Was in a pretty solid metal band back, like, 8 years ago.
We were a little late to the NWOAHM party. Venues were closing down left and right. Usually right after we played a show. Huh.
Seems like there isn't much of a market for live original music anymore...most of the opportunities that present themselves are for cover bands.
Which...I mean, nuthin against playing covers. It's fun. If you're a good band, the audience can enjoy it.
Live music is a, like, five edged sword. It can be great. It can also be fucking terrible. But that terrible band can have a lot of friends that they bring to the gig, who buy beer, while everybody else promptly gets the fuck outta there. Which can have this insidious effect of turning folks that might like live music away from it, while the venue operators keep booking the bands that can get their friends out, until all said friends are like *dude, I have a kid now, fuck off*, and then people figure that nobody likes live music cause people ain't showing up.
Or it could just be that DJ's are more convenient. Which...let's face it...absolutely true.