Why Is The Local Live Music Scene Dying?

What has happened to the, once flourishing, local metal scene? Back in the late 1980’s and throughout the 90’s local bands and venues could count on a good attendance, and a little support/interest from the local metalheads. Those days seem long gone in the UK now. Even fairly established bands, who have featured in magazines or on the various music TV channels, fail to pull anything more than a sparse crowd, consisting mainly of the hardcore fans...despite the fact that the entrance fee may be just a few pounds. Why is this? I think there are a number of contributing factors, but none really explain the complacency or downright apathy of modern metal fans. It makes me feel so sad and frustrated when I see a band play in front of an audience of maybe just 20 people, when I know that there are a sizeable number of rockers in the area.

What I find hardest to understand is the fact that popularity of live music is on the rise in these times of illegal downloading, due to necessity on the part of the bands/music industry, yet locally staged gigs seem to be experiencing a drop in attendance numbers. Could it be that people are spoiled in the current climate, where even in a fairly small town or city, a gig by a well-known band is never a long journey away? Maybe people feel that they would rather spend their money watching a “bigger” band or at least, one they might have heard of. While this is understandable, it also a little short-sighted as there are many great bands on the underground scene, who are worthy of your attention.  

It could that the modern way of life is also to blame, to a certain degree, as people have access to so much new music through the internet. The knock-on effect of this is that it is hard to keep people’s attention/interest when there is so much competition out there. This could go a long way to explaining the problem of low attendance numbers. When you have, for example, 20 bands all competing for ticket sales in the same scene, then the market share of the ticket-buying public is, perhaps, being spread a little too thin. In the current economic climate, people can only afford/justify spending a certain amount on going out. Therefore, a decision needs to be made. In most cases, people will spend their money on seeing a band they are already familiar with or a bigger band who tour less often, and in bigger venues. Once again, this is totally understandable, and indeed, forgivable...but the damage being caused to the up and coming bands could be catastrophic.  

It frustrates me when a promoter makes the effort to get a good bill together, combining local support with a decent and often established act, and charges just a few pounds, yet people seem reluctant to make the effort to turn up. I have actually seen people approach the door of a pub on a gig night, and when they see that it costs £3 to get in they then walk away or go to the “bar” room next door. I would understand if the entrance was £10, but when the price is so low and you get 3 bands on a bill, choosing to go elsewhere rather than to give the bands a try for the price of a pint is completely unfathomable to me.

It is often the older people within a scene  that are the most guilty of this behaviour, despite the fact that the local pub circuit was very important back in the day for helping to establish many of the bands we all know and love today. Where would we be without the pub/club circuit of the 70’s and 80’s? Well, we wouldn’t be watching huge metal bands in stadiums/clubs or arenas, that is for sure.

Maybe a possible solution to this would be for smaller/local venues to entice people in on less-popular nights of the week as opposed to the usual Friday/Saturday nights? I mean, come on, weekends are often the nights that people just want to sink a few cold ones with their mates, and not want to pay to get into the pub they regularly frequent. Of course, the downside to this is again down to the amount of disposable income people have in their wallets. Many venues have, for this reason, combined the two, by having bands play at the weekends, and make entry free. The bands may make less money, but in the long-term they are playing to more people and getting their names out into the public consciousness, so this would seem to be the ideal solution.

So, to sum up, we can all help this once great institution and the bedrock of the music we love, by just popping to the local club or pub nights and checking out what they have to offer. Come on, it’s just a few quid to get in, and will help to build the bands of the future, and to ensure that new bands are inspired to form. There can be no losers here, and besides, you can get a great night out for the price of a beer. Who knows you may discover the band that will change your life on your own doorstep (not literally of course...that would just be weird).