Whenever the economy goes teeth first into the gutter, there are usually two things that are reliably safe:

1. Booze
2. Movies

The vast majority of our industries, you’ll be surprised to note, is neither of these. So by the time the big fish of the American economy feel a little impact, like in this story:

Commissioner Roger Goodell said Tuesday that the league is cutting more than 10 percent of its staff in response to the downturn in the nation’s economy that could put a dent in ticket sales for next season.

Goodell announced the cuts in a memo to league employees. The NFL is eliminating about 150 of its staff of 1,100 in New York, NFL Films in New Jersey and television and Internet production facilities in Los Angeles.

The smaller fish, the ones who don’t have the power to command CNN headlines or the collective consciousness, have already taken a major beating:

Against a backdrop of a weakened economy and mounting financial losses — and belt-tightening even by the NFL and other professional sports leagues — the AFL is considering suspending its 2009 season.

It hasn’t happened yet, however.

Hours after Los Angeles Avengers owner Casey Wasserman said he expected the season to be called off, the league’s board of directors voted via conference call not to suspend the season “at this time.”

“The board will continue to meet regularly to examine any and all long-term structural improvement options for the AFL,” the league said in a written statement after the vote. The season takes place from March to June.

Now, I’m fully aware that the plight of the Arena Football League isn’t keeping our average reader up at night. But it’s a league where 10 of the 16 teams voted for this shutdown, and New Orleans, believe it or not, is still a major sports town that supports the NFL, college football, the NBA – it’s an unpleasant sign that a fanbase that enthusiastic (yes, they care about Arena Football in New Orleans) can’t keep the business afloat.

Speaking of enthusiastic fanbases… the media has managed to drive its MTVH1 / Clear Channel / MySpace hype machine for a year behind the records of choice, and this enthusiasm has translated into a big year for CD’s! This year’s top seller was Lil Wayne, and he moved…

2.6 million units.

Wait, seriously? Game moved 3 times that much for his first album with about half the hype. Lloyd Banks sold about 2 million. Soft economy or not, these are distressing figures. There’s one other album that sold two million records this year, and that’s Viva la Vida. I can’t think of a time in the post-MTV history of music that so much attention has been thrown out for so little return. It wasn’t too long ago that Eminem and N’Sync could break a million records in a single week on their way to going diamond.

The number is eighteen. Eighteen platinum albums have been released in 2008, and while it’s entirely fair to rationalize it as music being so much worse now (it is) and people thinking its more convenient to just download something (it also…er… is), I think it’s also fair to say that the major market that is American mainstream music is preoccupied, just like those Hornets fans in New Orleans, and can’t support a (in cold terms) low cash value product like music in these difficult times. And if the big boys aren’t eating, what’s that say for the folks who are further down the ladder? And if we’re true fans of music (we are), what ideas can we bring to the table that’ll ensure the long term health of the folks who produce it?

Let’s go back to Arena Football. Believe it or not, everybody isn’t suffering under the recession. The San Jose SaberCats (their cheerleaders are, of course, the SaberKittens – rawr) sell out almost every event they put on, and even during these tough times, they’re the most financially successful team in Arena Football. Now, both the SaberCats and the VooDoo have fans that love the game. So what separates the two franchises?

Location, location, location.

The most secure franchises in this league (the Utah Blaze, the Grand Rapids Rampage, the Orlando Predators) are in one or two horse towns. It’s not the teams in large markets like Los Angeles and New York that make money. It’s the teams that are, in some cases, the only game in town, the ones that have longstanding roots in their cities, that have carved out the loyal audience that will carry them even through these tough times.

Let’s go back to San Jose. The AFL has always put an emphasis on their players getting out in the public eye and serving the community – it helps their image and draws attention to their product. The SaberCats (and, of course, the SaberKittens) are no exception. Every month they’re out there, visiting schools, FedEx openings, doing benefits for gunshot victims, just hustling – stuff like that isn’t glamorous, but it’s very Do-It-Yourself, very on the edge. Building that kind of rapport establishes a base of people who’ll be inspired to check out your show the next time you’re in town or on the television or on the radio.

And that’s what it’s about – building rapport. Lord knows I’m not saying the best musicians need to go out and hug babies. But it’s small markets that are important, not big markets. A career that plays to a niche that’s passionate is healthier in the long run than making one disposable song that gets you on the air for six months.

The Mars Volta plays shows year-round, and the nature of their sound allows them to have live shows that bear almost no resemblance to their studio work. While records like Deloused in the Comatorium are shiny and precise even in their sprawl, a live Mars Volta show is a completely different beast. It’s sprawling, it’s messy, the limbs fly everywhere, and the tickets aren’t unreasonable. Access isn’t too hard to come by, either. A new album drops once a year, a pace that’s bound to increase once their contract with Universal is up (if the prolific solo career of lead guitarist Omar Rodriguez-Lopez is to be trusted). They’re viral. Their work creates a community. Do their fans buy records? Are you kidding? The same people who clamor to download the CD as soon as it leaks will be the first one to buy the record… and the single with the exclusive B-side, and that crappy overpriced USB shaped like a Ouija board piece, and no matter how bad the economy gets, they’re going to step into Best Buy to make that purchase.

An Arena Football team in New York is going to have to compete with a lot of outside forces to get heard over the white noise of its city. There’s the Yankees and Broadway and LeBron James (and no, he might not be there yet, but he’s coming). Likewise for a band trying to get on MTV, playing to an ever receding audience of teenage girls and late middle-aged women that are behind the cultural curve. But if you want to be a career musician, you’ve gotta go to Grand Rapids, creating content and encouraging community and passion among your fans, and getting them to spread your gospel. The long term future of the music business ain’t Lil’ Wayne. It’s the SaberKittens.

Gimmie an S!

Tags: AFL, Arena Football, Arena Football League, Casey Wasserman, Coldplay, Deloused In The Comatorium, Eminem, Grand Rapids Rampage, Lil' Wayne, N-Sync, New Orleans VooDoo, NFL, Omar Rodriguez-Lopez, Orlando Predators, SaberKittens, San Jose SaberCats, Tha Carter III, The Bedlam In Goliath, The Mars Volta, Viva La Vida

This entry was posted on Friday, December 12th, 2008 at 6:49 pm and is filed under Echo Chamber . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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