How to fix the Cork City music recession
We have to start working cooperatively, exchanging skills, resources, information if we are to get out of the Cork City music recession.
Things have to get better on the gig scene this summer. It’s got so bad, so bad.
Cork City seems to be dead; no money, no people, no buzz, no nothing. Apparently this is the way it is. Every time I ask someone what the story is, why it’s so dead, they mutter back, matter of factly,
“Sure it’s always been this way”
“Cork dies in the Summer, once the students come back sure it’ll all be grand then”
“What’s a couple of months, no bother, don’t worry, it always rights itself”
No it doesn’t. What it does is put an incredible amount of pressure on bars, venues, clubs, theatres, bands, etc. And it’s not just a couple of months it’s from the end of May until the middle of September – over a quarter of the year. And yet everyone stumbles blindly on, convinced that it is an unquestionable truth and thus cannot be fixed.
With the recession it’s just got worse.
We operate in a failed system and everyday the situation only gets worse. Once Greece defaults – and it will – it’ll only be a matter of time before Italy, Spain, Ireland and Portugal follow suit. The end of the European project as we know it. So that’s where we stand, tottering on the edge of a crumbling cliff edge pretending that all is well, just fine, honky dory, brilliantly fantastic sure it’ll only be a matter of months before everything will go back to the way it was and we’ll all be just grand. La di da.
How does that work? Where does that come from? Where’s the logic? Why are we doing this to ourselves?
The longer we keep our heads in the sand hoping that everything will just magically right itself the more likely we are to fail. To end up having nothing left to work with. Yes, these are interesting times, yes everything is full of possibility and new ideas and beginnings however this situation requires a cooperative willingness, a sense that we, as a society, together, can make the change and not wait for the IMF, EC and ECB to do it for us. Let’s be clear, the Troika are only interested in slashing public services, privatization and creating a Friedman style economic system that will ultimately make the few richer and the many poorer.
As it is the venue I run is creaking. Every night I go down to do a gig I get butterflies, I’m anxious, worried, nervous. I need people to turn up and have a few pints otherwise I’m out of a job, out of a living, unable to pay the bills. It’s that close to the bone. If the venue shuts down then the place will be left with an empty space, there will be less staff, up and coming musicians will have one less independent venue to play in and with that happening you’ll have more bands fighting for less gigs meaning less opportunity for more difference as everything gets more mainstream and on and on and yawn. Generic. The same. Ordinary.
I’m out of excuses. We’re at bottom line time. Now it’s all about the numbers.
Hope tonight goes well. It should. I expect it to be busy – its Friday, have a good line up. If it doesn’t my card is marked. So what to do? What’s the answer? Well, why can’t we start working together, sharing ideas, resources, collaborating with each other. If alot invest a little then we can go a long way. It’s up to us to fight this. Fuck the Government. They won’t, can’t. The system is unchanged. It is up to us to change the system
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