Times They Are A Changing!

I've been in second life over fifteen months now and over that time, things have really changed. Two of the biggest changes are the development of the music industry and a leaning towards making things yourself rather than buying them.

The music scene has come a long way. Back in 2006 there were very few live musicians and most clubs played music streams and dj's were the big thing. Having a dj in a club attracted crowds because there was a live voice, you could request songs and the dj's acknowledged you and the rest of the people in the crowd. One of the clubs i frequented when i was new here was the Parthenon. A great two level club with numerous dj's playing great music and running contests and theme nights. Sadly it is no longer in existence.

Clubs have always had difficulty in second life. It is very hard to make money. In the early days, costs were not quite so high, as dj's typically charged very little to work. The costs in running a club were small with dj's and prize money being the two highest amounts paid out. With live music hitting second life in a wave, clubs without live music are slowly disappearing. There still are a few around, but with people wanting to see live acts, I can't see them lasting much longer. And can clubs survive with live music. I wonder. With musicians charging a minimum of 3000L per hour and most charging 5000L and up, it is very difficult for clubs to make enough to cover their costs. Clubs have very little opportunity to earn revenue. Tips have typically been the main source, but with audience members tipping both the musician and venue, the clubs don't seem to bring in enough to cover the cost of the singer let alone any other costs they may have. Other revenue streams like allowing businesses to advertise in your club should have made the club a little more attractive, but advertising lindens don't seem to flow out the way they do in the real world. A lot of business owners use clubs as loss leaders, hoping to draw in people to the club and either promote their other business or have the landing spot near the other businesses so the crowd will be aware of them. It's hard to tell how effective that type of promotion is.

Zed Essex states the following in his blog: "If you are a live music enthusiast, please remember to tip the venues." and "Every so often I even hear rumblings about cover charges". Unfortunately, Zed is bang on. If clubs can't survive through tips and the minor sources of revenue they have, cover charges may not be far away. Charging 10 or 20L to enter the club would go a long way to cover the costs and although I feel it's inevitable, I don't welcome it. Please tip the venues.

I run a club and have help from a great team working with me. However, I am the only owner and bear all the costs. That's why we only have live shows once a week. I suppose if you have a group of people covering the costs, it would make more sense as each person could cover a night or a time period. It's probably what happens at the clubs that do have continuous live acts.

The other noticeable difference over the past fifteen months is in the retail industry. When I first came on and during the time I started my businesses, most people in second life purchased what they needed whether it was clothing or furniture. As second life grew and people stayed, they learned how to do things for themselves. A lot of people make their own clothes and furniture. I've noticed in my stores, that most of my customers today are relatively new to second life. And since most new members don't have a lot of money to spend, they aren't willing to drop their money quite so freely. It's great that people take the initiative to create as that is one of the great points in second life. It just means that retail business in second life has to focus on a different market and adjust pricing accordingly. My first year in business was extremely successful and I am grateful to everyone who chose to shop at one of my stores. I think it's time, however to change my focus and the target I'm aiming at.

During the early days of second life and as late as six months ago, businesses flourished in second life. So many people opened shop and you could buy almost anything. Still can. However, today I see successful business as more specialized. Things that may be more difficult or time consuming to do would still sell well. I purchase hair simply because I don't have the time to make it and the same with animations. Real Estate has always been fairly successful and some people have made a lot of lindens selling land. I did fairly well at it too. But with prices climbing again, even real estate has slowed down some.

Well, what does all this mean? I guess the times they really are a changing. Second life continues to evolve and change and what's successful today may not be successful tomorrow. Kind of like real life, right?

That's it for today, please remember to tip venues and have a great week.

Ciao for now.

Jenny