I was looking into why I just don’t see cover bands at my local venue but this hits a bit deeper at the issue.
I wonder if how niche music tastes have become has something to do with it.
Maybe it’s the fact that it’s so fucking expensive to do anything, forcing us inside which is reenforcing itself rather cyclically. It is really hard to get excited about things when you don’t have the funds to go out and do things. I am older but would be going out way more to events if I didn’t cringe at the money I know I will be dropping on these nights out. Third real world spaces are dearly needed and people are getting priced out of them. I used to go out to music events at least once a week ten years ago.
Venues: “It’ll be $50 just to come in and stand for an hour, not including drinks, and if you want premium space that’ll be an extra 100 to actually be relatively close to the band”
People: “Uh, nah thanks, I have to buy groceries and survive, you know”
Venues: “No one wants to go to concerts anymore!”
Edit: I also searched the article, “Cost” shows up once but for artist cost, “ticket”, “entrance”, “price” never show up. What a boomer article. “These damn kids don’t want to even go to music concerts anymore” and completely leaves out the most important detail on why.
I for one support the Zoomers in killing the music industry. Maybe we will see more art again in the rubble.
Bought concert tickets for October. Total cost for tickets was $195.20. It’s not a local show (ie: the bands have recognition beyond our town), so we have to travel to the city - 4 hours plus a $75 ferry. Plus overnight stay and food in the city. And we need a sitter to watch the kids, overnight.
So we’re pushing $600-$700 for a concert. That’s a “once every few years” thing, when we’ve saved enough and the band is one we really want to see.
Local shows are rock cover bands on a Sunday evening, usually, but I work Monday at 6am.
yup, same here. Any musician who has even relatively small name recognition tickets are now always almost if not over $200. There’s no way we can just go to concerts every week/month like our parents did, tickets used to be $20-30! Even with inflation that’s still way way less. I’d love to go to more concerts, but they need to find ways to bring ticket costs down, or just suck it up and make less profit. (I know, I know, how blasphemous)
I think you mean “third spaces” but great point otherwise.
I donno why my city hates public pavilions so much.
Ok I know why it’s because they hate the poors that hangout there.
Technology supporting solo artists hits close to home.
It was certainly a larger factor in my decision to quit playing in bands, that composing/DAW software allowed me to make music in a similar fashion.In many ways, it’s better than playing in a band, because you can make exactly the music you enjoy and play not just one instrument, but a whole orchestra.
Obviously, this is far easier said than done and there’s many awesome parts of being in a band, too, but I can definitely see this being the preferred alternative for many people.
Definitely agree with the dude talking about how niche music has gotten. And to the dude who said “all new music sucks”, get out from under your rock man. Theres just so many bands/artists creating so much music now, some is bound to be good. Its easier than ever to record a song and get it out on the internet. The bloat makes it harder to find stuff you jive with, but when you do it almost feels tailor made for your ears.
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that feeling when you find a rabbit hole song with a full catalogue behind it.
I just discovered Snarky Puppy last night, and when I saw their catalog I just leaned back in my chair and smiled.
Snarky Puppy - Binky
kinda reminds me of the brass against cover of forty six & 2.
bands aren’t disappearing. Small local bands are still cheap and great fun. I know, i’m in one. We tour locally every year and play a show every weekend throughout summer. We have to turn people down because we are so booked up. And that’s not just us, but most locals i know. People still love live music just as much as they ever did.
Thanks for making music, I love local bands.
The article is definitely one of those that pushes back on the editorialized headline.
Marketb is over saturated with cover bands. If you don’t seem then at your local venue it’s because the promoter simply doesn’t want to book cover bands. If anything cover bands are too damn popular
The article is about pop music. Not music in general. If you read far enough to see the statistics on various pop charts and musical festivals, you’ll see the point they’re trying to make more clearly.
They’re promoted here as sing-alongs.
I live in a major city so the local venues here need a certain headcount before they’ll book an event.
There’s some very popular cover bands here but there are even less venues that can support them.
white ford bronco is the biggest one I know and their show sell out.
Maybe it’s because I’m old, but modern music SUCKS (yeah, blanket statement. There will always be exceptions, I know). It all lacks that organic warm feeling that elicits that feel good thing music used to bring.
I honestly don’t think niche music tastes have as much to do with it as much as music seems to have become exactly like movies. Rehash something from the 80s again and call it new or like all the marvel/dc mcshit.
This is honestly just a bad take. If you don’t hear any music currently that doesn’t sound the way you like it then you aren’t looking in the right places. More music is being produced now than any other time in history, blanketly saying “all music now sucks” shows more about you then the current state of music.
That’s another reason I am thinking niche music has killed the cover band.
There’s no way a band can cover a wide enough range of todays music to make a $5 ticket viable.
Yeah I agree with you. I’m 40 now but grew up listening to music all the time. I’ve got a bunch of kids now so it’s hard to actively find new stuff on my own. I just subscribe to satellite radio and they do a pretty damn good job of finding good stuff. I just add to my library, and get more recommendations. Works well.
That’s good! I’m in my mid thirties and I’m always reminding myself “new music doesn’t suck, trends change”. Just like how our parents hated our music because it was edgy and different, current music is edgy and different to them and that’s what makes it appealing to the younger crowd. I don’t understand why people have to be so cliche and shit on music, you can both not like a type of music and still not make fun of people who like that music.
lol I shit on music? I made fun of someone? Seriously? Please, please point out where. I made a statement about personal taste, that wasn’t directed at anyone in particular.
I also pointed out something everyone that’s shitting on me (yes you too) missed. The organic nature of music is gone. The organic sound and feeling have been replaced by drum tracks, auto tune and digital all the things are gone.
I promise it’s not a “music is so hardcore/edgy now” thing. That would be rich though.
I understand what you mean, it’s a reasonable conclusion for anyone to come to.
sorry if I came off as shitting on your finly crafted retort.
baby metal is awesome.
have you heard the hu yet?
Mongolian metal.
@AttackBunny @JoYo modern music always sucks. the reason why the music of the past seems better is because nobody remembers all the chaff that populated the charts.
We also don’t have time to listen to all current music.
It’s not that we don’t remember it, we’ve never even heard it.
I agree with many comments here saying this is a bad take, but I’m generally curious on how you’re arriving to it.
How do you find “new music”? What is your approach?
Apple Music, Amazon music, pandora etc.
It’s all just so…… fake. Everything is auto tuned to shit.
Drum machines of the 80s were equally shit sound imo. It happens every generation, but modern music seems to have nothing organic about it now.
I don’t think it’s a bad take, it’s just that verbally speaking, I don’t like modern music. As I said in my original reply, I know there are exceptions, but blanket statement holds true for me.
I think a fair addendum would be popular contemporary music. Plenty of artists from the good old days are still making music true to what they were writing for. Whether they are popular or not though, I think something important to remember is people like you or I who go after making music.
Check out local performing arts centers, especially youth performance ones. You also can find some interesting stuff at open mics. I think there’s an amazing space for music for artists who have never even tried to get an outreach of even 100 people. It’s not modern music that’s the issue but the modern music industry and discoverability.
I definitely don’t disagree with you but as I said, I think it’s fair to try to adjust your phrasing to specify :)
Fair. What was trying to comment on, more than the actual style of modern music, is that the warmth/soul is gone from modern music. Everything is digital/auto tune now.
It’s like your favorite album (vinyl) you remember listening to over and over vs the digitally remastered version. yeah the digitally remastered version is cleaner, but it’s lacks its soul, to me. Or the difference between seeing a really good musician live, vs listening to the recorded version of the same show. It’s not the same.
There are some catchy modern pop songs. They get stuck in tour head well. That’s the point, but am I going to be going looking for that song in 5years? 10? Not likely.
one way I tweaked my algo suggestions is by asking the fediverse for non english language bands that I might have missed.
that opened the floodgates for all the genres I enjoy.
I understand the sentiment but I disagree. I’ve found the best music ever from producers and bands formed after my 20s and 30s.
I just won’t be seeing them in local venues anytime soon because almost all of them are from outside of the US and aren’t in the “top 40” spotlight.
