Dude ... Why are there so many people here?
Every time we go to Churchill's Pub (or The Electric Pickle or Grand Central or Treehouse or Mansion), it's such a mission even getting an alcoholic beverage. (Not to mention scamming our way into the back of the band's van.)
Just to score some face time with the bartender ... A thirsty music fan's gotta wade across a raging mosh pit, hump past a gang scene on the dance floor, elbow through a mob of nightlife photographers, dodge flying CD-R demos from 17-year-old aspiring dubstep producers, and swing over a nearly impassable mote of other parched partiers.
So here's the problem: Overpopulation. Or at least that's how Crossfade has chosen to interpret a new study highlighted by The Atlantic in an article titled "The Geography of America's Music Scenes."
Using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics as well as statistics from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Martin Prosperity Institute's Charlotta Mellander and The Atlantic have ranked 25 American cities and their music scenes according to something called the "Metro Music Index."
But this isn't about the U.S.A.'s Best 25 Party Cities or Awesomest American Tuneage Towns. As The Atlantic's Richard Florida insists: "It is important to point out that we are measuring the concentration of musicians and music-related businesses, not the vibrancy or impact or quality of artists to emerge from a regional scene."
America's Music Scenes
*Ranked according to concentration of musicians and music-related businesses
1. Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro-Franklin, TN (Metro Music Index: 1.00)
2. New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-PA (Metro Music Index: 0.97)
3. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, CA (Metro Music Index: 0.96)
4. San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA (Metro Music Index: 0.93)
5. Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA (Metro Music Index: 0.80)
6. Las Vegas-Paradise, NV (Metro Music Index: 0.79)
6. Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton, OR-WA (Metro Music Index: 0.79)
8. New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner, LA (Metro Music Index: 0.78)
9. Rochester, NY (Metro Music Index: 0.76)
10. Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI (Metro Music Index: 0.72)
11. Orlando-Kissimmee, FL (Metro Music Index: 0.70)
12. Austin-Round Rock, TX (Metro Music Index: 0.67)
13. San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, CA (Metro Music Index: 0.66)
14. Pittsburgh, PA (Metro Music Index: 0.65)
14. Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI (Metro Music Index: 0.65)
16. Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, FL (Metro Music Index: 0.63)
16. Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, IL-IN-WI (Metro Music Index: 0.63)
18. Indianapolis-Carmel, IN (Metro Music Index: 0.57)
19. Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX (Metro Music Index: 0.53)
20. Denver-Aurora, CO (Metro Music Index: 0.52)
21. Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord, NC-SC (Metro Music Index: 0.50)
22. Louisville-Jefferson County, KY-IN (Metro Music Index: 0.49)
22. Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, GA (Metro Music Index: 0.49)
22. Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL (Metro Music Index: 0.49)
25. San Antonio, TX (Metro Music Index: 0.48)
Shouting out the 305 as the source for "everything from Gloria Estefan to Rick Ross, Flo Rida, and Pit Bull, not to mention the jazz program at the Frost School of Music which launched such alums as Ben Folds and Pat Metheny," The Atlantic places Miami (along with the greater Fort Lauderdale and Pompano Beach metro areas) in the 16th slot, just 0.09 "Metro Music Index" points outta the top ten.
In short, there are lots of glossy nightclubs, hipster joints, dive bars, guitar players, wannabe DJs, digeridoo masters, and other music-related players in South Florida. But not as much as Nashville, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Las Vegas, Portland, New Orleans, Rochester, Minneapolis, Orlando, Austin, San Diego, Pittsburgh, or Milwaukee.
But overpopulation is still overpopulation, people. And it's a problem. Especially when we're all trying to get famous or stay wasted or fuck the band.
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