Bob,

It is one of the biggest delimas out there. And yes, actually the venues are doing away with live music left and right. Like everything, when EVERYONE around plays guitar, thinks they can sing, and will do it for free, the venues are going to go for that. They will get local college and even high school kids who bring in their buddies to see them play. Pro musicians are just about at an end as a profession.

I had a conversation with BMI's David Preston this summer and he claimed BMI does try harder to work with venues, but ASCAP is just suing everyone out of existance. I have been ASCAP for 25 years but it is simply getting harder and harder to be a part of any organization.

Venues, particularly those that serve alcohol have pretty much been under constant assault for over a decade. Legal liabiity laws have hit them huge. If they serve someone under age or if someone goes and gets drunk, then gets in a wreck they sue the club. So every venue has a half dozen lawsuits going on at any one time.

Rising costs of doing business, higher labor costs, increased competition and of course, the Internet again, has many people that don't go out like they once did. Particularly dealing with increased drunk driving laws. Taxes are killing them. Local and state officials look at resturants and bars as an unending supply of money, so they hit them every way they can. The costs of food, liquor sales, when the gas prices were very high, and the general costs of living on potential customers are all having an effect.

So what do they do? Go Karaoke, which has one person to work the show,the crowd sings and acts stupid and are the show, have contests, they ALL seem to have their own American Idol version these days, OR combine the two and have Karaoke contests for money. Or have total amateur artists play. With the dumbing down of the society, there is no real talent level anymore. When most of the audience is only going to chase the opposite sex or texting (if you play live now, look for "Glow songs", which are when people are texting or playing games opn their phones and the 'glow' in their faces. All you play to are the tops or backs of heads.

Performers drop their prices to stay competitive, are are squeezed out completely. We are making just about the same money today as we were making in 1973. And as more people come into trying to do this (and they are graduating colleges daily)those prices are going to come down even farther. Supply overwhelmingly exceeds demand.

Should you rat out your venues? I can't tell you. How much of your income do you think will be derived from a PRO verses how much will you lose if the venue completely drops out of live music, or drops YOU for increasing their costs.

Tough choice.

MAB

Last edited by Marc Barnette; 03/12/15 10:48 PM.