Chapter I: The Market Is Fucked. Now What?

For years, people in the underground metal scene liked to believe that we were somehow immune to what was happening in the wider world.

"We're underground."

"We do it for the music."

"We're not mainstream."

That's all very nice until the bills arrive.

The reality is that underground metal does not exist in a vacuum. Every economic shift, every increase in living costs, every rise in travel expenses and every change in consumer behaviour eventually finds its way into our little corner of the world.

And right now, the market is under pressure.

People have less disposable income than they had a few years ago. Rent is up. Food is up. Fuel is up. Flights are up. Accommodation is up. Production costs are up.
Pretty much everything is up except the amount of money people are willing or able to spend on concert tickets.

The result is visible everywhere.

Tours that would have comfortably pulled 200 people per night a few years ago are now struggling to bring in 80. Festivals are selling later than before. Merch sales fluctuate wildly. Promoters are becoming more cautious. Agents are becoming more selective. Bands are finding themselves competing for a shrinking piece of the pie.

And here's the uncomfortable truth nobody likes talking about: There are simply too many bands.

Every year hundreds, if not thousands, of new bands emerge. Recording music has never been easier. Releasing music has never been easier. Getting your music online takes about fifteen fucking minutes.

But attention has become the most valuable currency in music.

Listeners are overwhelmed. Every week there are dozens of new records, tours, festivals, special editions, vinyl colours, reunion shows and exclusive events demanding their attention.

People cannot support everything.

So they choose.

And when they choose, they become far more selective than they were before.

Being a good band is no longer enough.

Being active is no longer enough.

Even having a strong record is often not enough.

The competition is no longer just against bands in your genre. You're competing against every other form of entertainment available to the same audience. Streaming services. Gaming. Holidays. Restaurants. Family commitments. Rising living costs. The lot.

When somebody decides whether to spend €30 on a concert ticket, they're not comparing it only to another concert. They're comparing it to everything else they could do with that money.

That is the battlefield.

For booking agents, promoters and managers, this changes the game completely.

The old model of endlessly throwing bands on the road and hoping things grow organically is becoming harder to sustain. Every tour must justify its existence. Every festival booking carries financial risk. Every guarantee has to make sense.

This doesn't mean underground metal is dying.

Far from it.

The scene is still full of dedicated fans, passionate musicians and organisers who genuinely care about what they're building.

What is dying is the illusion that passion alone is enough.

Passion gets you started.

Professionalism keeps you alive.

The bands and organisations that will survive the coming years are not necessarily the biggest, the loudest or even the most talented. They will be the ones that understand the reality of the market and adapt accordingly.

That may sound cynical.

It isn't.

It's simply where we are.

The market doesn't care how much you love your band.

The market doesn't care how many hours you spent writing riffs in a rehearsal room.

The market doesn't care how underground, obscure or authentic you are.

The market only answers one question:

Why should people spend their limited time and money on you instead of something else?

The sooner we stop pretending that question doesn't exist, the sooner we can start building sustainable careers, sustainable events and sustainable scenes.

Because whether we like it or not, underground metal is part of the real world.

And the real world has finally kicked the door in.

Lior Delman, June 4, 2026