Regardless of where you are on the planet, one of the constant “do’s” for music fans is to support your local music store. While this is massively important, it fails to deliver on two fronts: 1) it is incomplete in sentiment and 2) it usually lacks any sort of explanation beyond some stock statement about the “evils” of corporate music stores, or the lower quality of digital downloads. Yes, there is truth within these claims, but it is not until one digs deeper into the idea of the entire local music ecosystem that the critical importance of this simple statement can be fully understood.
In truth, the local support needs to start at the venue level. That is to say, understand the difference between a local venue and a national chain or corporate-owned venue. Places like House Of Blues or the myriad of concert halls owned by companies like Live Nation are perhaps the biggest threat to the future of local music, as they have a long-standing track record of moving into new markets, and over-paying artists to put smaller venues out of business.
Some may say that this is little more than “survival of the fittest” in business, but the fact remains that larger, nationally-owned venues are far less concerned with bolstering local, up and coming bands, as they are with getting artists to sign on to play at each of their clubs across the United States. Similar trends can be seen across the globe, with the only difference being the corporation that has overrun the smaller clubs in question.
For decades, it is these smaller, local venues that have been the breeding ground for countless bands, allowing them the space and stage time to explore their music and gain a following. From CBGB’s and The Village Vanguard in New York City to LA’s Whiskey A Go-Go to London’s legendary Hundred Club, it goes without saying that countless musical forms would have failed to progress without these stages. Even places in smaller cities with less famous names like Cleveland’s Grog Shop, Schubas in Chicago, or The Belly Up in San Diego continue to serve a critical function in the progression of new bands.
But the other crucial element in this delicate formula of local support is another most overlook: local radio. Giants like Clear Channel, Sirius XM, and The BBC do little more than pump out the long-despised “Top 40” format, where as Sagat once put it, “I hear the same five songs, fifteen times a day, for three months.” This does little more than encourage a sad assimilation of sound, and serves as an obstacle for visionary musicians to get their art heard by larger audiences. Local stations are often tied more closely with local venues, with one helping the other; and whether it’s a Battle of the Bands or some contest to get an unsigned band played on air, the role local radio plays cannot be understated.
Only a few decades ago, local radio markets were so unique that people would go to amazing lengths in order to be able to tune in far away stations. This separation in sounds can be seen as one of the key factors that led to the difference between the East Coast “hot jazz” sound and the West Coast “cool jazz” in the 40’s and 50’s, as well as the differences in the hip hop scene of the 1990’s. Taking this further, those who study the genre understand that New York punk is not English punk, which sounds very different from Aussie punk or Los Angeles punk. These small differences are what led to countless trends in music, and as we allow our ears to be trained by homogenous radio stations, we risk losing such advancements and diversity in the future.
So how does this all lead back to the initial idea of supporting “mom and pop” record shops? Clearly, once the local venues are supporting the local bands, who in turn have a shot now and again at getting local radio airplay, people will want to buy their music. Even with the ease it provides, for a number of reasons many bands do not sell their music via digital stores, and this is where the local shop becomes indispensable. From simply stocking a few copies of a local bands’ album to hosting an in-store show of some sort, this is the final link in the chain of local music sustainability.
People who love music are constantly pointing to how disconnected the large music companies are with what is truly “great” music, as well their overall lack of interest in meaningful interactions with their own customers. The real question is: why do people continue to allow themselves to be treated so poorly by these faceless companies, when in every city in the country, there are thriving local scenes waiting for a new supporter? Instead of simply using a single sentence to encourage others to get more involved with local artists and stores, take the extra few minutes and explain to them how their lack of support is severely damaging the most vial ecosystem in the world of music.
Joel Freimark hosts a daily music-related webseries HERE and you can follow his daily music musings and suggestions HERE as well.
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