Words by Hank McCoy (@HankTheReal)
Times are tough. We all feel it. Everyday we deal with the effects of a busted economy and a scrambling citizenry. They tell us things are getting better. But I can’t see it. The state of the people historically will dictate the state of everything else. Business, culture, entertainment, trends…all of it is influenced. The live music scene, in this city, like everything else has been attempting to adapt to changes around it. A culture in Chicago that has long been at the forefront of creativity and progress is fighting to survive and thrive in spite of it all.
“Too many artists not enough fans,” says WHPK host and perennial emcee Pugs Atomz. It’s a sentiment that we’ve heard before. For years now you hear rappers and musicians alike talk about the lack of actual fans. The internet’s made it too damn easy they say. Go to a local event in the city and half the people in attendance are trying to hand you something. Be it a CD, business card, a freestyle, whatever…it’s everywhere. You can argue that this is the result of a cultural movement making its way into the front lines when it comes to “Pop” entertainment. And I’d be inclined to agree with you. However it also causes a saturation in the marketplace. From a venue’s standpoint they have more to choose from. If one artist won’t pay the (constantly rising) production costs that establishments have placed on events there is always another that will.
When you have a saturated market it’s naturally going to give way to the shady and the sharks. Without fail, when Chicago began being toted as a hotbed for rising hip hop talent, you saw them move in. Pay to play events began to pop up all over the city to service the flood of musicians and artists looking for a moment to shine. They lure in talent with talks of grand opportunities and then solicit a performers hard earned cash as a down payment on a headlining act. The promoter tells them they’ll get to open up for (insert nostalgic east coast hip hop act from the 90’s here) if they pay anywhere from $20 to god only knows, but I’ve heard as high as $500 for a slot. Then when you get to the event, you aren’t even playing on the same stage as the headliner that you helped pay for. The promoter gives the artist tickets to sell, but how many times can your friends pay $20 to see you play for ten minutes in the lounge of a venue? And that’s how a rapper loses $500.
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