In a town known for its music, people have become less willing to pay to see musical talent.
Casa Cantina, one of the Uptown bars that frequently hosts shows, has taken the initiative to make many of its shows free. Tim Peacock, who is in charge of Casa’s booking, said free shows have become more common because people do not want to pay a cover fee.
“I think it’s easier for audience members to take a chance when it’s free,” Peacock said. “I still, unfortunately, think it’s a mild chain that people aren’t willing to risk three bucks or five bucks on a band that they aren’t familiar with or three bands that they’re not familiar with.”
The average college student at Ohio University does not want to invest money in determining whether or not he or she enjoys a certain band, Peacock said.
“It isn’t like this in every college town, and it isn’t like this in cities. There are plenty of other places where people expect to pay a cover,” Peacock said. “Some places you pay a cover even if there’s nothing going on entertainment wise.”
The average OU student’s mindset has made it difficult for venues such as Casa to charge covers for their shows. Attendance is much higher when the shows are free, Peacock said.
“Unfortunately, people are too cheap or something to support a band,” Peacock said. “It hasn’t always been like this. It used to be, forever, if you were going out to see live music, you expected to pay and it was accepted.”
Peacock said this change in students’ willingness to pay for shows has been something he noticed within the past five years, adding that this could be a sign that fewer live music fans are attending OU.
For lesser-known bands, though, free shows can be beneficial because they expose the group to a wider array of people. More established Athens bands also see the benefits of free shows and their ability to familiarize more people with the music.
“With our free shows, we definitely get exposed to newer groups of people that may not have necessarily heard of us before,” said Jess Kauffman of Duke Junior and the Smokey Boots.
Kauffman said free shows give college students the chance to hear new music without having to face financial struggles.
“I think its good to periodically have free shows here and there, but I think it’s also good to have shows with a cover charge,” she said. “In a town like this with a lot of students, (people) aren’t really working with a lot of cash.”
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@ThePostCulture
