touring

With the the stock indexes in the first bear market in almost six years and gas prices that have hit lifetime highs, we are all feeling the proverbial tightening of the belt. Obviously I am not a columnist for the Wall Street Journal but I try and keep close tabs on the live music industry and this economic environment affects some in the industry very seriously. Although the live music scene is certainly seeing an apex in its influence and marketability within the greater music industry — notice the glut of festivals, Live Nation’s constant news making or this NYT article for example — smaller acts are finding it harder and harder to do what they love and bring us the art we crave.

A large majority of the artists that keep the live music scene moving are being hindered seriously by the current cost of travel. On top of this, the overwhelming number of festivals this summer will probably not stand up to diminishing discretionary spending, especially those in distant locations. Bonnaroo just missed a sell-out — according to their own numbers — and Coachella was 17,000 under their 2007 record crowd. It will be interesting to see what happened at Rothbury but Lollapalooza, a city festival, seemed to do quite well. By far the most serious consequence from the current economy falls on the thousands of bands that criss-cross the country in big white vans.

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