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Albuquerque NM

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I work for a local brewery. Someone said a couple of posts back that the music isn't the draw. He's right. People just don't go out to see live music the way they used to. Almost all of our customers are there to have some beers and they simply tolerate the music. They aren't there specifically for the music. There are a few groups that bring their own following, but it's not common, and it's not a lot of people. Some groups (or combinations of bands, like a reggae night) with a real following will often play Marble downtown because there's a big stage and space where people dance. But that's not the norm anywhere else. To the guy from "Northeast USA near Boston" who says "you have the power to change that," I'm afraid that's wrong. See, I understand the logic of "this happens when musicians accept poor pay as a whole." You would be correct if there was the DEMAND for live music. The pay is not low just because there are musicians who accept it. The pay is low because that's what it's worth to us as venue owners/managers. We know music has nothing to do with our bottom line, so it's just not a priority business expense. If, as you wrote, all bands said, "We won't accept that pay," guess what? We just wouldn't have live music. We'd figure it's not worth the cost. Most people come to a brewery so they can have beers and a lunch with their friends on a sunny patio. Breweries throw in things like music and trivia, but it is NOT crucial to our success. Our beer has 100x the following that you do as a musician. So do the food trucks. People don't call us to ask what band is playing. They ask if we have XX food truck tonight. It's sad, but that's just how it works nowadays. The days of music fans lining up around the block to go see their favorite local band hasn't existed in Albuquerque in nearly 3 decades. I remember that time and it was really cool. You wrote: "it's gonna keep being that way because you are the ones being played and the owners are laughing all the way to the bank." I'm afraid that's incorrect. No owner or manager is laughing at musicians. We care about music and the community, which is why we still offer live music when we can - often to our detriment (don't get me started on the unprofessional and drunken behavior of some of the musicians) with customers leaving because of the loud music. Unfortunately, musicians are simply offering a service we don't really need. With brewery trivia, art shows, special events, private parties, Beer Week, OneAlbuquerque promotions and all the other things we are constantly offered to gets folks in the door, breweries could literally pull the plug on music permanently and we wouldn't lose a single customer.