For nearly all music venues, the majority of profits do not come from ticket sales, or food, or crappy pizza or water or merchandise. No, it comes from beer. Liquor. Booze. Alcohol. And I'm not here to say that this is wrong. You do you, business-owners. What I am here to say is that it is absolutely absurd that the sale of alcohol, as well as the laws surrounding it, would restrict younger, prospective show-goers from seeing their favorite performing artists. One of the best ways to be inspired to create, to try and get into a community with other artists is to watch them in their most primal state, on stage, guitar/microphone/drum sticks in hand. Meeting one's heroes inspires awe and passion in people that simply can't be recreated at a computer desk, or with an iPod. But these laws, which were created with good intentions, are only doing one thing, and that's destroying existing music communities, as well as ruining any chance of these communities to sprout and grow. Dare I say, that they are ruining small, independent, do-it-yourself venues themselves. But why were these laws created?
To answer this question, we first must state something which is obscenely obvious: People like to drink alcohol. Not just those who are of the legal drinking age requirements, but those under it too. One can argue the effects of alcohol on developing brains and social habits all day, but at the end of the day, it's not going to stop high school and college students alike from getting their hands on some booze for their weekend outings. It's a fact of life. As a reaction to this, however, lawmakers across America have crafted legislation that limits how businesses which sell alcoholic beverages can conduct business in the presence of those under the legal drinking age. No one under 21 past certain hours, no one under 21 allowed period, no one under 18(AKA no one who can't be held responsible for their own actions in a court of law) allowed. And it's these young concertgoers that are the meat and potatoes of thriving music communities.
Let's compare three cities and their music scenes, three cities which most Troy citizens can relate to. These three cities are Cincinnati, Columbus, and Dayton. Let's break it down one by one.
Cincinnati has a very large number of independent venues, clubs, bars, and other performance spaces. Of the numerous variety of performance areas in Cincinnati, you would truly be hard pressed to find one which restricts it's customers based on age. And how is business in Cincinnati? To describe it as booming or thriving would be quite the understatement. Bands from Cincinnati are exploding into popularity, because anyone can go to any of the shows they put on in any venue in the city. This gives the DIY venues more revenue, which gives the artists more money and incentive to perform, and it gives the kids something to aspire to.
Next, let us take a peek at Columbus. Columbus' music venues are less expansive, boasting a handful of venues run by the music promotion company PromoWest, and several small bars located here, there, and everywhere. The scene? Thriving, but lacking when it comes to new kids on the block. I only just recently was able to meet and befriend the artists whom I've admired for years in Columbus, such as my local favorites Sleep Fleet, Van Dale, and This Is My Suitcase(RIP). Without the ferocious velocity that comes with the youth audience, the scene will grow stagnate with time, as artists either get a break or give up.
Finally, let us look at Dayton, our closest big city. Dayton has almost no performance spaces, with almost all of it's DIY spaces drying up and dying in the late 2000's. The only music venues available on a regular basis are bars and clubs, which, by law, must restrict it's audience on certain days of the week/certain hours.While some bands exist in Dayton, the only way I've ever been able to hear about them is either A) browsing the internet for hours, scouring for one connected to Dayton or B) a Dayton band playing on the bill of a familiar Columbus or Cincinnati band.
It is of my belief that, in order for music to thrive in cities like these and many others, that these alcohol sale laws must be banished, if not revised. If not, I fear that the future might not be too bright for the hub of cultural creativity that is local music communities/scenes.
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