Writing an article on punk rock economics is not exactly a novel idea, in fact, it is highly overdone, and often stated as mediocre at best. The problem that I think plagues most articles that try to decipher the highly encrypted codes on how money plays its role in punk rock is that most articles try to tackle the entire issue all at once. One of the most important concerns of anyone who attends shows, is the price, both the real value of what it costs to attend a show, and to miss a show. This article will focus on shows that take place at more established venues, and will not deal with shows that are held in people's basements, and backyards.

It's a known fact that going to show after show after show can take its toll on the wallet. Most of us try to keep up a budget, or some sort of guideline that determines how many shows we can go to per month, dependent on our income. If we can afford to pay the admission to the show and have no better thing to do with our time, more often than not, we head on over to the show. Things get tricky though once people start to view door prices as excessive, thus creating a blurry line between punk rock values, and the economics of getting what we want for what we are willing to sacrifice.

The reason for writing this article stemmed from a discussion on a very recent show I had attended on November 20th featuring two local bands from the VA/MD/DC area, one relatively unknown Long Island band who had been touring for seven straight weeks (The Movielife), and Saves the Day. Grey Area was supposed to play as well, but they had to cancel their appearance.

The charge of admission to the show was $7. Approximately 200 kids came out on a Thursday night to attend more than 3 hours of music and made it a fun evening for all. Yet less than 24 hours after the show, people were fairly upset that this show wasn't cheaper since either one of the bands cancelled, or because it featured mostly local acts. In my opinion, Saves the Day was alone, worth the price of admission, but regardless, take this approach to the price of a show these days. The price of a movie in New York at night is $8.25 for barely a couple of hours of entertainment. I went to see Dogma a few nights ago, it was a terrific movie, but I tell you, for the same price of what that ticket cost me, I could have went to some kick ass punk show, hung out with my friends and saw some damn good live music.

I wasn't around in the early days of punk rock where door prices never exceeded $5 but it would seem almost criminal to hold the punk rock scene as guilty for "raising prices." If we were to follow normal inflation rates and other monetary changes that have occurred within only the past few years, shows would easily break the $10 barrier for even local events. Unlike the bands who play these shows and entertain us, we are for the most part exempt from real world expenses while we stay self-contained in the punk rock community. Touring bands need to eat, lodge, and in general, suffer from the wear and tear of the traveling life. Just because a band is local, does not mean they fall under a low ceiling of payment for playing a show.

All of the aforementioned arguments in this article are important, but none is as important as what I am about to present. What goes on behind the scenes is the work that goes unnoticed, and is what drives the price of what a show will cost to put on and attend. Jamie of Dead Guy productions puts on excellent shows in the MD/DC/VA area. He is know to take risks in bringing bands to the area that normally avoid it, dealing with the messy issue of guarantees, PA requests and rentals, and hall costs. In early November, Jamie brought THE GET UP KIDS, AT THE DRIVE IN, FRODUS, and ULTIMATE FAKEBOOK to the St. Andrew's Church in College Park, MD. This was a show for that cost only $8, that could have easily been held in DC at a larger club for at least $15. If people can't see the value in this, then I think people are extremely closed minded to necessary issues that money brings to everything that exists in this world.

To sum this up, there is only point that I really want to push. The next time anyone one us goes to show, think about where your money goes once you give it to the guy at the door. Think of how many ways your admission is being divided. Think of the bottom line, and who leaves that show with a small fraction of what you put in. There is no one making a great deal of money off of punk rock, even with the mainstream influence staking its claim into our genre. A door price increase of say $6 to $8 may seem relatively large in our own personal scale of microeconomics - but makes barely a splash into the real world costs of what it takes to keep our music alive.