Re: Live Audience Attendance: Up or Down in your city?

[<chris@christojota.de>]

I´m from Germany, and have the same impression than you have for
the US, Rick. I think,the live scene is only increasing for some
of the well known, hip young acts, like Arctic Monkeys or so.
(not so familar with the new names...)
But the smaller acts, even quite famous bands  like
f.ex. GONG/STEVE HILLAGE BAND (double bill!)
who had an audience in Bonn/Germany (close to Cologne) at the Harmonie
in November last year of around 350, in Munich and Berlin it
were only 200 - are struggling hard to get enough people to the shows.
Not to talk about fairly unknown musicans
like me. I´m happy having 20 people at my shows.
And to even get engagements is very difficult, which you
can understand, because most promoters cannot make it
affordable with only 10 or 20 people attending.
This means for small bands/musicians: It´s not just the breakdown
of the CD-sales but also these problems with live-music that makes
it hard these days to catch a piece of the cake.
www.christojota.de
www.myspace.com/christojota

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Rick Walker" <looppool@cruzio.com>
To: "LOOPERS DELIGHT (posting)" <Loopers-Delight@loopers-delight.com>
Sent: Wednesday, January 27, 2010 2:34 AM
Subject: Live Audience Attendance: Up or Down in your city?


> Per said,  "The live scene is reported as increasing too, as I hear from
> most countries."
>
> Not sure how it is in Sweden, Per,  but this is NOT the case in the US, 
>or
> at least in Northern California.
>  There has been a rise in the number of live shows compared to how
> horrible it was here 5 years ago,
> but audience numbers are minuscule compared to what they were in , say 
>the
> early 80's in Santa Cruz.
> In those days,  there were several local bands that could sell out the
> Catalyst (809 capacity) with
> regularity.
>
> In 1993,  my band Worlds Collide played the Catalyst once and drew close
> to 700 customers.
> We weren't asked back because our customers didn't drink enough.   700
> people
> is a hell of a lot of people.
>
> Nowadays, you are lucky if you get 50 people to come see a show.   Most
> shows have 20-30 people
> attending and most people balk at every spending more than $3-$5 USD for 
>a
> show.
>
> I have a show this coming Saturday night at the Catalyst with Noise 
>Clinic
> and I"m afraid of what the
> attendance will be.
>
> Attendance, I've read, nationally, is down even in the 'big bin' shows.
> Many groups that used to be able to
> sell out the 'big bin' shows are now doubling and even trebling up on
> their billings to be able to
> make enough draw to justify playing such huge places.
>
> Tony Levin,  Terry Bozio,  Alan Holdsworth and Pat Mastelleto just played
> a 200 seat club in Santa Cruz....................The last time Tony came
> (with a lineup not nearly
> as famous)  he played a 700 seater.
>
> But Santa Cruz is an anomalous place sociologically speaking, so I don't
> know if it is representative.
> We have vastly more live entertainment per capita than any place I've 
>ever
> toured in and we just aren't a very
> big city (60,000 plus another 40,000 in our environs)
>
> What's it like in your city and/or country.  Attendance up or attendance
> down at shows?   Indie shows?
> Experimental shows?   Up or down?   I"m curious.
>