A disturbing trend has been moving through music in the past several years. It was already happening before 2020, but the COVID pandemic really thrust it into high gear – small music venues have been closing, and at an alarming rate.

That rate is very telling, and it’s not isolated to the United States – this September 2023 article from mixmag estimates that 10% of UK grassroots music venues would close by the end of 2023. Though I don’t have word on if that came to be, I’d say the estimate was fair since a good bit of the year had already passed. And even without this stat, if you pay attention to music news at all, you’ve surely noticed several doom and gloom articles about the state of smaller music venues.

Closing venues may not seem like a huge deal to some – these are very small businesses that cater to somewhat limited audiences, and there are the stereotypical cracks about small music places – the bathroom of death being just one.

But the loss of music venues is a massive deal to music – it eliminates the place that musicians have to play. Sure, the Internet is here and makes it easier than ever to “get your stuff out there.” But – getting anyone to actually pay attention to it is another matter. Do anything on social media – post a song, an article, hell – a blog, and you’ll find it takes thousands upon thousands of impressions to generate tens of actual plays or views. Nothing about using the Internet to gain exposure is as easy as just posting it – not music, not blogging, not OnlyFans, not anything.

The music venue is the one place where people will be interested in underground or independent music. It is where people go to specifically seek that out. There is no more receptive audience for music anywhere than at a music venue.

And this plays out at all levels – I listen to a lot of underground and extreme metal. These are bands that are internationally known but let’s face facts – the audience for extreme metal isn’t usually massive. These bands will often play 300 or 500 capacity venues, the same kind of venues that host other forms of independent and local music. Losing these spots is the loss of an opportunity to see bonafide national touring acts, there are only a handful of extreme bands who draw the numbers to fill larger venues.

And the biggest impact of venue closure is to the local scene. Sure, things have changed from the old days – bands don’t have to “pay their dues” for years on the live club circuit before “making it.” But bands still have to have their first handful of gigs somewhere, even if they do catch fire early and make a name for themselves. These local venues are the lifeblood of emerging bands of all stripes – those who might go on to be signed acts, those who stake out a claim as a noted regional act, and even those who are local “weekend warrior” type bands.

The local venue gives all these bands and the fans a place to meet, mingle and network. They aren’t just important places, they are the place to meet up and get to business. It’s where you say “hey” to the like-minded people in your network and get to hear what’s going on in the scene. And for many in scenes that aren’t mainstream, this is the only social network around besides online. It’s what people look forward to and gear up for, going to these small shows, to see the bands and to touch base with friends and acquaintances.

I am totally a product of this culture. I have spent the better part of the 2000’s being at local shows. Many times that meant seeing bands that maybe I knew one of. Other times it meant I was there for a band or two comprised of good friends, and a few other bands of the same style and mind that I was into. And other times I wandered in to a local club, not even knowing that a national touring act was playing that night, and was blown away by a spectacular performance by a band that I don’t even listen to.

And I did thrive on the social scene just as much as the music itself. I’m not the most social person on the planet, and I also don’t have “approachable” written on my face as a 6’3”, mean looking dude. But at a local show I could spend plenty of time greeting show-goers and people in bands, all people I came to know and would call friends on some level or another. Those nights were as meaningful as any in my life, actually being welcomed and appreciated just for being in a space and time to check out a form of music.

As I’ve gotten older I don’t go out as much, though there has been life in our local scene these past few years. But all those years I did spend going out do mean a lot to me, and to think that this way of life is threatened by business issues and real estate prices is hard to swallow. I had a very hard time in my life in 2006, I truly had to reset everything I ever knew, and being able to go to local shows with friends was the lifeblood that honestly kept me going through that time. To see the scene possibly falling apart is tough to deal with, even if I’m nearly 20 years removed from that time.

This post was originally inspired by the closure of a very meaningful local space. I intended to eulogize it here, but after typing I’ve decided to give that eulogy in a separate post. I think this post today will be better served to address the larger issue, then I can offer a more meaningful post for the venue I’m talking about later.

I know that the world is going very cold and corporate. Things that don’t generate millions or billions don’t really mean anything. We don’t ascribe value to art, it is treated as a joke in the quest to become a shareholder. But art is the essence of life, and for many of us around my age we have ties to these venues that are now shuttering due to real estate hedge funds and equity holder interests. With these small music venues closing at an alarming rate, I do worry about the future. I don’t know what to do about it, this is not a post addressing a problem with a solution at the ready. I can only address the problem and hope forces align in a better direction.

I’ll leave off with this old Saxon song, a classic from their vital period. I can only hope that the bands will have a place to play on in the future. It means everything to them, and it also means everything to those of us who were watching and listening.