about half original songs. Gigs aren’t as easy to come by in as they are with a straight up cover band, but unless we were agreeing to play a benefit we are pretty much always paid* (even though merch often contributed more income). If nothing else, I’ve financed recording and pressing a few records that way (ugh, distribution, though).

As to the OP, I can’t say for sure what the cause is, but my new band has had what seems like constant requests to book us in and out of town, only we’re not really ready. These promoters almost universally haven’t even heard us, they just know who is in the band and what bands we’ve been in before. We don’t even have a decent 45 minute set together, much less a demo, but we could have played several times a month in the last few months if we had felt ready to do so. We did a toy benefit show before Christmas, but our first actual booked gig where we’re going to be paid is probably going to be an out of town gig in March.

Sadly, I really don’t have a good reason why my still kind of embryonic band is in demand. It does seem like there are more people barking up our tree than there was with my previous, far more established band who kind of broke up when the singer moved out of state during Covid. But every time we practice it seems like someone brings up another promoter who contacted them because the promoter had heard through the grapevine they had jointed/started a new band.

* The one time I expected to get paid and didn’t, it was 30+ years ago. I got rooked into running the show (including running sound and the door) at the last minute. I ended up stiffing the local acts including own band to give the touring band all of the door - barely enough for gas to the next gig. I’m not much a promoter, but I’m better than whoever booked that show.

5

I think one of the reasons why there is increased demand is because people are getting burned out on DJs. Clubs and wedding planners love them because they don’t have to pay them as much, but I think audiences will always prefer seeing musicians playing music.

6

Dunno if this was intended as a reply to me, but it came across in my notifications as one. Sorry if that was a mistake and I misinterpreted that.

In the case of wedding planners and corporate events, I can see the prestige in being able to afford a good cover band instead of a DJ. I’m not sure if anyone decides to attend such an event because of the entertainment, but I’m pretty sure they’re more likely to stay if they enjoy it. A good cover band that actually knows how to engage an audience is generally better entertainment than any DJ. Though, I have seen some DJs that know how to work a crowd well.

It doesn’t really seem to explain the demand I’ve seen for my band, though. Since we play mostly originals, and you’d have to get a very niche DJ to get one that plays stuff in our style, it doesn’t seem like we’re in competition for that. The closest I’ve ever played to a corporate or wedding gig was a yearly motorcycle rally that a couple different former bands of mine played several years in a row (and we were usually joined by a niche DJ that played instrumental surf and garage rock).

So yeah, being bored with DJs could be part of it. But it really does seem that folks are kinda starved for any kind of live music.

7

It was intended as a reply. :slight_smile:

Well, as I said earlier, the isolation during Covid really seems to have given people a thirst for live entertainment again. Lots of original bands and cover band have seen an increase in interest. Maybe it’s a matter of realizing what’s important once it’s gone. At least, I hope that’s part of it. I even know some folks who have kids who have started rock bands and are writing half-decent material for their ages. From what I understand, it’s becoming cool again to have a band. This warms the heart.

8

Hehehe, ok, so I’m not always depleted neutronium :clown_face:

I think you’re probably right, because I myself have paid to see more live shows in the last six months than I have in the two years preceding it, and this summer is probably going to out-do that. It probably is an effect of removal making one yearn for it more. Different folks will have different reasons to yearn for that, of course.

My personal take: One can listen to all the records they want at home, but that’s a poor substitute for watching a band try to hammer out a difficult song and pull it off, or even fail at it. Sometimes the failures are spectacular in both good and bad ways.

9

We sometimes say that if we aren’t making mistakes, we aren’t trying hard enough.

10

Heheh, or sometimes someone has simply delved too far into the party favors. I remember once having a band member play the intro to the wrong song three times in a row. When he finally played the correct into, it was a rip-roaring version, but that was a long 30 seconds before he figured out what he was doing.

I absolutely don’t remember a time when the whole band ate a ton of mushrooms before the second set of a party we were hired to play. According to a friend of mine, around three songs from the end of that set list we collectively forgot how to play the first song we’d ever played together and completely burned into the ground. We argued for a minute or so about it, and then just lit into pretty good versions of the remaining two songs on the list. Apparently the crowd loved the drama of the whole thing (yes, yes, most of them were on mushrooms, too). I remember stuff we did after the party, but I don’t remember the second set at all. I can only report what was repeated to me.

11

Speaking for me personally as one who loves to see live music, perhaps there is a consumer market shift going on. Seeing established names will set me back hundreds of dollars for a ticket and wipe out any disposable income for seeing general local music. I’m essentially opting out of the Taylor Swift or the Tool market and instead am much more willing to simply go plunk a cover charge down, have a beer, and enjoy a small band at a small venue. An AC/DC cover band or a hobbyist busker at open mic will scratch my music itch without setting me back $1000.

12

I think it would be tough to shell out for a DJ at this point, I think that market niche is closing. It just doesn’t add any value. Streaming music is ubiquitous, I can hear it when I play pub trivia. If I was throwing a party and I want to add value I think live music would be the way to go. Otherwise just play music as background or have no music at all.

13

A live DJ performs live. Streaming a prerecorded DJ set is easy enough, but so is streaming any other prerecorded music.

14

They are all providing pre-recorded music. All the live DJ can add is between song patter. Which fewer people are likely to pay for at this point, particularly since the live DJ act is decades old at this point.

15

I think he or she can do more than that, like mix songs, or parts of songs, together in various ways; play with effects, looping and samples; anything you can think of. Even old-school scratching is far from merely patter. Look at this kid with nothing but a crappy tape deck, and he never says a word: Mr tape (jeb Modris Skaistkalns) no LV (1991) DMC World 1991 - Mr. Tape - YouTube

16

Not “all kinds” for me. In my case, it’s specifically live music.

I still haven’t been able to bring myself to enter a crowded indoor dance/music space (“Eew, those people are breathing germs, right into my face…”), but I’ve been finding enough outdoor venues.

The number of musicians playing beer gardens, restaurants with patios, concerts out back of a bar, or on a farm has risen dramatically in the last year or two.

And outdoor music festival season is here!