I am a member of gen z, and I think I can speak for a lot of my generation when I say we were given phones at a young age, so social media was super normal, and then just as we were reaching our teenage years and ready to go out in the world and get our sense of personal freedom, we were hit with covid and lockdowns, and everyone got really comfortable with staying home with streaming services and social media apps, and never really went out and experienced the world as a result.
Anyway, I think myself, many of my friends and a lot of others have woken up to the fact that this is no way to live, and are finally getting out into the world and realizing how much better do things with others and being outside and going to events is. I think the social media/internet era is dying because people have just grown so bored of that. ive gone to big popstars concerts, but ive also gone to small local events and seen local bands and performances , and that is just as fun.
This is happening in Scandinavia also. I live in Oslo and over the years I've not only seen much larger audiences attending symphony concerts, but also a lot more younger people as well. Helps also to have a conductor in his 20s!
As a copywriter for symphony orchestras, I LOVE hearing this, Penny. Would you mind sharing the name of your local orchestra? (You’re also free to DM me.) I’d love to explore how they’re messaging the work they do in your community.
Live jazz coming back? Ain't that a soak in a warm tub. Might come out of retirement, folks. I stopped in 2014 and have been missing all but the schlepping. But we always worked – big band, horn rock, 10pc., 5pc. Journeymen jazz cats of Chicago. Cool times, great charts. Pretty singers – and I do mean the girls! Hope it's all real and we all go out blowin'. Thanks for the story.
There’s a thriving live music scene in Chicago. If I can get you up here to give a talk, we’ll check it out. And much more than just blues. Jazz, bluegrass, country, rock, Americana, etc. Lots of great bands playing at great venues. Hallelujah.
If Gioia is comin to yer town to talk, he'd better draw on his Vo-De-Ville roots and slip some croonin', soft-shoe and even magical hat tricks into the act. Gotta keep those old movie houses in so many older neighborhoods in touch with their roots!
"... we should also expect it elsewhere—in film, books, visual arts, dance, poetry, drama, and other spheres of creativity."
I can tell you as an author, it's happening in books. Yes, readers are still immediately downloading ebooks if not pre-ordering them from theirfavoriteauthors, but they are also spending bank on hardcover special editions. They want to hold a limited edition in their hands, and not for its resale value. They want the experience of flipping paper pages while touching grass. I love it.
Our 24-year old son is an avid reader. During a visit this summer we noticed he brought several paperbacks along with him. When I asked, he said he preferred reading a physical book because it’s a “better experience.”
I'm a musician and bibliophile and I love nothing more than buying books. I bought two today! Physical copies! I have a Kindle and I use it about 10% of the time.
Similar to a live show, there's nothing like a physical book.
Great article…kind of confirms what I am experiencing as a working musician. True, there’s not much to be made from album sales or streaming, but there are plenty of gigs and concerts for sure!
Live music is alive and well around here... I live in a small town in Spain, not exactly a hot spot, and this summer there were often several live music events in the same day within a 10 minute drive. Just yesterday I saw a guy kicking ass on classical guitar in a random small church, combining the classics (I guess it's an unwritten rule of classical guitar that you have to play Tarrega, Albeniz and Barrios) with some of his own songs. The highlight of the summer were probably these guys: https://open.spotify.com/album/0KMr9tN5h6cXilC1is4rVy
Yes, the Taylor Swifts are doing well, but the smaller stages and acts continue to struggle. The economics of the lower ends of the music business make less sense than ever, as talent doesn’t get signed and then marketed — labels and managers only want to take on acts that arrive at their doors with a huge social-media presences. But building that audience takes work and time and money.
I hope that someday soon ticket prices for marquee acts will get so high that fans will at last forgo paying $1000 for one ticket (!) and instead buy 10 tickets at $10 to see new, fresh acts, and in the process re-energize whole local music scenes.
When I asked my son (professional musician/audio engineer) a similar question, he looked at me as if I was stupid and said, “Label? Why waste time trying to land a record deal with a label anymore? Everyone knows they’re worthless.”
Also, the paradigms are shifting. I can only speak for our part of the country, but many smaller acts/venues are thriving…more business than they can handle.
I can't say it's my favorite style of music, but Taylor Swift definitely looks like a living human being to me. And _somebody_ must like what she does.
My friend and I - just the day before you posted this - ran our 4th annual Front Porch Music Festival. (noblesvilleporchfest.com). We had 10,000+ people there watching 24 live and local bands. Many are now calling it our city's best day of the year.
There is a music entrepreneur in our county launching an organization devoted to building up a live music ecosystem.
Inspiring article!! I had hoped this trend would start at some point, but it's exciting to hear that it already has. Gives me hope for the future of human music and the powerful experiences fans and artists share when in the same room, hall or field together. Thanks for sharing!
I am a member of gen z, and I think I can speak for a lot of my generation when I say we were given phones at a young age, so social media was super normal, and then just as we were reaching our teenage years and ready to go out in the world and get our sense of personal freedom, we were hit with covid and lockdowns, and everyone got really comfortable with staying home with streaming services and social media apps, and never really went out and experienced the world as a result.
Anyway, I think myself, many of my friends and a lot of others have woken up to the fact that this is no way to live, and are finally getting out into the world and realizing how much better do things with others and being outside and going to events is. I think the social media/internet era is dying because people have just grown so bored of that. ive gone to big popstars concerts, but ive also gone to small local events and seen local bands and performances , and that is just as fun.
Good to hear your perspective.
Glad to hear about the shifting perspectives from your generation. I promise, you won't be disappointed. Thanks for sharing, Alex!
Our local symphony orchestra is now posting sold out notices on their concerts - from local Hip
Hop artist plus orchestra to semi staged Tristan und Isolde to conventional symphonic programming. Live music ❤️
This is happening in Scandinavia also. I live in Oslo and over the years I've not only seen much larger audiences attending symphony concerts, but also a lot more younger people as well. Helps also to have a conductor in his 20s!
As a copywriter for symphony orchestras, I LOVE hearing this, Penny. Would you mind sharing the name of your local orchestra? (You’re also free to DM me.) I’d love to explore how they’re messaging the work they do in your community.
They are a very hard working orchestra with lots of community based initiatives. Auckland Philharmonia
https://aucklandphil.nz/
Orchestra Wellington are worth a look for their programming that is also filling the concert hall.
Live jazz coming back? Ain't that a soak in a warm tub. Might come out of retirement, folks. I stopped in 2014 and have been missing all but the schlepping. But we always worked – big band, horn rock, 10pc., 5pc. Journeymen jazz cats of Chicago. Cool times, great charts. Pretty singers – and I do mean the girls! Hope it's all real and we all go out blowin'. Thanks for the story.
The Charles Hotel club you discovered has been there since 1985.
Ted really needs to also visit scullers and Wally’s while he’s in town. I think this was his first time experiencing jazz in Boston.
Yes, great place! I was a regular there in my university days in the 1980s, and it was always full.
There’s a thriving live music scene in Chicago. If I can get you up here to give a talk, we’ll check it out. And much more than just blues. Jazz, bluegrass, country, rock, Americana, etc. Lots of great bands playing at great venues. Hallelujah.
Agree, there is so much going on here, it is hard to choose sometimes.
If Gioia is comin to yer town to talk, he'd better draw on his Vo-De-Ville roots and slip some croonin', soft-shoe and even magical hat tricks into the act. Gotta keep those old movie houses in so many older neighborhoods in touch with their roots!
Tio Mitchito
Mitch Ritter\Paradigm Sifters, Code Switchers, PsalmSong Chasers
Lay-Low Studios, Ore-Wa (Refuge of Atonement Seekers)
Media Discussion List\Looksee
Ugh. Taylor Swift again.
"... we should also expect it elsewhere—in film, books, visual arts, dance, poetry, drama, and other spheres of creativity."
I can tell you as an author, it's happening in books. Yes, readers are still immediately downloading ebooks if not pre-ordering them from theirfavoriteauthors, but they are also spending bank on hardcover special editions. They want to hold a limited edition in their hands, and not for its resale value. They want the experience of flipping paper pages while touching grass. I love it.
Our 24-year old son is an avid reader. During a visit this summer we noticed he brought several paperbacks along with him. When I asked, he said he preferred reading a physical book because it’s a “better experience.”
I'm a musician and bibliophile and I love nothing more than buying books. I bought two today! Physical copies! I have a Kindle and I use it about 10% of the time.
Similar to a live show, there's nothing like a physical book.
Great article…kind of confirms what I am experiencing as a working musician. True, there’s not much to be made from album sales or streaming, but there are plenty of gigs and concerts for sure!
Live music is alive and well around here... I live in a small town in Spain, not exactly a hot spot, and this summer there were often several live music events in the same day within a 10 minute drive. Just yesterday I saw a guy kicking ass on classical guitar in a random small church, combining the classics (I guess it's an unwritten rule of classical guitar that you have to play Tarrega, Albeniz and Barrios) with some of his own songs. The highlight of the summer were probably these guys: https://open.spotify.com/album/0KMr9tN5h6cXilC1is4rVy
What town are you in? I'm touring in Spain in October
It sounds like what happened in the 60s. It's been 60 yrs. so it's about time for what went around to come around again.
It is alive and well in Japan. Nippon Gambate! Fuji Rock 2024!
Yes, the Taylor Swifts are doing well, but the smaller stages and acts continue to struggle. The economics of the lower ends of the music business make less sense than ever, as talent doesn’t get signed and then marketed — labels and managers only want to take on acts that arrive at their doors with a huge social-media presences. But building that audience takes work and time and money.
I hope that someday soon ticket prices for marquee acts will get so high that fans will at last forgo paying $1000 for one ticket (!) and instead buy 10 tickets at $10 to see new, fresh acts, and in the process re-energize whole local music scenes.
When I asked my son (professional musician/audio engineer) a similar question, he looked at me as if I was stupid and said, “Label? Why waste time trying to land a record deal with a label anymore? Everyone knows they’re worthless.”
Also, the paradigms are shifting. I can only speak for our part of the country, but many smaller acts/venues are thriving…more business than they can handle.
Taylor Swift - they are actually calling that an example of ... "Live" Music ?
Please
I can't say it's my favorite style of music, but Taylor Swift definitely looks like a living human being to me. And _somebody_ must like what she does.
Amen Ted Gioia.
My friend and I - just the day before you posted this - ran our 4th annual Front Porch Music Festival. (noblesvilleporchfest.com). We had 10,000+ people there watching 24 live and local bands. Many are now calling it our city's best day of the year.
There is a music entrepreneur in our county launching an organization devoted to building up a live music ecosystem.
I think you are right, and I hope you are right.
Yessss 👏 let’s bring on real music. Real food! Real people—real faces. Real bodies. Real problems. Real solutions.
You need to also check out Scullers at the Double Tree. I went to my first jazz show there in the early 90s Elivin Jones!
Inspiring article!! I had hoped this trend would start at some point, but it's exciting to hear that it already has. Gives me hope for the future of human music and the powerful experiences fans and artists share when in the same room, hall or field together. Thanks for sharing!