Bid Farewell: Why Millennials Are Abandoning Nightclubs

    There’s a massive trend brewing in America’s nightlife scene. Nightclub and bar attendance has been on a steady decline for the past several years and counting. Nightclubs are going out of business left and right with more being threatened to close their doors each and every day. There has been a massive decline in liquor profits and overall revenue. This trend isn’t only exclusive to the United States; the U.K. has also been experiencing a similar drop in their once world-renowned nightlife scene. What is to blame for all of this, you ask?

    Millennials.

    Who are these impactful millennials?

    According to GFK, the global research firm, millennials are widely categorized individuals who were born anywhere between the years 1977 and 1994. Ranging between the ages of 21 and 38, they are the target demographic for all club owners and other current nightlife vendors. These millennials are very different from their Generation X parents—they were raised to be extremely tech savvy since they entered adulthood equipped with cellphones, up-to-date social media interactions, and would certainly much rather spend their hard-earned money on experiences rather than material possessions.

    While evaluating such preferences, millennials sound like the ideal group to be regularly enjoying themselves at various nightclubs—or so one would think? If this is the case, why are nightclubs and entertainment venues alike suffering such massive declines in their numbers? Since millennials favor experiences over material things, shouldn’t nightclubs be benefiting? Where are these millennials going instead?

    Are millennials going to nightclubs?

    Simply put, not really—at least not as frequently as their Generation X counterparts did at popular discotheques. Countless studies, as well as daily observations, show millennials are no longer opting to go to nightclubs anymore when contemplating the value of a night out. A survey by ULI/Lachman Associates dictates that only slightly higher than 60% of all millennials spend time at nightclubs. Of that 60%, only 25% spend time at nightclubs more than once a month. The millennials who go to nightclubs say they mostly go for “special occasions,” like bachelor/bachelorette parties, viewing a specific DJ, attending a celebrity event, or going out to explore party capitals like NYC and Las Vegas. Although these serve as the main reasons why millennials venture into nightclubs, they don’t seem to be enough to back up such dismal numbers.

    Nightclubs do not have a large return rate of millennial consumers. Nightclub owners are finding it very difficult to keep their doors open when a large portion of their clientele only stops by occasionally and skimps on drink orders. (It’s all about the pre-game anyway, right?) It comes to no surprise that an average of 6,500 venues have been breaking down earlier and earlier each night and officially closing up shop before passing the first year mark in their business, at least according to J.C. Diaz, the Executive Director of the Nightlife Association. To add insult to injury, the IBIS World Bar Business & Nightclub Business Industry reports that bar and nightclub revenue fell 9.3% in 2009 following The Great Recession. While other businesses are slowly climbing back up from higher unemployment rates and lower consumer spending, the nightclub industry just doesn’t seem to be following suit. The industry is not bouncing back.

    Why aren’t millennials patronizing night life venues?

    We know that millennials aren’t frequenting nightclubs often, but why? What are their reasons? An anonymous online survey set out to find the answers. Millennials who were not regular nightclub attenders were asked for their reasons for not attending. Their responses:

    • Expensive cover charges
    • High-priced drinks
    • Long lines
    • Slow bar service
    • Rude staff
    • Being pushed around in crowded atmosphere
    • Poor male-to-female ratio
    • Better ways to discover new music
    • Inability to have a conversation

    The last two reasons are especially important to pay attention to. The fact that millennials can go elsewhere to discover and listen to new music and that they can’t have a decent conversation with people at nightclubs, came up a lot in the survey. Technology has played a tremendous role in how we source our entertainment and choose to communicate, which is a major change from the past.

    With very limited resources to discover new music, Generation X highly depended on nightclubs to dictate what was worth listening to, hear new releases, and dance to those catchy beats. With advancements in technology and music streams at their very fingertips, millennials don’t feel as if nightclubs provide as much value for socialization or to the music industry anymore. “People mostly find new music on Facebook, SoundCloud, Twitter, Instagram, TV, and through friends,” says an anonymous source. Another survey participant wrote: “People who appreciate underground or live music are at music festivals, concerts, and jazz clubs.”

    These respondents are also adamant on no longer needing to go to bars and nightclubs to meet a potential partner. Thank you, Tinder! Again, nightclubs were an lively atmosphere for meeting people highly popularized by Generation X. These venues acted as a social hub for meeting new people and expanding a person’s network. With new alternatives, such as online dating apps and websites, many millennial women feel that online dating is a lot safer and much more efficient than the organic ways of years prior. Millennials understand that controlled online settings are more appropriate for finding potential mates than drunken fumbles in a sticky-floored club. Sophie Wilkinson, news editor of women’s lifestyle website The Debrief, makes an excellent point when it comes to women and nightclubs. She says that nightclub bouncers are much more focused on kicking out drunk men and preventing senseless fights rather than preventing harassment of female clubbers. “I think apps like Tinder provide a safer environment for women—it’s a bit easier to filter out any baddies if you are behind a screen.”

    If millennials aren’t going to nightclubs, where are they going?

    Millennials are noted for picking authentic experiences over frivolous spending, so why aren’t they out partying? Isn’t partying an experience? The same anonymous survey asked millennials what they enjoy doing in their free time inside of going to nightclubs. Responses included boating, binge-watching series on Netflix, hiking, biking, traveling, paddle boarding, skiing, kayaking, drinking wine, frequenting rooftop bars, playing guitar, reading, movies, concerts, napping, relaxing, reading the news, walking around the city, discovering new restaurants/foods, hanging with friends, home improvement projects, happy hours, and beer festivals. Nightclubs? Nope.

    Millennials are a generation of adventure-seekers and thrive off the momentum of living for authentic experiences. They are a generation of foodies who love venturing into new restaurants and attempt to identify with various cultural experiences. Traveling to exotic locales ranks among the preferred expenditures of millennials. They would rather skip the club, save some coin, and splurge on a trip of a lifetime.

    Do nightclubs have a future in the lives of Millennials?

    J.C. Diaz remains hopeful that as long as people want a place to hang out, dance, and have fun with friends, the nightclub scene should prosper once again if they attempt to regain nostalgic, or ground-breaking themes. Diaz says that “the industry is definitely evolving.  You’re beginning to see people focused on fusion or flavors whether it be cocktails or food. You’re seeing new design elements and advanced LED technology. You can make your place look like you’re in the middle of the forest or in space. It’s becoming more of a real life experience when you get companies like Cirque du Soleil partnering up with a club.”

    People should be getting a lot more out of their nightclub experience than they previously had. Nightclubs used to be a single room with a dance floor, DJ, and a few colorful lights beaming back and forth. Catering to the ideals and standards of the millennial demographic, who are tech-savvy adventurers, nightclubs now come equipped with LED walls, LED stages, state-of-the-art sound systems, and exciting laser lights. Will this be the saving grace?

    Millennials have the power to make or break this industry. Millennials realize the notion of their time being sacred will decipher where and how they choose to spend it. Nightlife venues need to cater to this demographic and make their nightclubs a true experience worthwhile.

    • Tom La Vecchia

      Founder of New Theory & X Factor Media

      Founder and Publisher of New Theory Magazine and Podcast. Serial Entrepreneur who loves wine, cigars and anything that allows to people to connect and share experiences.

    • Show Comments

    • Peter Duffield

      A very interesting article. I would also add that a sluggish economy with a high unemployment rate for millennials should also be factored in as to why the low turnout in nightclubs. Great article none the less.

      • Mary Anne Spigonardo

        I think you have the right people in clubs you will work out better!!??

    • ABC

      Intelligent, out of the box article!
      Congrats!

    • Jay Farber

      This author has apparently never been to Las Vegas or Miami

      • No Jay

        You apparently missed the part where he specifically mentions outside of hot-spot areas like Vegas or New York. Think the average millenial makes a journey to Miami just to party whenever they can? You’re missing a bigger picture, like the other 99.99999% of nightclubs in north america, that aren’t in Miami or Las Vegas.

      • Original Vince Carter

        Miami & Vegas are also tourist attractions where you GO to do a club while vacationing. Big difference from the old school “living for the weekend” club hopping tradition.

        • PrinceTim

          Preach on Vince !!!!

      • SirLizard

        Or to a writing class.

    • Brendan

      I totally agree that night clubs not as fun as they used to be. A friend and I tried to go out in nyc recently and we tried 5 night clubs. All rejected us admission, waited forever(up to an hour) or asked us to buy a table. For 2500$. Not just let us in, we will easily spend 100-200 on drinks. Not a 400$ of Moët like they wanted us to do. The problem is the people with money are denied access. And the people who are “cool” ,” friends with the door man” and “hot” don’t buy drinks. And mooch off of everyone else.

    • Colin Philip

      Interesting, although millennials are not the children of Gen Xers, they are the children of Baby Boomers.

      • Dana Cain

        Are you sure about that? I’m 43, a Gen Xer, and my sons are 19 and 20. Most of my friends are around my age with children anywhere from 2-25. My mom is 66, a Baby Boomer. Kinda old to be the (typical) parent of a Millennial, right?

        • Lady D

          I agree, but I am on the older-side of a Millennial- 29. But me and all my friends are children of baby boomers.

        • Ben

          I actually consider myself just a bit too early to be a millennial (damn kids get off my lawn!) (google: Oregon Trail Generation). My parents are 63 and 70. I think if you are late-twenties + you aren’t a “true” millennial which I think this article is talking about.

          My step sister and two nephews fall solidly into this group though (older Gen-X sisters). I am not sure any of them have even set foot inside a club.

        • A Millennial

          And the article considers your sons too young to be Millennials. The author uses a 1994 cut off.

      • Harry1818

        Some. I’m Gen X, born in 1970. My kid, born in 1992, is a millennial.

      • Hey now

        You nex to do your research. The children of baby boomers are indeed th e Gen-X.

    • Justin Case

      So, I read this and I was like ” True but the reasons are bullship.” Discover new music and not being able to have a convo? C’mon man. We went to the club to get one or all 4: get drunk, dance, meet people or just get some ass. Straight up. Social media killed the clubs. The newer generation can’t just socialize to meet new people . The guys can’t talk to the girls because they can’t take face to face rejection. The girls shoot down every guy cuz even a hello is considered “thirsty” because their waiting a 10. It’s easier to swipe right or left or post an ass pic, then pick out the best profile pic from commenters. They’ve lost and we aren’t teaching them “non-screen” socializing. So they are embarrassed easy and can’t take rejection. So we have generation of male/female online gangstas and offline carebears.

      • Burley B

        he’s right. young folk just don’t know how to meet strangers in public. it’s weird. I work on campus and I’ve witnessed how ‘socially awkward silence’ that once led to chit chat and nervous introductions, now are people’s “me-time” for their phones, and when that one kid without a phone says something like “hi, i’m carl, I just moved here, and i’m a freshman. are you a freshman”- he/she gets looked at like “weirdo, why are you talking to me, don’t you see me on my phone”

        • 10songsblog

          OMG! Berkeley campus is rife with this. Unless of course you already came with friends and have your group. The days of Animal House are over. If you don’t already have friends it is not going to be easy making any after a certain age. I personally have experienced how hard it is to break into social circles moving someplace new.

      • EDMSuperGirl

        Well put and sadly, very true.

      • Clay edwards

        You just hit the nail on the head

      • Clay edwards

        Jackpot

      • melissa s

        yup, bang on.

      • Dj John

        Exactly Justin!! You are so right! And the “online gangstas and offline carebears” line is perfect!!!!

      • Hank Yeomans

        Wow. This is the most accurate comment.

      • Sarah

        Can’t take rejection? I’m 29 and I would say majority of my gfs are in relationships. So when we go out it usually a birthday; stagette, or plain old girls night. Why does everyone assume people are there to meet new people or hook up? I can’t stand it when I’m just trying to have a few laughs, dance a little and get drunk with friends and strangers continuously come up to us with cheesy lines or trying to know my name. This isnt conceited – you just have to realize after 3 or 4 times I’m irritated my conversation with my gf has been interrupted, or that song playing I love I no longer can enjoy. It’s a lot. I get there’s no harm in trying to see if someone is single but I find when you politely tell them you don’t wanna be bothered suddenly you’re the bitch. And yes some guys are really cool about it and walk off. All I’m saying is not everyone is out to be hit on or socialize with new friends that night… And me being on my phone is a great tactic “please do not approach” and for the love of god don’t ask me if I’m having fun ( for the losers that use that line)

        • FLEXO1000101

          Justin was saying fellas can’t take rejection bc they don’t have the experience of recognizing when prior are open to approach or not. So after a few tries, they give up and don’t learn.

          Btw, fellas, you SHOULD use that “Having Fun?” line. Works as a good ice breaker if the girl is open to meeting you, and obviously nothing will really work that well if she’s not feelin you. But first things first, learn to recognize if she’s open or not first.

        • 10songsblog

          See that is the difference between generation my generation and prior largely went to dance. We might chat before going in the club. We might chat for a couple seconds on the sideline or way to the bathroom but lordy lordy we mostly DANCED 99.9% dancing from 9-3/4 AM some got shitfaced drunk but really I remember very few sloppy dancers even the clubs I go to now the sloppy dancers are usually the younger kids newly legal who look like the only way they will not feel awkward is to get blitzed.

          And I have NO idea where the creepers are being grown because that was not the epidemic young people make it sound like it is today. In 15 years I would count maybe 3 dudes as creepers. And this is gay clubs where supposedly we are ONLY there for hookups and sex.

          I think people are going out less because they are broke and dancing less because the music sucks. It is telling to me that empty floors generally get filled by older songs.

          • Amanda L

            We’ve painted EVERYONE as a creeper nowadays. It’s only men that are creepers by the way. We live in a society created by women demonizing men and it’s finally pervasive. A hello is creepy/thirsty. Saying hi to a stranger is annoying. Acknowledging you look beautiful after the monumental amounts of time you put into looking like you do is creepster behavior. A drink is to get you drunk..it’s probably spiked. You went out to hang with friends in a public place because…you don’t want to be in public.

      • FLEXO1000101

        Spot on. You should’ve written this article.

      • Reggie B

        I agree people are de-humanized

      • mineisbigger

        Maybe its douche bags like you who are oblivious to rejection and the word NO that’s turned nightclubs into new locations for Whole Foods and Walmart. There is a word for doing the same thing over & over and expecting a different result. But anywho…for what its worth you’re on point with your other comments.

      • mctrol

        You nailed it!

      • Richard Vasquez

        I have been a DJ since the seventies and still doing it. I have been driving Uber and my experiences have been wonderful. Mostly millennials take Uber and I can tell you I am very impressed with this 18 to 28 generation. They have little interest in the the clubs… but they do love new electronic music… the kind we like. The kind that is not played in clubs, They get their music from the internet. Contrary to common portrayal… they are not deficient in conversation… they love conversation. in my case they hate to leave my uber car. They are super respectful and polite. They are not spoiled and materialistic. I have never met these kids in clubs even though i was spinning for many of them.

        • Richard Vasquez

          The situation with clubs has evolved to this: The problem is that club owners are gravitating to drinkers and not dancers. Music that makes you happy and dance is not music that makes you buy drinks. I can’t blame them… they are struggling to survive… but the writing is on the wall as the article so professionally describes. The large clubs have really lost most of their clientele… some are closed who have been open for decades. The only large club in Miami that is doing well is a club that is camouflaged as a sex club and stripper club. Hello!

          • Songbird Maria Remos

            The old garage clubs in New York that didn’t

            • Ian Maddox

              Yes, bring back the rave!

          • Joe_Masseria

            The festival concept and the cheap flights have taking over.

            I am in Berlin and here small clubs/bars are relying more on creating social spaces where people can get involved, for example providing space for the activity of lesser labels / djs / musicians. A standard club just cannot compete with behemots like Berghain or the Festivals. Even formerly important clubs are nowadays full of tourists and kids.

          • 10songsblog

            The clubs I go to in SF are smaller are cater to niche audiences as opposed to trying to get single damn person in the place. The CAfe used to be cool but now that have resorted to go-go dancers because nobody dances to the shit music. Ruby Skye was always a joke that felt more like an awkward HS dance and people would should up nd not dance film a dude turning knobs. DNA is still pretty good but they are losing money. The End Up is just as greasy as ever but always on the verge of being shut down. More so because the new transplants are trying to kill the nightlife because they have to work in the morning. Also many I find are trying turn SF into a great place to raise kids, which it already was if you did your research on the best areas to raise kids.

        • Joe_Masseria

          Fully agree with you. Dj here too, 42. The new generation is amazing.

      • jane smithers

        As a said millennial, more what I took out of it is that we are broke from a depression and would rather do cheap stuff and when we do spend money it is more grand adventure things, unlike blowing it on over priced booze and shitty music that is to loud.

        • Laffin’atcha

          I bet you are a shitty tipper too…

          • jane smithers

            Waited tables for 4 years, bet I tip more them you.

          • jane smithers

            Also what does that have to do with anything?

          • Dingus

            And here the older generation acts like an immature child, when the millennial gave him/her a good reason as to why she doesn’t waste her life numbing her brain.
            I’m starting to think millennials aren’t the problem here 😉

          • madethistopost

            Make a stupid comment and run.

      • Simon Dion

        Same here. There is 50 % less nightclub than 10 years ago. As Justin said, social medias make social experience much easier and faster. In general – and we can’t blame them for this -, people look for easy and fast solutions.

      • Molly Erickson

        Wait, huh? I think you’re assuming a lot here, Justin. Not all millennials have ruined social skills because of social media…

        I’m 28 and I’ve always disliked clubs, even when I was younger (whether that’s something to do with my personality or generation is up in the air). Clubs are usually (not always, but mostly) filled with people who are seeking the things you mentioned above: getting drunk, dancing, meeting people, and trying (aggressively and sloppily) to get ass, usually embracing the idea of sexual harassment with wide open arms.

        …The reasons I (and my friends) steer clear of nightclubs are not because I’m socially awkward or because I think there are better places to discover music. I steer clear because people in night clubs are usually too aggressive and are desperately seeking attention in a way that really puts a damper on my night. Why would I spend a ton of money on a night out just to be harassed by guys or girls that I really don’t care about impressing? I think this comes back to the personality thing, but maybe not. I think one aspect many millennials have in common is a desire for authentic experience rather than shallow, meaningless money spending.

        Don’t get me wrong, I love to party, and I can absolutely take rejection if it comes, but angry drunks who have an inflated sense of self worth? Not worth my time, or the headache. I’d much rather spend a bunch on a night out with people who care about others and can hold an interesting conversation even if they are partying.

        Everyone agreeing with you here is probably older (or at least the older side of millennials) and not a part of this generation, and really aren’t taking a true critical look at millennials, but rather reverting back to “our way is the better way” mentality. some interesting info to consider: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LD0x7ho_IYc

        I’m not criticizing the way the previous generation enjoyed night clubs, but rather trying to point out the social paradigm shift as relevant and totally okay. We just experience the world differently because culture has changed. Not necessarily better or worse, just different. This doesn’t automatically mean we don’t have social skills (some of us don’t, but that has been the case in every generation).

        • Joe_Masseria

          Hi Molly, I agree with you, I do not think that millennials have any “problem” about social interaction at all. On the contrary, they are used to express their opinion freely and relate to each other in a much more free and authentic way. Generation X could be described as much more problematic in that way, actually.

          I would like to add, that the article is missing the most important point.

          The cause of the bad times for the night clubs is not generational or personal, it is actually macro economical… the ratio salary / life cost dropped down in the last 15 years due to the apogee of this stupid brain-less voracious global capitalism we are living nowadays, and this factor alone makes it dumb to spend the nights as we did in the past.

          People are picky because we don’t have other chance: “conventional” party is just too expensive compared with what we get for our jobs. And very often it is better to use the hard earned money in cheaper or better ways. The article totally misses the point. It is not a generational thing at all.
          I am from the former one and i came exactly to the same conclusion: nowadays clubbing is not worth it any more!

          And it is not that i don’t like it – actually it is my world! I am in my 40s, and i have been a professional dj for the last 15 years (and I still am), so i could directly witnessed this changes…also, I work and spend time with younger people, and i envy and respect them, because they are more informed than we were in the past, and that, logically, makes them choose more wisely.

          I love millennials. In general, the internet and social media made people wiser and more conscious, and this generation is the first one that grew up under a full blown internet. For me, that started almost in the University, and although i have been always a very technical guy, i can see that i am wired slightly differently.

          What does not change is that we are all basically the same, 100% adaptive organisms that squeeze the context for our benefit and our beloved ones. And while we enjoy wonderful lives full of gadgets, comfort and social media, there are each day more and more poor people who just cannot afford it. Hopefully things may start to change in a global scale very soon.

          • Luis Antezana (luckylou)

            Perfectly put!

          • Adam Westly De

            You said it right there, capitalism..

            • Amanda L

              yea…it’s cooler when everything is free right? That’s what it’s like at Mom & Dad’s place.

        • 10songsblog

          Well that did not use to be the case as I said above. It used to be people danced. Of course I agree music is shite so why pay for shite music and shite drinks. But that is all in the last like 8-10 years things have started to tank. But those millenials I do see at clubs seem so out of place… like they came because they just turned legal and then it’s like sooooooo what do we do now?

          They don’t know how to dance or are too awkward and self-conscious about how they dance or so image focused they don’t want to embarrass themselves. A far as I can remember my clubbing day in the late 90s when I first began going was basically Saturday Night Fever with house music. Like people danced their asses off. I don not know WHY it is more people just standing around or in SF those older creepers. But then again I see that mostly at larger venues. Niche clubs people fill the floor and DANCE baby!

      • 10songsblog

        OMG! That last line has me dying. LOL! It is soooooo true and I was born just as this was all being put into place. The technology, the over coddling, that safe space trigger BS. And for the record I still own a care bear!

    • Roc d beat

      It’s clear that tinder has replaced the old fashioned way of going out and finding a hook up. That is what it is .. Much easier to order up a date online. Not to mention cheaper and also no risk of getting in a fight or stabbed or even shot outside of a nightclub after getting ur shows stepped on and paying to much for drinks !! It’s sad but true

      • Tyronius Maximus

        Right!

    • Drew

      Netflix and Chill Insider?

    • JJ JackTheHouse Johnson

      Started clubbing in early 90’s. Started DJing in early 90’s. I do live broadcast events 2x a weekend on Internet radio station & will be doing fm guest mixes for local radio station next month. I still goto clubs but what I’ve found is clubs are notorious for overpriced drinks, top 40 music you can hear anywhere, and the cover charges can be forgivable if there is a prominent DJ spinning that night. Also another true story for many people is in fact the long lines out the door with nobody inside, the cliché need to be on the list or know somebody inside type mentality. The rude bouncers and staff can also play a huge part. I am known for the most part in my city whatever club I go to, but I also remember how I was treated out of town in bigger cities than mine. Clubs can be all about quantity or quality… for some reason it’s kind of hard to find both with decent drink prices… The old skool cliché VIP tables and bottle service is cool if reasonable priced. Ballers will spend to be top dog either way but celebrations with friends can be that much more obtainable and considered by more people if they weren’t being raped to pay 150.00 usd for a 30 dollar bottle of liquor they can buy off the shelf at the local grocery store. Presentation and bottle service is nice. The VIP seating is nice. The vibe must be nice as well. No good vibes off snooty people who act like they are better than everyone else. People want to club to have fun, dance, and be carefree with like minded people. rate an atmosphere that fosters that with kick ass djs and good music with cheaper drink prices and maybe a small cover at the door and you should be able to make money hand over fist by having quality and quantity of clientèle coming thru your doors! PS: Do I REALLY need to mention and quality sound and lighting system? In case some club owners forgot… that is MANDITORY. Peace out guys!

      • The Terrarizer

        ❤️ Couldn’t agree more.

      • Tone Williams

        JJ JACK THE HOUSE, YOU NAILED IT ON THE HEAD! I TOO DEEJAYED AND CLUBBED IN THE 90S AND STILL CLUB. HE COULD NOT HAVE SAID IT BETTER.

      • Erick Lee

        “The vibe must be nice as well. No good vibes off snooty people who act like they are better than everyone else. People want to club to have fun, dance, and be carefree with like minded people.”

        I agree with you on this one. This is key. Snootiness is a huge thing in what I’ve seen of club culture, and it is also something that alienates many people away from clubs.

    • Matthew McCahill

      There may be some truth to the story but the fact is there are more contributing factors such as bottle service. Why did bottle service change nightlife?
      It divided groups into their tables and socializing became a thing of the past. No body breaks out of their groups, one person usually pays and because the tables make so much revenue dance floors have all but disappeared from nightclubs. One last point of my rant and ill shut up is the relevance of VIP rooms no longer applied. Cant have a vip room when everyone at a table is VIP so now the cool crowd can’t be separated and if the cool crowd has to mingle with the regular crowd it diminishes the vibe.

      • JJ JackTheHouse Johnson

        I get what your saying. The VIP isn’t a bad thing but could be less over inflated is my point… Or create the uber VIP room and charge all you want, doesn’t change the fact that unless you have regular VIP paying customers to support the club… or if you don’t have peoole in the club to be VIP over, there’s supposedly less customers going to clubs in general according to this article. So they want to know overall reasons why people are differing from nightclubs. Simply put, overpriced drinks & cover sharges, lousy customer service, and atmosphere I believe are the main culprits.

    • Ben Schwartz

      This is an interesting read. I’ve seen so many people share it, probably since I follow a significant amount of nightclub and bar people. haha

      What’s interesting though, is the unanswerable question, which came first, the chicken or the egg? We all know that nightlife is a celebratory occasion for most… And, if you work in nightlife you know the best customers are the ones celebrating (a bachelor / bachelorrette party, birthday, anniversary, promotion, retirement, financial gains, a new business, etc… ) Now, my question is… If for one year, nobody would have birthday parties what affect would it have on nightlife? Or, weddings? Those are obviously unrealistic, but what if for one year the stock market went down, or there were very few promotions, or nobody’s retirement was compounding… What effect would if have on nightlife…? Then all of a sudden, you understand why nightlife would be reduced in the recent years. Not necessarily because of the generation, but instead because of the economical and general outcomes of our everyday life.

      Since the decrease in personal celebrations, nightlife has turned to entertainment. All of a sudden, we put the pressure on the venue to create reasons to celebrate. “Celebrate seeing your favorite DJ, or Entertainment”, which is fine but it’s the reason for most venues to close. Venues have recently put so much attention and cash towards creating reasons for the public to celebrate that it’s reduced the amount of attention and cash towards actual experience during the celebration.

      Hence, my answer: more weddings and birthdays 😉

    • Cam Co

      Ya not a fan of nightclubs… No sense in getting jumped by multiple guys just because they are jealous my fiance doesn’t want to dance with them. On another note, anyone who knows good music doesn’t go to nightclubs because it’s all top charts bullshit… Which is generally not good music at all.

    • David

      How young does this writer thinks Gen Xers are when they have kids? It partially destroys the point this article is trying to make. Extremely few Xers (people born 1962-1976, using this article as a guide for the end range) have kids that are old enough to be in this article’s Gen Y age range (1976-1994)? Most people consider Gen Y folks born between 1982-2002, which makes more sense considering Gen Xers age (ultimately 1987-now would make more sense if we’re really talking different generations). Since the average age a mother is during the birth of their first kid since the 1980s is roughly 25, the age of children from Gen Xers would be roughly 14-28; basically half of the people this age don’t go out to clubs because they’re not 21 yet. :/ There are likely more baby boomers who have kids born between 1976 and 1994 than Gen Xers. Perhaps the article should be comparing those who indulged in discos in the late 1970s (not Gen Xers) to their kids nowadays. Oy.

    • Kristin

      Great Article! However the font color and font are really hard to read on this these Gen-Y eyes. Consider revising please 🙂

    • Drewboo

      And fifteen years after all of that happened and was actually true, this article has been written.

      Millennials still go to nightclubs, but for different reasons. They don’t go to shitty ones their parents went to so those are closing because Tabatha Takes Over was not able to get to them in time to inform them how to not be shitty.

      We go to nightclubs now to listen to music essentially and chit chat/gossip and get some dance moves in. We go to make appearances and maintain acquaintanceships. It’s easy, it’s convenient. Online dating started in the late 90s, it’s not a news story. It has no bearing on 2015 except people think it does.

    • Tyronius Maximus

      Back in my day (The (90’s), Bars nd Clubs were places were people went to hook up and meet people. We were raised to social, and we didn’t have smart phones and the internet back, so we were forced to go out and socialize. The music was also better, and music made you move and dance. Going out to the club and bar was out way to blow off steam after a long work week. Back then, the fun was out in the blubs

      Nowaday, people meet up on the internet, and make plans online. If they do go to clubs, they are there to either be seen or to hang out with friends.

      Technology and texting, is how the 21-38 crowd socialize.

      That’s the truth–Ruth!

    • John Steel

      I agree with many of the comments previously posted. Club owners and promoters have cut their own throats. Ridiculous cover charges, insanely over priced drinks and a snotty attitude on the part of entitled employees. Not to mention much of the time lousy music. I have noted some time that if a club brings in older DJs,who play old school trance the club sells out. But the next night the club will go back to the same obnoxious crap from DJs who don’t know Darude from Beethoven.

      There are still great thriving club scenes, but they cater to specific genres. Generally they are run by promoters from the scene, not club owners.

    • Bob

      It seems the ‘gangster’ mentality of Rap has given ‘going out’, spending money on poor service, a ‘hostile’ environment hampers ‘clubbing’. ‘Good riddance”. Add to that the cost of a DUI as you leave the parking lot which makes for a ‘groovie overnighter’ in jail and $1500 bail. That’s OK the entrepreneurial “Millennial’ will open their own ‘hot spot’ . This is a generational ‘passage’ and life on earth is just fine.

    • Chris

      It’s called growing up. It’s just sad if you are over 30 going to the club.

      • nope nope

        The only people I know of that do it, are over 30. They are the only people who can afford it. Either them, or people with rich parents.

    • Melanie

      Too bad the yearspan it gives for millennials is WAY off. Millennials weren’t born until the mid 80s.

      • The CPT

        Exactly. That had me scratching my head.

    • tata

      Also keep in mind that this generation is juggling a lot and a lot of people don’t work regular 9-5 jobs anymore. I don’t remember the last Saturday I had off to go out because I work a static schedule. A DUI would also destroy our lives and we can’t all afford cabs back home.

    • “Digital” DJ VIc

      problem here where I live is the so called clubs are all copying each other which wouldn’t be bad if they all started copying one that had a clue as to what a club is supposed to be…. the old sound guy saying, shit in shit out applies here… you copy a dump all your going to do is create another dump…….as the article says, something I been saying for years and years…….. A CLUB SHOULD BE GROUND BREAKING, A CLUB SHOULD HAVE ITS OWN IDENTY amongst the neighboring clubs and its IDENTY should be BETTER then NOT the SAME AS the neighboring clubs!!!!!! Give the audience a reason to come to your club and they will come!

    • Dra

      Quick to blame us millennials when it was you gen X people who screwed the economy. I’ve never been to the “club” because I’m broke. I’m broke because of the broken economy you guys handed us. Don’t blame us for not blowing away money we don’t have. We’re “adventurous” cuz all we can afford to do is walk in the damn woods. You guys worked the same minimum wage jobs we have now, but you guys could pay off college and a house with them. You could raise a family with them. I can’t even afford myself. Screw your logic.

      • Austin

        This is the truest shit. People need to realize it’s not the 90s anymore and if they want to make some money they’d better figure out how to cater to the 1%… the middle class isn’t dropping money on anything it doesn’t have to, at this point…

      • Specks

        Dude, don’t blame the Gen-Xer’s… Blame the Baby Boomers… There the ones that have had the good life… Regardless what this article says Gen-X was 1964-1982… Yeah maybe a few of the Gen-Xers that were born in the mid 60’s have had a pretty good run but for the most part Gen-X is the forgotten generation… Was all about Baby Boomers and now its all about Millenials

    • joedrunteck

      This article made me happy! I am going to join tinder right now 🙂

    • kenny

      I have no idea what all this VIP service and bottle garbage is about. Is this a New Years Eve and New York City page??

      I grew up going to clubs, born in 1973. We spent $2-7 range to get inside. Or it was FREE.

      Once you were in, might expect to pay $4 for a shot, or $9 for a really strong Long Island. $4 for a Heineken. No special VIP tables and bottle service.

      We went to socialize, to dance to under ground new wave music. Be with people like us. A scene.

      My assumption is it is a few reasons. #1 many do not drive anymore. No desire to. The USA has poor public transit in many areas, and many have zero desire to pay $30 to take a cab home. The risk of a DUI is also not desirable and that is a good thing. Some do ride a bike, in cities that are designed to create access, but that is almost not existent in many others.

      Add late night bus service, street car, train, and better bicycle infra. More Car Share.. part of the desire to own less, includes letting go of auto use.

    • nope nope

      The main thing that sets millenials apart from earlier generations, is earlier generations liked to spend money on things like bars and nightclubs, millennials prefer to spend money ion things like food and shelter. This is chiefly due to the fact that the economy is completely and irrevocably fucked and is getting worse every day. Young people especially have a hard time procuring the essentials and have a bleak future to look forward to.

      Nightclub owners should focus on high end establishments that charge $500 for cover and cater strictly to the elite, because those are the only people benefiting from all the economic growth.

    • Jazmyn Adelle

      I had my fix of nightclubs and nightlife when I was younger, being one of the “millennials” as they call us born in the late 70s I just find an evening of wine and relaxation or some atmosphere that is extremely chill at the top of my enjoyable list. I also prefer to go someplace with live music if I am going to head out and not many places appreciate the art of live music anymore so it’s hard to find, not to mention music just isn’t what it used to be…

    • Sydney Cartel

      Justin Case nailed it

    • John Franco

      I agree with the article, but the new generation wants nice things but have no motive to be financially wealthy like generations past. I am 42 and I am use to paying $25-$100 to get into clubs and dressing nice. This generation wants VIP for Dollar menu prices. They want Luxury, high tech clubs and shows but cry at $20 covers. Of course clubs are down. Have you been to any Dance Club lately. No one dances with each other. They just bounce around their 4 group of friends and interact with no one. Might as well stay home and spend no money on cheap netflix, outdoor hikes and home made thrills because they are cheap and have no money.

    • brian rosenberg

      I am doing this 30 years. in some places like suburbs ( long island) we have lost our 20 to 35 year olds . 40 percent have moved. they cant afford housing and the job market sucks. DWI has not been mentioned here. too expensive taking cabs and now those who do drive wont have more than a drink …saves lives …kills business. when I was young we all drove after drinking . it was stupid but the biz boomed. today a man cave is better than a club most nights. you never had 800 channels of tv as a kid in my day. we had 8 channel’s and we could only see local games and Monday night football. now you can have everything you want right on your couch and tv or even your dam phone . ever watch 4- 20 something girls at a table? they are all texting people that are not there!!! lol . its a lot of variables but where I make my living this is the main reasons. it used to be cool getting in the door on the list. now its not the in thing. how about dress code. Saturday night was an event. you bought new clothes and got a hair cut Saturday day and planned the night all week. today its hats and jerseys and jeans that don’t fit. it went from jackets required to no sport jackets allowed lol .its no longer sexy to be a player in the club. HERES THE LAST THING THAT RUINED THE CLUBS . THE BIG TIME DJ THAT COSTS 20K TO SPIN. NOW WE HAVE TO CHARGE 40.00 TO GET IN AND THE ROOM IS NO LONGER THE STAR. the day people call your club and say ” who’s spinning next week” is the day you are on your way to chapter 11 . the following week when you have your 500.00 resident back people call and you say ” dj Joe blow” and they hang up and don’t come. we had 50 NIGHT CLUBS ON LONG ISLAND IN THE 80S …NOW THERE ARE 2 AND THEY ARE ALMOST DONE.

      ITS OVER FOR NOW FOLKS IN THESE PARTS. I HAD TO OPEN A AN UPSCALE STRIP CLUB TO MAKE MONEY AND I ALSO DO CONCERTS WITH LIVE NATION. BOTH MAKE MONEY. SEX STILL SELLS AND PEOPLE WILL COME TO ” SPECIAL EVENTS” NO MORE WEEKLY PARTIES. THEY PICK AND CHOOSE WHAT THEY LIKE AND WHAT THEY SPEND.

      ADAPT OR DIE ….IF YOU MADE IT THIS FAR IN MY RANT THEN CONGRATS…YOU MUST REALLY CARE.

      • Xtine

        I agree, strip clubs are still bumpin’ no matter what. Maybe they should start hiring real DJs instead of the usual awful “strip club DJs”, to break new songs to the girls who work there and the guys who frequent the place. Since they are the only venues left….use them!

    • Art_Vanderlay

      Meh, This article is partially right, but the comments are more correct.
      Gen X Gen Y & Millenials still go to clubs, all for different reasons.
      The bottom line is if theres no pussy in the club, Gen X wont be there to tap it (thanks to their massive cash reserves.. sorry Gen Y, we got the Baby Boomer Scraps you have to wait till your parents die before you’ll have any financial freedom.. if ever)
      Gen Y(who are still paying off their loans or crying that they aren’t smart enough to get out of their financial situation) are still figuring out if they’re gay or not.
      Chicks dont want a poor crying dude, they want to be pampered. Cash up to buy in dudes. Also you dont have to be a 10 to win it.. most Gen X males are old AF, but they still get plenty of nose rash and fish breath.
      Millenials haven’t got a damn clue about socialising F2F, which isnt too bad for Gen X, because its all Jail Bait anyway.
      Bottom line, ill say it again, clubs – cater for the babes, and you’ll get the money spenders, fuck the rest, let them nerd out on their Deadberries.

    • Mike ahuja

      Very interesting article, and the concepts and vibe of most clubs these days are lame and lacking anti mainstream – most simply put are not cool and a waste of money – u make it cool well ppl will go

    • Richard Parrilla

      Speaking as a Millenial myself (born in 1986), it is rather hard to talk to anyone about anything when you’re trying to compete over loud lasers and thumpety thump. Plus loving in Atlanta up until I was 23 1/2 I found no real place at all for anyone that wasn’t the upper crust or on their way there. I left for San Antonio in 2010, disappointed that there was still no place for someone like me in the night time, and that everyone just seemed to be copying each other’s 20-song playlist, and it wasn’t even the top hits of the day.

      I tried DJing briefly late 2010 into part of 2011, and was able to break a few new songs into the San Antonio market, even doing live remotes for my internet radio station, Merge98FM. Sadly, my format would totally not fit with today’s nightlife. I refuse to play rap, Spanish, or dubstep, and I have since found a niche doing markets and swap meets instead. At least there I can use the power of internet radio to tell the world about the wonderful things being made here in San Antonio.

      An offbeat swap meet or marketplace would probably fit the whole experience vs possession paradigm wouldn’t it?

      Anyway, those of you reading this and want some music for your marketplace and maybe some promotion for your vendors, I don’t charge since it’s public (private I charge). I’d love to come over and show you what I do and how Merge98FM can work for you, and if you like what you hear, contribute to our tip jar, to be passed around after at least half the market has finished. How much is contributed depends on whether I broadcast from tour market qs often. No charge means no obligation to fill a dance floor or play anything obnoxious, but I do take requests and will play it provided it isn’t too far off from Merge98FM.

      I wonder if this will become a thing. I seem to be doing OK between Austin and San Antonio.

      • Xtine

        Hi Richard, I sympathise with you. I also refuse to play rap, etc except as a joke now and then. I’m into Goth/Industrial music which is quite a strong scene in Europe, Scandinavia, South America etc and survives as a niche in the States. I also refuse to do stupid stuff like post my playlist online – DOH! In other words, if they want to know why my sets are so good, they have to GET OFF THEIR BUTT AND COME OUT. IF all DJs would stick together on this, it would be more of a motivation to get people to come out, AND it would discourage the problem of any old schmo downloading songs and calling themselves a “DJ”.

    • kevin Dailey

      I have been working in the Club Business for over 20 years in LA Miami, NYC as a promoter, and event producer and have been to 100s of MAJOR clubs around the world from Europe South America, Asia and Russia .and here is the REAL problem. IT’s the CLUBS them selves Today THEY SUCK Nothing more than a bunch of DARK BLACK UGLY PIECES OF SHIT!! EVERY BAR AND CLUB.. Ass brown furniture lame LED lights and the same Gothic crap.Same Chandeliers, EVERY CLUB EVERYWHERE.. Back when I started in the mid 90s it was the CLUBS that made the DJs NOT the DJs making the club. They focused on stylish design and themes and the MUSIC was only ONE element of a complete experience. Clubs had Ambiance and a vibe.. There wasn’t just some lame LEDS and lasers behind the DJ in a black cave like today. WE created themes and used video projection units with killer CONTENT projected onto scrim making the image float in space and we REDECORATED the club and had choreographed dancers. The clubs were bright and colorful In Miami when Nikkii Beach first opened it was white and Perl was white with an Orange Fur wall and and killer lighting. Opium had an Asian theme and Mint was Mint green with Palm trees running down the middle in the club with 8 10 foot round white plastic Frisbee shaped lights suspended from the ceiling that chanced color. The whole club would change color from purple or green or blue creating a completely different vibe instantly.. SO the mood would change to match the music, You had bed..It was white with fabric and was the first club to use beds to lay and sit on.. In NYC Twillo had Geiger the creator of the Alien from the movie design the VIP room. As time passed we had to spend more time COVERING up the garbage because clubs became darker and uglier over time as club owner cared less and less about the vibe and more about just getting a name DJ to play.. Now the clubs are ALL THE SAME Same music an the same ugly cave and there is no vibe to the point that they don’t even put a light on the DJ. I was just at Exchange in LA to see Claude Vonstroke and Victor Caldarone at Sound and they ware in the dark.. YOU COULDN’T”T see them It was a JOKE… SO it’s club owners that are doing it to them selves because they DON”T GET IT and club goers aren’t as interested..

      • Xtine

        I fully agree that today’s owners don’t “get it”. They don’t consult with Nightlife Experts who have been in the business 20 + years BEFORE they design/plan/decorate their clubs. OR, the crowds dwindle so much that now event producers are stuck working with yokel small club owners who are “doing it for a lark”, “doing it for a tax write off”, etc etc who don’t know and don’t care what it is supposed to look like/be like, how the crowd flow patterns are supposed to go, what the patron sees/hears as soon as they walk in the door, etc. How they could squander millions to get a sub-prime result is beyond me. There really needs to be workshops for future owners/managers so they can ket key tips ahead of time and not do things that are just DUMB.

    • Scotty B

      While Tinder has made people lazy and less interactive, this story FAILs in one big way.

      There are more nightlife options than ever before. More lounges, ultra lounges, bars, bistros, coffee houses, high end movies theatres, adult arcades like Dave & Buster’s plus the technology that allows everyone to be a DJ rather cheaply and have a set up for house parties.

      All of this was not nearly as readily available in the 90’s, 80’s or 70’s with the age of the aforementioned “discotheques”.

    • Nightlife Organizer

      All the answers this article gives are really not the reason why many nightclubs are hurting. The answer is actually just 1 main reason. Music Festivals.

      The target demographics for nightclubs is really the (21-30 for male) (21-28 for female, with a 10% disclaimer for ladies underage who get in somehow). With that being said, this generation started going to music festivals like EDC, Coachella, etc. Younger crowds usually set the trend, and nowadays, more and more people tend to “save” this experience for major festivals which are happening more frequently. The change in the music industry as well. EDM/Trap, replaces the traditional Hip Hop/Pop scene more and more. People save up money now to see “Kaskade, or Tritonal” at stadiums. The money is there (economy isnt doing as bad as it was), its just that the disposable income for college students, post graduates and the newly working professional only has so much they want to drop at dance experience.

      Also, the older generation 77-89, are settling down. (Marriage, steady relationships, etc).

      So with that being said, the “music/dance” scene is simply evolving. As the younger generation gets older, they go to Massive festivals and go to the occasional nightclub when a popular (EDM dj is playing) and special occasions (like the article mentions…bdays, bachelorette parties, etc).

    • carlos

      I frankly don’t think that it’s that people can’t talk over the loud music because I’ve been going out clubbing since the mid 80’s and have never had a problem with the litany of problems mentioned in this article: loud music; the drinks; tables; getting into clubs; etc.
      I think the kids are just not social. They are used to socializing behind the security and comfort of the Internet. Face to face socializing is difficult for them as they have not developed the social muscle to go out and meet people; some of whom you won’t like; some you will like. Social interaction in an environment like a club can be daunting to a person that has grown up socializing in large part in a nice controlled virtual reality environment where you don’t have to even be dressed or showered. On the net you can switch up social websites with a click of a finger. In the real world you need to go get cleaned up and get dressed; get to the club and make your way in through the line and metal detectors and frisking; get your coat checked at the coat check; get a drink and feel out the place. After all of that, If you don’t like the place, round up your friends if you are in a group; convince them to leave the club; get to your car; avoid police looking for drunk drivers; find another club and maybe look for parking if they don’t have a lot; get on line and pay to get in and then try to get comfortable in the new environnent.

      There is a huge difference in real world interaction and virtual interaction. Real world interaction can become tedious to a person that hasn’t had to do all the little minutia needed to socialize in a real world environnent.
      Patience and equinimity is the key. They don’t have it for real world social interaction.

    • Jeremy B

      Yeah, we should listen to the media mantra and spemd our money on ‘experiences’ – cheaper for advertisers to produce and they can sell us all the expensive disposable accessories for our ‘experiences’ like 200 dollar hiking poles. Gen X and Boomers used sticks they found on the ground.

    • K.B.

      First off I’m not a Millennial. To catagorize 1977 to 1980 into mellenial is actually insulting. I’m GenX I was raised as that, that’s what they called us in school growing up. I’m part of the Industrial age of the first VCR, cordless phones, the first car phone, the brick of a cell phone, beepers, Atari, Nintendo, Macintosh, Gateway and so on. My parents are Baby Boomers.
      Now to your artical. Being almost 40,… 38 to be exact I stopped going to clubs when I was 30, why do you ask? Because I grew up, money was more important then high priced drinks, bumping and grinding with someone you wanted to get away from and then being able to have a conversation. My generation started working at 16 so we had money to spend on stupid stuff, gas was only $1 a gallon, so driving was nothing. We also got married, and have families. Now let’s talk about the true millennial age. I’d say 1990 to now. They live off mom and dads money, they probably still live with them. Gas is now $3 a gallon if not more, they live on their computers and venture out to the coffee houses, and town bars. I’m not sure where you did your research but I think it’s pretty lame. Also the music these days suck. My generation,….. GenX had way better music, we use to be able to sing to our music, the music these days is just to electronic, and repetitive, ugh so annoying. But then again each generation is different. But please don’t put me in that category as I’m far from a melennial. You need to review your dates again and make sense . Baby boomers gave birth to GenX & Gen Y, Gen X gave birth to melennials and GenY falls into the millennial time factor. I hate sloppy research.

    • Mia

      You can always tell who isn’t in the Gen Y/Millennial age group. We are not all lazy, antisocial freeloaders. The truth is, we’d rather splurge on an experience at a club while on vacation in Miami, Vegas, NYC, etc. Why would we go to nightclubs as repeat customers? To see the same drunk people every weekend? To waste our precious free time with rude or slow service, long bathroom lines, and someone inevitably spilling something on us? No thanks… house parties or a place with a conversation conducive atmosphere is more appealing.

      • 10songsblog

        LOL! So you whole group get stereotyped as lazy and selfie obsessed and then you in turn stereotype the older set and the cycle continues.

        You clearly have not done much regular clubbing if you think it is all rude drunk regulars. I can tell you from personal experience that you have to try out different spots and different nights at each spot to find your fit. Of course THAT takes work and effort beyond, say reading a yelp review.

        And if you think all staff is always rude. The people I see getting the most shit from staff are young because they have NO DAMN patience, to be let in or to get drinks. Also have you ever tipped a door man at a club even a dollar? It is not required at all but I guarantee you make friends quickly that way if it is genuine. And who knows be nice and you may even end up on the guest list!

    • Rasool Verjee

      As a 60 plus “millennial” who frequented the likes of Tramp, Regine, Chinawhite and ventured into a failed nightclub business I agree. The future is in “experiences”. Immersive, and interactive events the best example of which was The Betrayers Banquet.

    • millenial

      I would go clubbing if it was roller skating, and disco, or fun dance styles. Something more engaging than packed in a room full of loud music and drunk people, that you could see at a festival done by the real deal.

    • Britte Millee

      Sounds like the same basic laws of supply and demand to me: self-esteem, state of economy, people finding better options, and greed killing business. So many better ways to celebrate life and music via festivals, house concerts, and other specialized venues who offer less risky environments and more bang for the money spent

    • Cutecap

      First of all….. Not all millennials parents are damn generation x, I’m 26 I was born in 1989 so clearly I’m a millennial but my dad was born in 1955 and my mom 1957 clearly they we baby boomers my oldest half brother is a gen x and my other half bro and sis were born very early 80s but I don’t consider anyone born before 85 as a millenial but that’s just my opinion, so yes baby boomers DO have millenial children,(this comment bothers the f$ck out of me) 2nd I stopped going to clubs my soph year of college because everything got repetitive no one broke new music just same top 49 crap and because yes the money to get in especially them calling vip section as just two bar stools I hate that crap no one dances they just stand around and stare which I hate I live in Atlanta ga and even I noticed the change I do however go out to eat a lot but I have always been like that .shi!ttyjob pay no matter what field because some feel they are not getting what the pay use to be for that field years ago,expensive living costs (majority not all but majority of the rent in Atlanta for a one bedroom is over 1100 now not even in the best parts of town either wasn’t like that 6years ago); long ass work schedules to make up for that job pay and of course student loans are main reason I hear(I know not all) from other millennials as to why they don’t go out and opt for other things

    • Mark Diamond

      Curiously, as the article states, two of the reasons folks aren’t going to clubs is because of long lines and being pushed around in a crowded atmosphere. If not many folks are going out, it would seem there wouldn’t be lines or crowds. I hope that people of all ages will continue to go to and support venues that offer live music, instead of the dj scene. People of all ages should still want to hear, watch, and experience musicians creating music in front of them, and where the audience can be a part of the creative journey.

    • Shea Tighe

      This article portrays milleniels as the most mature and in touch group to ever walk the earth – In my experience a vast majority don’t read the news, are quite selfish in their extracurricular endeavors, and get more wasted and look for the “hook-up” more than any other demographic out there. No mention of the over-the-top drug and alcohol fueled binge festivals like the yacht week, burning man, ultra, adult spring break, etc. that these kids go to instead of night clubs. Please don’t put mellenials on some sort of enlightened pedestal – it’s silly. The activities you described they take part in like kayaking, and reading a book is from faulty data if you ask me. If you were asked how you spend your free time as a millenial, would you honestly say “get wasted and hook up”? No, you wouldn’t. They are also rhe most ill-informed group of people I’ve interacted with. And btw, I’m 31.

    • Erick Lee

      I guess I’m not surprised if night clubs aren’t doing as well lately, but raves and large scale music festivals like the Electric Daisy Carnival are thriving like nothing we have ever seen before.

      Just 2 cents from a millennial: I’m 28. I only go clubbing once in a blue moon now if enough friends ask me to go. I do kinda find it fun, but the fun factor I get at clubs simply no longer justifies the cost. I also no longer really have the time or energy to go and get drunk every week. Time and energy is precious, and I want to spend what I have only on things that are most worthwhile. Raves and music festivals on the other hand are special occasions that don’t happen as frequently, and my experience, they are a MUCH BETTER bang for your fun-factor buck. I recommend everyone to experience it at least once in their lives. Age doesn’t matter, because (although not perfect), things like peace, love, kindness, respect, tolerance, and freedom of self-expression are driving forces of rave culture, which is one of the main reasons why I love it passionately.

    • Mark

      They are broke end of story. They voted for it and next time the article will talk about how they don’t eat anymore. It is called Socialism.

    • bob

      First of all money of the younger generation are making minimum wage 9.00 an hour .So if club owners would drop there prices to the level these kids can pay am sure they would come out to play .

      • TomL

        I think the economy is playing a bigger apart I agree. But 23% of millionaires are millenials so someone is making money..m

    • Cade

      Millens are very materialistic and an entitled generation..Not Gen X.

      • TomL

        I actually think the opposite is true, millenials prefer experience over material things.

    • Spencer

      People are also going to escape rooms such as EscapeIQ!

    • Durr

      Millennials are born between 1982 and 2002.

      • Chris

        But for the scope of this article, its 1994 because anyone born after that isn’t 21…

      • Amanda penny

        I thought that was funny that “MILLENNIALS” were not born in the years covering that “thousand year mark” year 2000. In all actuallity there are no precise dates when each generation starts and ends; most researchers and commentators use birth years ranging from the early 1980s to the early 2000s to qualify Millennials (Generation Y)
        I guess the writer meant that the 21 to 38 yr olds were the target market of these clubs.

    • SirLizard

      It’s “discotheque” not “disco-tech”.

      • Bob Scarborough

        I caught that, too. The writer is a Millennial, the worst-spelling generation ever in American history, as well as the poorest users of written communication.

        • John

          haters gonna hate!

        • Megs

          And older generations have a tendency towards awkward sentence structures. As a Millennial, I am here to help with your sentence: “The writer is a Millennial. They are the worst spellers and poorest users of written communication in all generations of American history.”

          • Stillfy

            Oh fuck you

        • Megs

          Are we really going to get that nit picky? Discotheque isn’t even f-ing English. It’s disco for short. Disco-tech for English speakers is just fine because “theque” is kinda confusing and we don’t need more confusion in this world, do we? #DiscoWTFque.

          • Lou Bompenseino

            That’s absurd. “Disco-tech” is not “just fine”. It’s incorrect and makes the writer look stupid. As does her repeated claim that Gen-X are the parents of the Millennials. Gen-Xers are too young for that – most of us Gen-Xers who have kids have gradeschoolers and middleschoolers. The parents of the Gen-Xers are the Baby Boomers. At best we’re the aunts and uncles… This is some seriously poor writing.

            • Oren

              Thank you for being smart.

            • Justin

              UHHHH…NEGATIVE!!! My mother and father are Gen X’ers. They are both 47 years old and I am 28. My Grandmom is a baby boomer. Almost all of my friends parents are young gen X’ers as well so I don’t know how you gathered your info or what town you live in lol My parents were the MTV generation.

            • Pat

              I’m of the Baby Boomer generation and my child is a Millenial. 🙂

            • Amanda

              Ermm.. I’m sorry, I’m really going to have to disagree. My parents are from generation x and I’m 26. When I think of grade schoolers I think of generation y, not generation x. Quite literally, all of my friend’s parents are from generation x. While it’s true some millennials came out of the baby boomers, I think you’ll find our parents are much younger than you think they are.

        • Alex

          Well, which generation do we have to thank for our education? I love how boomers especially love to crap all over the generation THEY raised.

          • TomL

            Millenials prefer experience over material things. Its not right or wrong, the sharing economy is here to stay for a very long time and it is a true generational divide.

        • Amanda penny

          Its the texting that killed both skills. Spelling and grammar down the drain with “Were r u?” “Me hir alredy” ????

      • Amanda penny

        I noticed that one too. I actually did a double take because i was just mildly browsing the article. The article had a point and i actually understood the point but it was not explained plainly. It went around and around in circles when there waa just 2 points to it. I didnt realise 2 points could make 10 sections hahahaha

    • DingDong

      Very interesting article especially with the comparisons of what millennials are doing instead. I’ve lost count with how many times clubbing will lose against boating or even archery.

      • Megs

        You too? There must be a lot of us…enough to include in an internet article.

    • SirLizard

      Did you reread what you’d written even ONCE?!

      “They are a generation of foodies who love venturing into new restaurants and trying new foods. . They’re a generation of foodies who love “discovering” new restaurants, who enjoy finer things in life, but are not bound by them.”

      So, we get it, they’re a generation of foodies. This isn’t an important enough point for you to emphasize it twice, two sentences in a row. There are many other concepts in the article (which is actually an interesting subject, and you present some good points) that are repeated over and OVER again.

      And what does THIS mean?! “Millennials are a generation of adventure-seekers and thrive of the momentum of living for moments.”

    • Dane Tidwell

      The author of this article is completely illiterate and uneducated.

      So… a millennial.

      There is no way Gen X could father Gen Y/Millennial children. They overlap by about 5 years. Unless a GX popped a child out at 10-15 years old.

      And that whole internet/www/apps things that GX doesn’t understand? Bitch we invented it. Mark Zuckerberg? GX Jony Ive (The guy that created your iPod, iPhone, Mac (that you furiously typed your poorly researched essay on)? GX

      Sure, there are some _late_ 20 year olds making apps. Tinder, for instance. But I wonder who’s been paying for the apps? VCs. Who are mostly GenX.

      There’s only one reason GenY doesn’t go to clubs. They’re broke. They’re all aspiring Carrie Bradshaws/Inventors/Baristas who live with their parents and can’t afford to go out.

      • Harry1818

        This article is poorly written, yes, but plenty of millennials have Gen X parents. Your math is flawed.

        • Lou Bompenseino

          Maybe, but they would be outliers – the vast majority of Gen Xers have young children NOW, but the purposes of the article, the writer made the wrong generalization – the majority of Millennials have boomer parents.

          • Risa Sinistradium

            I’m a Millennial at the age of 22, boy of my parents are Gen X at 39 and 46. Are there are a lot more like me, your math is deeply flawed.

        • Dane Tidwell

          To have an accurate comparison, you have to use data from the same sources. Harvard Center identifies GX as 1965-1984. They allow some overlap between GX and GY, as GY is between 1976-2005

          • Tom

            I understand there are a fe different institutions outlining dates for millenials. Bottom line is that they have a lot of influence by sure of size and wealth. it’s a different ball game now and companies need to adapt, nightclub industry is simply a small example of different preferences. Us older folks are different as we want to own vs. share, but there is no right or wrong. We’re adopting our preferences to millenail preferences as a way to survive.

      • Debbie

        I was thinking the same thing. All four of my children fit in the millennials and I am a baby boomer!

        • ReeMK

          Dito I’m a boomer with a Millennial adult children.

      • Denise

        I know that’s right!!

      • Marcus Scott

        I’m a Gen X ’78 and Have a daughter who is an adult millennial. Not quite 21 tho but an adult but not a child

        • roseba

          Whoah! I was born before you, and my kid is 10. You must have had kids very young.

    • PrinceTim

      It’s really sad for my age group ( 53 year old black male ) living in the Bay Area, because people here are basically rude,mean and have that I’m happier than you attitude. Which is pure Bullshit. I can’t wait to get the fuck out of here. The best venue I’ve come across is this guy named Phil at Phil @Professionals Guild parties when they are somewhat local. Look out for the upcoming Halloween party in San Ramon he brings in a good nice crowd, don’t waste your time with The Society of Singles, that guy named Rich Gross is an idiot and he attracts gold digging whores, especially the asian ones.

    • Jon Noar

      I’ve been in the business for many years. I agree with some of your points that the clubs need to evolve, but many other people in the business as well as a large amount of patrons dropped off when smoking laws took effect. It happened slowly, but when I asked people why I haven’t seen them for awhile… many answered that it was too inconvenient to have to get up go out in bad weather & huddle as if they were second class citizens just for a smoke. Back then they cited staying home more frequently along with other choices.The government once again has had its hands on my lifeline, telling people who spent millions maybe on their establishments what they must do. In states where it is still legal they have not seen such a huge drop-off. Of course that is not the highest percentage or reason, but technology has given us many other reasons too try alternatives too!

      • Debbie

        I agree, drinking and smoking go together for a lot of people, I know people who only smoke when they drink. So the going outside for a smoke is such a pain you start having house parties instead and people just crash there so no drinking and driving either.

        • Xtine

          Hi Debbie, the smartest club designers take this into account and have a smoking area inside the club that is open to the air, so that there is no need to leave while having a smoke.

    • Riko

      Interesting article Angela, I’d be interesting in discussing the future of live music. Contact me sometime!

    • Tom

      Netflix and chill killed the nightclub and why buy the cow (go to a club) when you get the milk for free (Netflix and chill)

    • Joe

      I did my own club in my garage, no need to go out anymore. I don’t like lines or idiot bartenders. I feel more secure at home and I do have fun with friends and family.

    • Takehiko

      Intriguing read

    • Dave

      If they say “nightclub” or “millennials” one more time…

    • MarkZimmer

      This article missed the most significant issue of all. There aren’t any new dance crazes. A new dance would ignite this industry the way the hustle or line dances did in the 70’s , 80’s and 90’s.

      • Philip Knight

        Totally irrelevant. We’re not living in 1962.

      • James Maxx

        I think the last large dance craze was the Macarena….uuugh.

      • James Maxx

        There’s the Twerk phase. Basically women learning to dance like strippers.

    • joe

      Isn’t it odd that nightclubs are on a decline and going out of business but the reasons people are avoiding them are long lines, slow bar service and being in a crowded atmosphere? Sounds like a pretty good business to me.

    • Doris Wiley

      Great idea for an article. Some of the greatest writers in the world were made so by good editors. The problem with many online “publications” is they don’t bother with editors. This article suffers from a lack of editing and re-writing consequently the author comes off looking like an idiot. Many of our friends are in the same boat with us, that being baby-boomers who are parents of millennials. Our one and only is 22; he and his friends go to music festivals and then tend to follow those bands when they play live at local clubs or vice versa. They also go to jazz clubs. However, if you analyze how they spend the majority of their down time it is hiking, boating in some form, camping and chilling with friends in their apartments. Some of have taken an interest in cooking and healthy eating and so are breaking bread with their friends. While our son lives in a medium sized city in the mid-south, he was raised in one of the top 3 metropolitan areas of this country and is use to museums, fine dining, travel, a father who cooks and a family who reads and enjoy the outdoors. He is going to spend down time in a variety of ways besides hanging out in the clubs. I think you will find that of many millennials raised to appreciate all the world has to offer.

    • Darren

      You just have to evolve to bring them out. Most of those reasons that are in that article are outright fixed by the clubs I work for. For one, Clubs tend to hold the line for no reason to make the club se “exclusive” we dont do that. When 100 people show up we will try to get them in as fast as possible. And we have drink.specials before 11:30 (Hell you get in FREE befotr 11:30) And we specialize in birthday parties and booking the biggest celebrity hosts, thoose milenials are using instagram. If you book a big instagram host.(sports, music, television, reality) They will come to your club. Most of thoose clubs dont do much but build.a building expecting people to come.. This is why we’re sold out and packed out every weekend. People want to party, but nowadays you have to try harder to get people in the door.

    • Brian K. James

      I can’t stand that clubs close. Nightclubs for me were places where I wasn’t discriminated against, where I wasn’t laughed at for dancing myself silly, and everyone had a good time. I started going clubbing when I was 16, and I am 44 now. I STILL go whe I can. I go to support the DJs, artists, acts that I like. While Inhave gone to some festivals (ElectricZoo!), I really love the smaller spaces than these sometimes over-done, insanely expensive concerts.

      Bottle service at clubs to me has turned some of my favorite places into the places I now avoid. I don’t drink alcohol AT ALL. I came to see the local DJs, the headliner, possibly see some friends, as well as make some new ones.

      As for the “millennials” being adventure seekers? Most of the ones I see are on their phones, texting. Not all, but most. I asked some that I work with about what they do for fun once. Snowboarding was one, Netflix, Madden and other various video game titles came up, and “get drunk” was almost mentioned by every one of them.

      Music wasn’t even mentioned.

      Now some of the others I asked said write, and this meant text, music, and poetry, cooking, even knitting was in there. But with this group, music was mentioned, either with DJing it, creating it, rapping lyrics, and going to clubs or seeing shows.

      So, here’s an idea. Club owners: spend more time giving local DJs their shot, and less time on booze. NO MORE EFFIN’ BOTTLE SERVICE. No more “ladies get in free” either. Have drug sniffing dogs at the door if you must. Have top-tier DJs come through every once in a while. No more scantily-clad waitresses or staff. $10 cover at all events except New Years where it’s $20. The local DJs will help promote the place because they are going to be spinning. Make it about the music and the community, once again.

      Just my thoughts.

    • Rex Bush

      I spent about 5 minutes digging around and didn’t find any evidence to support this hack of a writers claims. The research backing up this article is almost as bad as the grammar. The waste of space even sighted “long lines” as a reason we don’t go to nightclubs. Seems like millennials are incapable of properly coming to a well researched conclusion based on facts. I mean, just look at the idiot Millennials put in the Oval Office. I’ll bet a bottle at Hyde the community college educated Forever 21 wearing side slam is at a Bernie Sanders rally right now, hoping, if elected, she can get a free education at an actual college someone has heard of. If that doesn’t happen she should go to selling Herbalife or reporting the weather. I mean, at least she looks descent enough to stare at for a 30 second pitch of what we all know will end up being complete bull sh*t.

      • Tom

        comments on the article seems to be mixed. I do hate line though.

      • Richard (Dick)

        I’m just glad as a 24 year old I am making six figures doing what I love on a daily basis instead of conforming to corporate bullshit like the “X’ers” did. What a waste of a life and generation, enjoy working until 70 and feeding off Social Security to get by. Get bent and die old man, free up some more money for the young adults who cant move out of their parents because of your generations inability to be self sufficient without credit. I would rather see a poorly written article by someone who can make it on their own instead of someone who can write the perfect essay and relied on a companies money to get by for decades. BTW (which is by the way if you didn’t know that), your generation is putting people in the oval office, millennials don’t vote. Do your research, there is this thing called Google, it is usually up to date.

        • roseba

          Gen Xers are still paying for college tuition they borrowed twenty years ago. They are (have been) just as financially screwed as Milennials. The only difference is we didn’t have the internet in our early 20s and we don’t have the numbers.

    • Justin

      I am 28 years old. Now i enjoy all of the other activities listed but I still love a good club night once a week. Millenials are extremely social and outgoing. Nightlife and clubbing isnt stopping anytime soon. #housemusicbaby

    • JAMES

      drink prices and paying to see a guy spin records is stupid. We used to go out with 40 bucks and come home coked up and drunk as a skunk, with a girl or two…..
      the rents are so high for any business they have to charge 20 bucks(with tip) for one watered down weak ass drink. the 1 % ruin everything.

    • Bob

      Millennials have no social skills, that’s why they don’t like to go to places where they actually have to speak and interact with other human’s!

      • T K Johnson

        I would respectfully disagree, We have exceptional social skills, but most my friends prefer smaller more intimate gatherings where we can have actual conversations. That is often difficult to achieve in a room packed with people with music over 85 decibels. Again, my friends and I maybe the outlier, but I’d like to think we’re as normal as any other group in their mid 20’s.

        • Brentwong625

          He’s being sarcastic. However I would me a 29yr male. Native San Franciscian. Im not too picky about the age group. But i usually go out to club with friends when we want to see a certain DJ. Also love dancing!

        • CitizenWhy

          I agree. I’m an old guy but I attend some of these places you mention and have conversations with Millens (but don’t linger too long unless we really connect and they indicate it).

        • 10songsblog

          Well my question why the fuck go out when you can have a conversation at home, invite your plas over and bring your favourite drinks? I go out to specifically do things I cannot do at home or a cafe. Dance my ass off to music at loud volumes not to chit-chat.

      • Taylor Huston

        I have great social skills. A loud, dark, overly packed nightclub is just not a good place to exercise them. All of the social skills in the world don’t matter if people can’t hear a word you’re saying.

        I just use the internet to find groups and activities and things of other people that share my interests and interact socially with them there.

        • 10songsblog

          You realize social skills go beyond talking, right? And the non-verbal cues are the ones science reports say are dwindling in the younger set. Could tell if somebody was interested in you by the glance of an eye or the curl of a lip? Those are the cues you use at a noisy dance club. Take the talking outside or to the bathroom.

          • chris007

            I’d say the reason why people stop going to clubs is most guys. I’ve been to clubs as well. You approach a girl to dance with, they all same the same response: “I’m waiting for my friends” or “I have a boyfriend” the situation gets worst if the girls comes with a groups of friends that has like 2 guys in it. So you don’t know if she had a BF or not. Also you have a high chance of getting cockblocked.

            For me, it’s one of the reason I don’t want to go clubbing

    • liza

      maybe clubs arent popular in america but seems they are utterly packed in ibiza

      • Tom

        European clubs a re different than in the US. They are typically open, often outside and do not really have a pretentious feel. Europeans make it more social than trying to look cool like Americans.

        • chris007

          That’s why I want to go to Europe and experience thagfun over there. But with the Rose of terrorism over there…I’m getting skeptical.

    • Bryan ladow

      I bet you would not know a party if you were at one. Another story from another out of touch writer.. Look around. People are having fun all around you.. You missing out because you keep your eyes closed.

      • 10songsblog

        While this is confrontationali I agree. People think social skills refers only to talking. Most social skills are made up of non-verbal vues and signifier which science is showing younger people do lack.

    • T K Johnson

      First off, can we stop with the intergenerational comment war? It’s not becoming of either generation, because each one has severely flawed character traits. Second, the article is in need of some revision, but the general premise is very intriguing. As a Millenial, I dislike the club scene and I always have. I personally prefer to either visit a new restaurant, travel, or take in a cultured experience, such as ballet, a play, or even an art exhibit. The closest I’ve come to a club is this karaoke spot I’ve frequented over the last several years. I think the author compiled an accurate description of how my beloved generation spends their free time, as a whole. For the purpose of what I’m sure will become increasingly rude replies, I am 26.

      • Tom

        Actually a spot on comment. Millenials taste and preference are simply different than other generations. the sharing and experience economy is the new norm. Nightclubs will simply go to the way of the dinosaur…

    • JP

      “Nobody goes there anymore. It’s too crowded.”
      Yogi would be proud.

      • Tom

        HAHA

      • Tom

        RIP Yogi

      • Emma Johnson

        The long lines and crowded atmosphere is probably from older folks ages 40+. I went a few months ago to two different clubs in one night and found that most of the people in both of them were from an older generation. So really, what the writer meant was, the clubs are too packed with people Millenials don’t want to hang with.

        • Xtine

          Hi Emma, I validate your comment, it’s very true. A twentysomething crowd really doesn’t want to hang with a 40 something crowd. Let’s look at reality, people, and stop with the ruffled feathers. Anyone who takes this business seriously has to look at stuff like this, and listen with all seriousness to what people are saying. I also have posted about how nobody wants to come to a nightclub to see people on canes, and using walkers, hearing aids and so forth – because IT IS THE TRUTH.

          Ok, there have always been various events for the different age categories. Now, I know that everyone loves a good party, regardless of age. I think the millenials are “sour graping” a bit. Gen. X and even Gen. Y had an extra $100 in their pocket to spend at a good party, and Millenialls…really don’t. Going hiking or swimming or whatever it is that they do, is either free or really cheap. You can see this in their clothing too – Gen. X was happy when they had on a $1000 outfit, while MIllenials dress literally from the thrift store – but act as though they are proud of that. They have to be, they literally don’t have a choice.

          I predict that when the middle class gets a little more money in their pocket, we will see a return to nightclubbing, but not before.

          • roseba

            Your understanding of Gen X is not true. Gen X inherited a very similar economy that the milennials did.

    • DJ Jason

      The economics of the country and real estate prices have a lot to do with millennials being cheap or thrifty. The reasons why they aren’t going are also due to conservative values being successfully pushed hard on our country and the fact that 18 and over entry doesn’t exist like it used to. ..and that the past legal age of 18 to drink is further and further away these days.
      I throughly disagree with the bizarre and inaccurate notion that current day clubs offer more. It’s quite the opposite and the peak of Lighting technology was in 2000. Today’s LED lights are very inexpensive and are rarely even run by a Lighting Tech. All clubs are much smaller and where there were many room events in the past, we now have the one room + one DJ thing the article mentioned *far* more often. The sound systems are all less expensive also.
      In general, the tendency is for today’s clubs to be run like businesses, whereas in the past they were run in a more idealistic and artistic way that valued the best things rather than just trying to crank a soulless impersonal profit. The current day managers are also to blame since schools are training them in a corporate manner that doesn’t work well with performers and nightlife culture and scenes.
      Also, the government is to blame for making regulations so extreme that clubs are difficult for the best people to do. (You wouldn’t believe the number of stupid expenses that are purely for stimulating the economy) The codes can put a place out of business quite quickly, if the powers that be want to shut them down for any reason, no matter how unfair or illegitimate. Corruption is big problem since some venues are protected from the police while others are not. (Among countless other sightings of abuse of power, I’ve seen a venue break tons of rules and every time the police were called they would go ticket their competition in the club across the street. The competition is now closed and they are still running while openly breaking laws)

      • Daniel Rechel

        Very insightful comment. Thank you.

        • jason

          you are welcome, Daniel

      • Tom

        Corruption is always going too exist, regardless of generation.

        • jason

          Well, that could be true, but it is currently a corruption that hurts the nightlife rather than being one that supports the nightlife.

      • Xtine Johnes

        Yes, this is so true. I worked in nightlife in nyc and other places for over 20 years. I can tell you that there used to be superclubs, they were all shut down, and NOW a club is far more likely to have a single room with a single flashing light, etc. 10-15 years ago, we had multiple room nightclubs that entertained upwards of 2000 people at the same time.

        People’s extra money has been taken, so they can’t afford to spend it going out. That’s unfortunate for culture.

        I would like to add that no lighting and attractions can replace simple knowledge of nightclub pyschology, Many owners today did not “earn their chops” in they heyday of nightlife, so they have no idea about proper use of their space, how to set up the room properly and how to get people to come there and keep them inside for the duration of the night. These are things that have unfortunately been lost, and those of us who know need to start doing workshops for managers and owners, or SOMETHING, so that we can regain at least SOME of the culture we have lost. It’s simple things, like….you need an elevated DJ booth so that crowd members can’t harrass the performer as they are playing, which will distrupt the music and there for the crowd/drinking/dancing. Having a DJ spinning crowd level on the side of the bar does not work as well, you need them elevated, in a visible place. Clubs are like casinos, you want your crowd to lose track of time and just pay attention to the music and dancing. Therefore, you dont want any windows or cafe-style openings to the street, no TVs, clocks, etc – turn them off, take them all out, anything that reminds the person of other distractions other than your music, guests and bar. You wouldn’t believe how many owners struggle with promoters now, not to turn off TVs, remove clocks and cover up windows, because they don’t “get it”. In some cases, they have a deal with the local police precinct that they HAVE to have a big window open to the street so the cops can see in to “make sure nothing bad is going on in there”, so the don’t have a choice about the window. This kills business bigtime. But new owners don’t understand this, and struggle with promoters over this simple observation of fact. And there are many, MANY more things like this that are not being observed by club owners, which they fight with promoters about, but then wonder why the bar rings are low – then try to blame the promoter. It got so bad in NYC that i would rent a raw space and bring my own sound system, bar, etc so that I could set up the room the way it was supposed to be, because the owners just simply could not be made to listen to facts of crowd psychology. If I go to a venue to possibly produce an event there and I see that they have poor use of their space (a giant pool table in the middle of the dancefloor, no dancefloor or a very tiny one, tables and chairs taking up space that they refuse to move into a back room for the event, no elevated DJ booth and unwiling to create one for the event, giant open windows or open front of the space to the street, or any one of a myriad of problems/flaws), and they don’t want to change any of that stuff, I leave and don’t do any events there. The place could be BEAUTIFUL, but if they have those problems (and others), no deal, bye. It’s more worth it to just grab a raw space and set it up the way it needs to be, even if it’s not great looking. UNLESS venue owners listen to people who are experienced, they will have problems keeping a regular crowd. I can’t believe that there are owners who throw money away when they open or build a venue, by not consulting a crowd psychologist or expert on events and nightlife FIRST. If they think that they can just design it with no experience, they are just fooling themselves. I’ve watched venues with serious money behind them – Grand Opening, Grand Closing the very next year. Again and again and again. When all it would have taken was a few tweaks to stay open. It’s hard to believe that so many people with money could misunderstand so much, and squander millions.

        • Xtine Johnes

          I think the next time I do an event, I will make a contract with a checklist on it for things that need to happen in the venue, and unless the manager and owner goes over this list with me and agrees to everything on the list, I don’t do the event, I rent a raw space instead. I will include a clause that says that if I show up the night of the event and the stuff isn’t done and anybody hasstles me about the pre-agreed things that are to take place or refuses to do them, the event will be switched to somewhere else at the last minute and I will pack my stuff and leave immediately, and they will owe me a “kill fee”. If they try not to pay it, my lawyer will already be on retainer to get it. It’s sad, but these are the kinds of things that event producers need to do in order to make sure events run smoothly despite “green” owners who were not around when nightlife was at it’s peak, who tend to be stubborn about others “telling them what to do with their venues” – EVEN IF they are bringing in money for them.

        • Tom

          The Super Club has died, I agree. But also NYC nightlife is dead at bottle service and paid models to hang out in the VIP areas created a new breed of clubs that catered only to the elite.

          • Xtine Johnes

            Yes, thats another really bad problem. Most of the Middle Class was forced to leave NYC due to rent deregulation (courtesy of Giullianni and Bloomberg), turning it into a playgound for the rich and effectively killing the Bohemian districts. So therefore – wild, awesome Superclubs and smaller specialist clubs – gone. Enter the bottle service/paid model playground for the rich. Anyone tough enough to stay there from the Artistic Class is now regulated to pitiful one room bars, subject to the whims of owners who could not care less about their scene, therefore dwindling down the various music and art scenes to almost nothing. It’s so pitiful, it couldn’t possibly attract anyone any more and it’s just a scene for “oldsters” pretty much, with very little new blood if any.

            BUT – if there IS a good, new club, it’s being done by an owner who knows nothing of what is supposed to be done. Stupid problems abound, that could easily be fixed by a knowlegable event producer – but they won’t listen. It’s not worth it to participate. UNLESS you find a one-in-a-million owner who knows how to open his or her ears, it is seriously more worth it to just rent a space you can design yourself. I never thought I’d see Manhattan end up like this.

          • jason

            Those few places are pitiful compared to the huge clubs of the past. Large clubs of old had VIP rooms that put to shame any of these pathetic bottle service shams that masquerade as “elite” nightclubs (they are only tiny lounges, in reality).

    • bornofficial

      Technology has a huge part to do with this decline in nightclub attendance. You can connect to people in so many ways you don’t need to go to a nightclub to encounter someone new. You can people watch and people shop from behind your screen without the horrible experiences of being out like unwanted attention, possible fights, driving home drunk, or waking up next to someone you have no clue who they are!

    • kelly George

      This was an interesting topic for an article. However, it is one of the most poorly written articles I have ever read. I couldn’t even get through it all before becoming extremely annoyed at how bad this was written. Take a writing class please

      • Vangie

        I agree. It annoyed me to no end. I can’t believe this is a legitimate magazine.

      • Ngun

        ‘How bad this was written’ lol the irony.

    • Philip Knight

      The boom in nightlife from the early 1980’s corresponded with the period when the late baby-boomers were in their 20’s. Note the ‘boom’ part of that; a bulge in the population. As they got older they started to go to nightclubs less and there were less and less young people from the subsequent Generation X and Millenials to replace them. It’s partly a long term demographic effect.

      Looking at the more recent decline in nightclub attendance, factors such as real estate prices may impact Millenial’s disposable income.

      So there is now a double whammy effect of less people with less money to sustain the previous level of nighclub business.

      • Adam Westly De

        I agree with that.. People also don’t have the disposable income anymore as they use too.. People can barely get by now a days even holding two jobs, and having roommates.. The cost of living keep rising while peoples’ income checks don’t add up to the amount.. The first thing people are going to stop doing is going out to the bar/club to drink and have a good time.. There was a time where when the economy was bad, the bars would be doing better, but that was way before the internet, and phones with touch screens where people can communicate and meet..

    • Nigel Johnson

      What is a ‘rollerblading arena’?

    • bill krauter

      I really think the main reason is the pricing… when you get hit $7 for a drink (and that’s low balling for larger venues) it becomes way too expensive… then there’s the tip… the cover and parking… you’ve probably spent 30-35 dollars by the time you get your first drink (again low balling for large venues). people also know that a bottle of bar vodka costs the venue $7… one drink pays for the bottle… a lot of price gauging.

      • Xtine

        Hey Bill, clubs have to pay rent on their space and upkeep/repairs, taxes, fines, heating/cooling, lighting and everything else, and make a profit so they can pay staff and themselves. So they can’t just charge what the alcohol cost them to buy, they have to charge about double.

    • Christian

      Is the Restaurant “scene” the new Night Club “scene” ?? Lots of new restaurants popping up that cater to these young wine drinkers/guitar players/rooftop hangingout-ers

      • Dan Jo

        Its the restaurant/small bar type scene that is really becoming dominant

    • Xtine Johnes

      HERES WHERE YOU ARE WRONG:

      Expensive cover charges – in the heyday of clubbing, cover charges could be upwards of $40. They are still around that price for some of the best parties, and on Holdiays it’s even more – for example New Years can be $500 in some venues. This never stopped people from filling all the clubs of Manhattan. A good party is more than worthwhile to pay for.

      Overly-priced drinks – Hipster clubs are slinging $2 PBRs. It’s true that some upscale clubs have $20 coctails, but since prices have gone up in general, a $6-$8 beer is a normal price. At a good party, people are usually happy to spend between $50 and $100 on their night out. When you adjust for inflation, people were buying high priced drinks in nightclubbing’s heyday.

      Long lines – the longer the line, the better they like it. Studio 54, Limelight and lots of other clubs would specifically get people to stand outside and create a long line in order to attract customers. People do not mind long lines, really.

      Slow bar services – that’s how you know the event is good. Waiting to get your drink makes you relish it that much more. The worst thing in the world is to have a bored bartender who serves you right away.

      Rude staff – you’re joking, right? At the best parties, bouncers would grab people and have contests to see how far down the sidewalk they could throw offenders, etc. Bartenders could be rude as FUCK, and still the people come back for more. Nightlife staff is known to be rude, crude and tough- look at what they have to deal with – getting bombard constantly (we HOPE). You show me a club where the staff is sugar sweet and I’ll show you a dead club LOL

      Being pushed around in crowded atmosphere – it’s not a good club unless you are crushed against the sweaty bodies of 4 other people. The air should be thick, like a Sauna. You should have to yell to be heard. And the music should pulsate through your body like ocean waves crashing on the shore. If these things aren’t happening, this isn’t a “good” event.

      Poor male to female ratio – I think this is the only true statement. Promoters and door people should let females in, no questions asked, and promoters need to scour the land for hot women to invite.

      Better ways to discover new music – yes, that has been a terrible blow to the nightclub scene. However, nobody truly wants to listen to those songs alone in their room. Events have a lot to offer over and above new music. But yes – I used to go out to discover new and exciting songs. I still prefer to hear a new song in a crowd setting, just to see how everyone reacts to it. It’s a great litmus test to have a new song played on a dancefloor and see how everyone reacts to it.

      Inability to have a conversation – as I said before, the best parties are the ones where you have to scream to be heard. Really, you want to be dancing and sweating all night and worshiping the beat. Conversations are for bathrooms, lobbies and vip rooms, and outside.

      SO – what is holding everyone back IF it’s not all these things?

      THEY HAVE NO MONEY. NOt having money is what keeps people out of the club and on Tinder, Grindr etc.

      BUT – they would still spend SOME money IF they could be assured of having a good time – so an event producer who knows how to create real events is ESSENTIAL. NO HIpster BS -a real dance night that runs every week and is a counted-on release from everyday cares. The key is COMPLETE CONTROL of the environment, without allowing people who have never done a real event to have a say. Once that comes in, you can kiss the event goodbye, so maintain a firm grip and don’t let go!

      • Adam Westly De

        Alot of the clubs are hiring bad DJs and that’s a big problem.. Talent-less computer DJS, and on top of that the any good new music coming out right now is very scarce..

        • Xtine

          100% agree with you there, Adam. Since downloading made any shmo able to get a big collection, there are a lot of “DJs” out there who have no business behind the deck. They usually lie, schmooze and manipulate in order to get and keep gigs – to the severe detriment of the entire scene. There should be an impartial DJ Central Licencing Board, and if you can’t impress them, you don’t get the job PERIOD.

          • Adam Westly De

            Exactly!!

      • RaceDoggy

        Not sure where you live but I strongly disagree. Living in LA area, I can tell you people have plenty of money, but the idea of going to a nightclub on any given weekend is just lame. It was cool in the 90s and still fun on special occasions or when in Vegas. Other than that, we’d much rather go to a really good bar, restaurant, lounge or show.

        • 10songsblog

          Well, that to me says you just don’t care for dancing as much as committed club goers like me do. So it is more a personal preference.

      • CitizenWhy

        Some performance/consversation bars where i live sell $8-10 cocktails. Above that won’t sell. Beers $3-7. Great shows, $5-10 cover or free.

      • Songbird Maria Remos

        It really is about release. I have a weekly, all vinyl, soul/disco/northern soul/funk and my guest from the mainland are normally epic with their remixes, bringing laptops to travel which I fully back since the records are not replaceable.
        My friends/clients have said they like to come and know they will be listening to good music. I just got the bar to give me a cheap beer to pair the expensive music with and hope that will help.

      • 10songsblog

        The Cat Club generally has a filled floor on the weekends. And the are playing usually stuff before 1996. The older is certainly better and that helps create a grove to get people going and the more that get going builds on the vibe. I’ve seen more young people loose their shit in a crowd of older folk dancing to music of their youth that at a club catering specifically to them!

        And good DJs are hard to find. Nobody knows how to take you on a journey. I’ve been to some nights where the kid at the booth will the play the same song three times in one night. Once in the first hour, then at peak hour and then towards the end! WTF? I am of the opinion save most of the floor fillers for peak hour but keep a few gems ready to reward the committed dancers who start at 9 and stay till 4. Those are the people I mostly would play for because those are the people that get the night started and help keep it going.

    • Lawrence Aaron

      Over generalized, Specious examples. Poorly edited, “….attendance of nightclubs and bars have been…” Really? That’s only the first bad grammatical error in this artcle. It’s also full of BS, and I don’t mean a college degree. It’s a barely literate article.

      In my Manhattan neighborhood, 5 new yuppy bars have opened. Three more are within five blocks north of that. Both the indoor and sidewalk café portions of thes bars are full of millenials. Who wrote this dumb piece?

      • roseba

        A bar is not a nightclub.

      • Thomas F. La Vecchia

        Lawrence, The person who wrote this article is definitely not going with a Pulitzer anytime soon. I wholeheartedly agree. This articles buttresses your point that the bottle service nightclubs like Marquee are done and your local spots are thriving. There’s more to it than that, it tocuhes on generational preferences, economy and current interaction within millenails which frankly now rule the roost. No more dating, just netfliix and chill is the biggest example…

    • Kendra

      Lol… how hard is it to draw the obvious line between millennials not being materalistic and not liking night clubs? Night clubs are almost exclusively for the vain and the shallow looking to pick up a hot piece of tail so you can brag to your friends about how cool you are. Sorry. We saw how well that level of materialism worked out for our parents…. they still haven’t retired! Might as well go have fun in an AUTHENTIC way that gives a person true happiness rather than always trying to prove to everyone how damn cool you are because in the end you’ll be broke while the banks screw you over and take your house. If the world is going to screw you, die with a smile.

    • Tom

      bottom line, people don’t have the money. we’re broke

    • Tom

      bottom line, people don’t have the money. we’re broke

      • Dan Jo

        that’s not true, this is America.. Money is bountiful if you work for it.

        • Xtine

          Hi Dan, millions of homeless people can’t be wrong. This is a really bad time in our history.

        • Cassandra Walcott

          if you’re a millenial, its assumed that you’re just lazy…when the reality is that we are being robbed from by greedy motherfuckers who are more interested in killing people for profit. the reality is we work a lot more for a lot less and the money we have we want to spend on more meaningful things than getting groped in a nightclub with shitty music.

          • Thomas F. La Vecchia

            millenials are far from lazy…

          • 10songsblog

            The one’s I know all moved back home because it was too expensive to live on their own or even with roommates. I think we are shifting back to the age when families all lived together under one roof and you married the nice guy down the street.
            Though hilariously the parents around me complain they will not clean their dishses or do laundry. I’m like, what did you expect you did it for them for over 18 years you think the habit just magically changes because the left for college and had to move back home to save money. LOL!

        • Dingus

          Hahahahahahahaha! where have you been for the last 15 years buddy? Under a rock?
          Money… haha… *sob*

        • Zeejet

          Careful, you’re privilege could not be more obvious with this comment. If you don’t know what I mean by that, then you are truly hopeless. Trust me, you didn’t earn where you are now entirely by yourself.

      • Jon England

        Right here is where it goes from a discussion about night clubs to POLITICAL.

    • Thomas F. La Vecchia

      you must work for the nightclub industry

    • Adam Westly De

      Here’s my point a view on a few things.. As for someone like me who has been a DISC JOCKEY in gay nightclubs since 1998.. When I got my first gig we were still using 12″ records.. On top of that the music that was coming out in those times was really good.. It was the beginning of Trance, and Tribal, progressive and circuit house.. Unfortunately now that technology has really advanced, and a kid with a laptop and virtual DJ can DJ, and that’s what alot of the club owners are hiring.. They are hiring kids for no more than $100 a night to play in their clubs.. So there goes the talent and atmosphere out the door… Also with in the last few years the music that has been coming out has been mostly garbage… I’m also hearing alot of Hiphop and top 40 music.. There’s absolutely no direction right now with dance club music right now.. So without good music, it’s hard for a dance club to survive.. All that’s coming out is meaningless vocals and bad sound, and just about poverty level music.. I talk to many of my DJ friends that have been in the business since the 70s and 80s.. And the majority are not even working as a DJ anymore.. There was a time, which started back in the late 1970s, where you would hear music that was only in a nightclub and not on the radio’s top chart, and the nightclubs were like that all the way up into the mid 2000s when things started to change.. Now it’s the radio top music in the night clubs, and there is nothing good on the radio either… I see alot of poorly managed bars and clubs lately.. They hire staff that are not professional at all.. So they only attract the same 36 people you would see every weekend or every night… I live in a suburban area where there was at least 2 dance clubs going on and many smaller venues.. Now there are only 3 small gay bars..

      • TheQuestions

        Clubbed for about 2 years straight in my twenties. A complete waste of time and money drain. Snooty door people, $15 drinks, nasty bouncers and same pretentious atmosphere everytime. Good for you millenials.

      • Aaron Garcia

        I’m pretty sure there has always been shitty top 40s music in nightclubs. Not a recent thing at all.. lol.

        • 10songsblog

          Yes but the percentage was MUCH lower. DJs often times were elitist music curators taking you on a journey from 9-4 so they would play as little radio ready songs as possible. That why the dance charts was so different from the Hot 100.

      • SirHound

        Worth bearing in mind there’s no possibility of a time delay between what’s “out there” any more and what’s played in a nightclub.

      • Ariel Whytlion Afar

        I Agree here, As a DJ any kid with a laptop thinks they are a DJ. What most people dont realize is, being a DJ is more than just playing music. You need to have a wide selection of music, be able to read the crowd, know your equipment and most importantly know your worth.

      • John Bata

        Sorry but 1998 was not the beginning of Trance, Tribal and circuit house. It started in the very early 90’s and even the late 80’s.

        • Adam Westly De

          If that’s the case than we can say that all started in the late 1970s with disco music.. There’s alot of unpopular disco tracks like Cerrone that’s very deep and alot of disco like Giorgio Moroder that sounds very electronic.. And stuff that sounded alot like modern music.. I have to disagree with that.. The late 90s started a new era, and was the peak of a new era going into the millennium with new style of house music.. There was a direction then as there was in the 70s, 80s, and 90s.. The music in general is lost right now.. And I keep hearing and seeing people say about how income/wages don’t add up as they did 15 years ago.. People just can’t afford it anymore, and that’s why it’s all gone down hill.. Thank Capitalism for slave working people and making less wadges..

          • John Bata

            Your comment is your comment but you are incorrect. I get tired of people who probably didn’t live through a particular part of history commenting. I experienced the birth of trance first hand and can tell you the the term was coined in the very early nineties. Yes trance had elements of disco and house which both were born in the late 70’s, but Trance was it’s own baby in the early 90’s and was a non corporatized form of music. EDM is the devil and that is the only “new” direction dance music unfortunately went after 2000. But EDM is just really shitty commercial house. Get your history straight if you are going to comment.

          • Amanda L

            The late 90s was an end of an era. by 2003 music was dead. The mp3 player killed it.

      • Erik Dvorsky

        You’re the only one that got this right. As a millennial I hate 99% of the music they play at clubs. I like trance, deep house, alternative rock, and heavy bass music. Tired of hearing horrible “hip-hop” and awful “EDM”. The only place most of us can hear music we like is at concerts and music festivals. Both of those are becoming extremely prevalent and have higher sales than ever before while the shitty nightclub scene is dying.

        TLDR it’s the nightclub owner’s fault.

        • Amanda L

          Trance is EDM. Electronic Dance Music. Electronic music died when everyone rushed to put things into micro genres

      • Joe_Masseria

        Hey we still use them man! 🙂

      • 10songsblog

        I agree completely!!! The music sucks so people don’t dance. At a local club in my area I go early before the DJ begins and monopolize the jukebox with older stuff usually disco but some 90s remixes and the floor fills up. The DJ start his Rhythmic pop hits set and the floor empties. Partly this is due to an older clientele and the bar what to attract cute young guys. But that doesn’t explain why even the young people turn it out to the old classics.

        The other clubs I go to a pretty well packed on retro nights. And people DANCE they don’t stand in the middle of the floor checking their phone.

        And yeah clubs was where you heard stuff radio would never play. And many acts the were one hit wonders were HUGE in the club scene. Yup there one small gay bar and the rest of clubs have been shut down because the owners can’t keep there shit together and deal with drugs and rifff-raff.

      • Amanda L

        Music would be dead in 5 years from 1998. It’s dead now. 1988-2000 was the best decade outside the mid 60s-70s.

    • atlcomputerdude

      wow

    • Lance

      Places that play less of the basic top 40 music will do much better. People have always been cheap and bitch about paying a cover to enter a nightclub. The locations may be changing but the dance will go on forever.

    • Sam Wasserman

      We no longer have to go to a nightclub to find dance music and a dance floor. Dance music is everywhere now. Any flavor you like… Far out niche sub genres are even reaching concert venue and festival stages these days. We still spend money and love to go out and catch new music and dance all night but nightclubs are a huge turnoff when we can get a much better value and experience by going to a festival or warehouse party or a concert venue. We go where the best experience is, plain and simple. Put more passion into your booking, your staff, and your menu. If you book a great lineup and you offer a great atmosphere and food/drink menu, we will come! And we will tell our friends! You have to keep up with the times and stay relevant. Add non-alcoholic drinks and mindful vegetarian options to your menu for even more points from millennials.

    • Brentwong625

      Do drugs so you don’t (hopefully) buy drinks. Money saver!

    • tipsy koala

      check out http://www.tipsykoala.com for the real time updates from hottest clubs around your city

    • Adam Westly De

      Bottom line is, as it’s been said many times on here.. People are broke now a days.. People don’t have the disposable income anymore as they use too back in the 1970s – 90s and even early 2000s.. People can barely get by now a days even holding two jobs, and having roommates.. The cost of living keeps rising while peoples’ income checks don’t add up to the amount.. The first thing people are going to stop doing is going out to the bar/club to drink and have a good time.. There is technology to fall back on now a days such as tinder and grindr and other dating sites/apps.. I guess this could also get political.. Yep, the middle class keeps shrinking and even Washington is aware of that, but nothing is being done to reverse it..

    • Mick Bodine

      The main problem I have in most of these clubs is the other people. We live in a rude, self obsessed society.

      • Thomas F. La Vecchia

        yep

    • Rob

      In my 20’s and mid 30’s i LOVED the club scene. But it did get expensive 200 – 300 a weekend. In my 20’s drinks were 6 to 8 bucks max. By my 30’s $12 drinks became the norm. Then you had scumbag clubs that charged a $20 cover, $12 a drink and measured the drinks exactly to the ounce and the vibe was lame. I am assuming millennials just got tired of the rip offs.

    • Puck Cratree

      his is a good read and good to consider
      I think one reason they’re not as appealing to my generation is they have lost their authenticity for the most part (something millenials seem so fixated on)
      clubs/club culture has become so mainstream now (i.e. boogie, zan, etc)
      theres a really cool vice article on the birth of club culture in the 80s and how a lot of really dope artists like andy warhol & keith harring and other avant garde/art school weirdos were the designers for the first clubs, and so the club was more like an art installation or application of modern art as a creating/cultivating a specific aesthetic for social interaction of a different kind to take place in
      we should get back to that

      • Thomas F. La Vecchia

        agreed, great point!

    • Aaron Garcia

      Plenty of people still go out, by the descriptions and variables you’ve listed I’m going to assume you are describing the mainstream douche-fests.. which have always sucked regardless of attendance. The music has shifted and the more dive-ey clubs that supported Underground and niche markets are the ones that are thriving now, while less people are inclined to go to a silly bottle-service and cologne type establishment. Factor that in with festivals, which people are more inclined to save up weekends and not go out and sort of ‘blow their load’ all at once every few months and there you go.

      • 10songsblog

        True. And I find festivals to be UBER douchey with noisy music and people not dancing but filming the guy turning knobs.

    • Oliver Weiss

      So it really sounds like you’re using the term nightclub to mean nightclubs and bars or at least busy bars that use djs. Am I right? Did those kind of bars get counted in the numbers you reported or was it strictly nightclub concepts?

    • David

      I think this article is way off base. Sure, clubs are a financial drain, and that’s a contributing factor, but not going because they can hear their crappy music off the Internet now? That just seems silly. I don’t know anyone from any generation going to clubs to discover awful new music. The real reason is because Millennials are lame. Their overly protective parents keep them inside and that’s what they’re used to. When’s the last time you saw kids outside playing? They then live inside their phones, get their movies off of their laptops, “socialize” with their friends – not face-to-face – but through texting, etc. Have you ever tried directly talking to someone under 25? In most cases, it’s a real drag. It’s getting to be an epidemic.

      • likestopartygetoverit

        Obviously you haven’t or maybe you, personally, have terrible taste in people. Reading all the ridiculously, mostly UN-(not even MIS)-informed, ignorant comments is exhausting and, frankly, a waste of time. If you and your non-millennial kin would do any research, since you refuse to interact with people without judgement, there are plenty of things backing up that young people today are burdened with crazy student debt involuntarily, decent life is much less affordable, more young people than before are entrepreneurs and hustlers, and that most people have great people skills since it’s required for most jobs. Not to mention, millennials possess many more diverse skills. Yes, how incredibly lame it is to travel, learn other cultures, meet and accept people instead of being homophobic, racist, sexist; just like having a different taste from previous generations is incredibly lame, right?
        While history is bound to repeat itself and it’s human nature to dump personal dislikes on the younger set with large dose of NIMBY mentality, are the “adults” not tired of spreading useless negativity? Us young folk will survive and our parents did just fine, particularly when it comes to using proper grammar in a public forum. For whatever reason the other generations can’t grasp basic rules of punctuation.
        If people are on their phones in public it’s quite clear that they DON’T WANT to interact. They are purposefully choosing to not talk to strangers. If you can’t read that, maybe there’s work to done on your own social skills. Learning social cues is not an easy task.
        You know why clubs are much less cool? Because the runaround gets old and they’re expensive. The article itself isn’t ground breaking or that interesting, however it’s not wrong. Those are my reasons for not going to clubs. If I can go to a cool bar (possibly with a dance floor) instead, I will. Spending $12 bucks on a decent cocktail versus the worst well ever made or a Corona makes a fucking difference. Crowding and noise level are important, especially when you can’t actually dance at a dance club. As is hearing yet another radio hit over and over again that I can listen to just fine at home. If clubs can’t evolve that it their own fault. Listen to your customers.
        By the way, it’s probably people your age who are parenting now; we’re either too young or our kids are too young still. So, if you don’t see children playing outside that is solely your fault. Parent YOUR children to be imaginative instead of on being on the phone all the time. Stop hovering above them, posting their pictures all over social media, etc, etc. Take some damn responsibility already.

    • Hunter

      One of the major factors that wasn’t even discussed was online dating. With online dating it takes the hassle out of searching for a partner. At bar you have to constantly try, try, and try again in order to get someone to even hold a brief discussion. With online dating if the night is not going your way you can just hop on tinder and have better luck finding someone than you can in a bar. Night clubs used to be the number one place to find someone to hook up with, but now a days why bother going to blow money to drink and find someone when you can get it free online. When we usually go out now it really is to celebrate something, instead you and a group of friend just going out to see what will happen.

      • 10songsblog

        It takes the hassle out of going to clubs but the success rate is not any higher IME. Also at clubs abck in the day the soundtrack was often better than just swiping in silence.

    • Kiteh Kawasaki

      Social engineering by the gov’t (no smoking, no driving after drinking, no hookers, undercover stings etc.) has made clubbing less attractive – except in Nevada. We still have freedom in rural Nevada at party clubs like the Moonlite BunnyRanch. That’s why people from all over the world come to visit us. Regulations kill freedom.

      • Chris Ricci

        I like this perspective, but how does it explain the bigger cities? If you live in London or NYC DUI doesn’t matter because no one drives. Smokers don’t really care if they can’t smoke inside. Being in the industry I don’t see hookers or stings as a huge issue to the majority of club goers.

        • Thomas F. La Vecchia

          Its a different ball game. There is as much, if not more drugs (they are just designer now). And bottle service killed the vibe. Millennials have the right idea

    • uberleet

      Wow, these millennials sound well-traveled, athletically inclined in all climes, in air, sea, and land, outdoorsy and yet cosmopolitan, musically talented, well-read, versed in all aspects artistic media, handy(wo)men, and above all have highly developed social skills.

      …the only thing is, where are they hiding?

      When I looking around and see this demographic group I find zombified sedentary people silently sitting in groups staring incessantly into their cell phones image crafting their social media profiles with selfies.

      I certainly would be highly skeptical about the validity of self-reporting data garnered from a generation living vicariously through their VR persona.

      And then there is this…

      “Millennials are a generation of adventure-seekers and thrive of the momentum of living for moments.”

      The people I consider to fit this description are truly in the minority of any generation, but again when one reads an article extolling the virtues of millennials, written for the gratification of image-crafting millennials, in an online magazine self-described as providing “Milllennial culture at its finest”, expectation of anything short of a massive circle-jerk would be overly optimistic.

      I have to go now as I am late for an extreme helidrop skiing expedition in the Andes followed by a deep jungle lost Mayan artifact dig, the results of which I will be presenting in an international archaeological symposium in Monte Carlo, of course barring any unforeseen accident I might suffer in the Monaco Grand Prix.

      • Thomas F. La Vecchia

        Interesting….

      • mineisbigger

        LOL…nice.

      • Joe_Masseria

        Lol… spot on. Article is unrealistic in many levels.

      • Mitchell Lodge

        As I just posted… Most of them are simply sat playing computer games or the now endless choice of TV.

      • Zach Dornan

        Clearly you’ve never been to a music festival or electronic music concert. There are more underground and warehouse parties fueled by social media connections. This article isn’t spot on but it does recognize popular trends for sure in terms of night life. The VA persona is for the younger generations who don’t remember dialup Internet and cd players. Your pretty off base here. Quit hating.

        • uberleet

          …says the guy to someone whose life revolves around New Orleans music, cocktail, and social culture.

          Music festivals, raves, and social media aren’t “popular trends”, but are well established assuming you have been in a first world country in the past decade.

          The “hating” you perceive is centered on the establishment of a “meta-living” culture whose exotic VR life is more real than their otherwise mundane reality, based upon exaggerated and misleading selfies with the internet as a buffer zone between them and their image-crafted persona.

          Just look around you while you are at these elusive “music festivals” you speak of and check out the Facebook profile and then the same person in their 9-5 retail gigs.

          I am not saying Millennials are any less cosmopolitan than any other generation, only that their virtual lives make them lose contact with the fact they live just as average lives as everyone else, music festivals notwithstanding. 😉

          • Zach Dornan

            There is more to our generation than you give us credit for. Most of us are deep in debt from college and find lower wages in a highly competitive job market .But we make the best of it and live frugally. That’s what this article alludes to. But we find comfort in music and dance culture. Yea it’s a first world perspective the article is about the U.S. and U.K. both first world countries. Your throwing around a lot of a assumptions here. You don’t know me or my background. I love that I can travel anywhere in the world and people who barely know me will take me in as family all because we have the same ideals, love of music and culture. My generation is highly educated and independent and interconnected. I guess we can agree to disagree but I feel like your being pretty negative.here.

            • uberleet

              Not negative, but realistic, and you might want to reign in your assumptions before assuming what my “generation” is like and what kind of representative I am of it.

              Every generation has its own topical oddities, that is too be expected, with Millennial’s unbridled self-marketing through VR being their generation’s obnoxious version of the 80’s coke fueled roller disco party stereotype, but calling you out for declaring you are somehow unique for traveling or going to music festivals, even EDM, is appropriate because it is a silly sentiment.

              I have traveled all over the world, done mountain village homestays in Yunnan Province, danced the night away on the Nam Song in Laos, kayaked in Halong Bay in the morning mist, been agog in the temple complex of Angkor, got soaked in Chiang Mai during Water Festival, rode my motorcycle around the volcanic mountains of Bali, surfed the waves of Lombok, simultaneously watched the sun rise and moon fall up at Lake Titicaca, gazed over the jungle canopy from the highest pyramid in Tikal, trekked up to Machu Picchu, and way more,

              …every generation has its minority of multicultural homestay travelers, and going to music festivals doesn’t make one unique, coming from New Orleans you will have to take my word on that.

              I am not putting down Millennials for being inferior to any other generation, but am calling shenanigans on articles like this that give a false self-important impression of exoticness, when you guys are like any other 20-somethings of any other generation only with more sophisticated social media technology.

              I am glad you are getting a world education through local-oriented traveling, and I imagine we would have great discussions sitting on the ground of some Indonesian village drinking arak out of a plastic baggie while flirting with fellow travelers, but one favor if we do, please leave your cell phone with the Facebook app in your room because I could do without the selfies. 😉

            • Michael Washington

              “..every generation has its minority of multicultural homestay travelers, and going to music festivals doesn’t make one unique, coming from New Orleans you will have to take my word on that.”

              meanie bro….truth but still.

      • david f

        If you ask a Millennial these questions they will no doubt claim to be into these things but the reality is they are not. Maybe they just feel the need to express their real lives as colourfully as the lives they put on social media, they curate their words like their instagram feeds to sound more adventurous. I am a Millennial, this is what we do.

        Drop in ‘nightclub’ numbers probably have more to do with the drop in expendable income for the 21-38 year olds. The truth about us is our lives are probably even more mundane and pandering than the generation before us. Or if you’re me you would rather spend time in pubs with table service, atmosphere and 55 craft beers on tap.

        • Tanzgemeinschaft

          Not to forget ‘having children’ means going out less. Especially when their children are young.

      • Chance Gardener

        Remember though: that helidrop skiing expedition didn’t really happen until you took a selfie, put it up on instagram, facebook, twitter, tumblr, snapchat and youtube and got all your “friends” to “like” it.

      • Brendan Davis

        Ha this is so awesome and spot on

      • Bill Longley

        Doing and want to do. Seperate things.

      • Zeejet

        I’m a millennial and I don’t pretend to be adventurous or spontaneous. However, I hate nightclubs. People go to nightclubs because other people go to nightclubs under the false pretense of being social, being outgoing, and loving to dance. The real reason is simple: vanity and sex. People go to nightclubs to show off their hard work (makeup and outfits for girls, physiques and muscles for guys) and try to get laid. That’s it; casual sex and the excitement of hooking up with stranger is the main allure. Once you pass your early 20’s these things start to lose their sheen.

        I personally engage in hobbies (music, cooking, reading, woodworking) with my money and time, but don;t really travel (if you’re millenial and have the time/money to travel all the time, you are in the minority indeed).

        • 10songsblog

          Speak for yourself but when I started going to clubs in the 90s it was to fucking dance. The floors were packed and nobody stood around chatting we sweat it out to all that house and techno. And my friends older than me when disco was at it s height people went to dance.

          Nowadays it seem the younger set goes to clubs to preen and be seen and showoff how fabulous they think they look. While standing in the middle of the dance floor taking selfies or looking at their phones and not dancing. This did not happen when I first went clubbing, if we wanted to talk we went outside or removed ourselves from the dance floor to talk on the sidelines.

          And I still go out killing it on the floor, out dancing people who are now the age I was when I started going out.

          • Amanda L

            Totally agree. When i went out it was to dance. Now when I go out, I see what I call the egg of fertility. A hard shell of men standing around with a drink in their hand perving hard on the soft core of women in the middle dancing. When “dancing” takes place two people it’s really just a bunch of rubbing on each other. When I was out clubbing you had a few rooms…the dance space, the chill out lounge and an outdoor area to cool off.

    • karen

      No disposable income? As a person who grew up in 70’s when the walkman came out and we thought the world was gonna explode, blame it on electronics. Iphones cost 600. + and that’s not including monthly bills., downloading, wifi, netflex, ipads, beats headphones and the list goes on. None of this existed then so that’s at least 2 grand annually that was left to play out in the world cause what else were u gonna do? And it was f@#kin great! Experiencing the world live and dancing like no one watching and guess what? They weren’t.

      • Thomas F. La Vecchia

        great point. Is it technology that pulled us away from interaction or generational preference pushed the technology that way…

    • Jonas

      Is not having an editor for your articles a millenial trend as well? Because fucking Christ, this nonsense read like a 10 year old wrote it.

      • mineisbigger

        LMAO @ micro aggressions…I agree…I’m surprised you don’t see them protesting outside of strip clubs

        • Thomas F. La Vecchia

          I can see the picket lines forming…lol

      • 10songsblog

        LOL! I noticed the new club songs that get most dance floor action from women are the most misogynistic. Same in country music. Can you be a feminist and dance to hip-hop is the eternal question, I guess.

    • djrobsd

      If you look at night clubs that are still doing good, thy are places like Hunter’s in Palm Springs. They have never charged a cover (that I’m aware of), have always had reasonably priced drinks and strong pours, and the staff is generally friendly and go out of their way to make you feel welcome. In addition, with the exception of the dance floor area, the main part of the club does not BLAST the music, so you can still carry on a conversation with your friends, and they have jello shots and hot go-go boys dancing on the pool tables to top it all off. I’m sure they aren’t as busy as they were 10 or 20 years ago, but the fact that the owners continue to improve the property and pump more money into the business shows that they must be doing something right. A model, perhaps, for other night clubs to follow.

    • James Maxx

      I think the Nightclub industry has become more fixated on maximizing profits instead of experiences. As someone who has clubbed in NYC clubs in the 1990’s – early 2000’s and a big fan of EDM to this day it is unfortunate to witness. Now to have a good time you need to spend hundreds on bottle service (because drinks are watered down and cost $15…if you can get one), know someone in the club or have hot girls with you. Otherwise you stand in line forever, then go inside and get squashed into the “common people” area. Back then you spend $20 to get in no questions asked (just age) and they didn’t take your credit card. Along with the commercialization of nightclubs goes the music itself, so today we are listening to top 40 music (which is largely EDM based now) in a nightclub where we used to go listen to more “underground” stuff. If you walked into the Palladium or any other club back then, you would never hear that music on the radio. That being said there IS a lot of good EDM out there today, believe it or not. DJs just have to look harder for it, and not just mix whatever’s out on the radio.

      People go out to a club to experience something, not just listen to music in a large room. If the nightclub industry can tap into what the market wants to experience without financially raping them, and have DJs that can curate more than what the radio plays (remixes too), then I think they will still be around.

    • Marco Antonio Marrero

      I’m 44 and i LOVED going to nightclubs in the 90s because they had variety, one club played hip hop, one club had house, one club had freestyle, etc. now all clubs have the same shit, either top 40 or edm. it’s boring. also there expensive, admission and drinks. i stopped going a while ago. why waste my time going to a club to listen to music that i hate and spend alot of money. i’m also a dj and i even stopped that because of the same reason, the music is crap now.

      • Adam Westly De

        I agree.. But I think the the wadges people make don’t add up in a night out anymore.. And that’s why people see all these symptoms.. Today’s EDM = trash.. I totally agree, and I’ve been DJing since the 90s..

    • mctrol

      I couldn’t agree more specially when it says that nightclubs need to find more groundbreaking themes.

    • DJ Shiva

      “The attendance of nightclubs and bars have been on a steady decline for the passed several years and counting.”

      *PAST several years. Don’t just use spellcheck. Have someone else proofread your article.

      • Kurt Yates

        😉 I shared this article and haven’t received a windfall of responses so quickly in a long time! Love your show, by the way! 🙂

    • Jimmy McMinn

      It’s drugs fellas…. Bars can’t charge $15 for a water and then turn off the fountains so you can’t refill.. that’s it.

    • Jimmy McMinn

      Where do you people live? St. Louis has a thriving nightlife scene… hmmmm?

    • Dock Drumming

      I think this is key. The article says: “With new alternatives, such as online dating apps and websites, many millennial women feel that online dating is a lot safer and much more efficient than the organic ways of years prior. Millennials understand that controlled online settings are more appropriate for finding potential mates than drunken fumbles in a sticky-floored club. ”

      Without women, clubs can’t bring in men, who are the ones buying drinks for themselves and also many women.

      • 10songsblog

        True men buy most of the drinks.

    • Seth Conaway

      “passed several years…”
      “Again, nightclubs were an lively atmosphere for meeting people highly popularized by Generation X with trendy discos and rollerblading arenas.”
      Yep, spoken like a true millennial.

    • CitizenWhy

      Depends on location. Where I live – a kind of Brooklyn for Indie musicians and artists – Millens go to and perform at one of the many cheap music venues, attend band and open house parties, attend raves at various old warehouses, attend excellent cheap theater, go to cheap indie coffee shops, get together for political action (usually highly specific, one issue, or one community service), go to cheap or free outdoor events and festivals, hang out at home. All the male Millens I know (many) have girlfriends, and have had steadies since high school. Some have orgies, just for fun, no heavy philosophy or Playboy pomposity. Many llve cheaply in shared warehouse space. Biking and skateboarding are hugely popular. Some are into BMX. Every type of venue i have mentioned is within walking distance of my apt. BTW, I’m an old guy and I go to many of these places and that’s not a problem for anyone. I might or might not buy a drink, no pressure to do so. All the people I regularly talk with (not quite friends, definitely not strangers) are in their 20’s and 30’s. They like it when I show up at their performances.

      But this only covers one creative urban neighborhood. I have no idea what suburban Millens do.

    • Taylor Huston

      Its a matter of efficiency. People are social animals. People also like to date. For a long time the best way to socialize with other people, and to meet potential dating partners, was nightclubs.

      Nightclubs are horrible. They are 70% loud frat guys who want to pick a fight. Most of the women there are with a date. If you do manage to find an actually single one who’s there to meet someone, it’s too loud for her to hear anything you are saying anyway. Cover is expensive. Drinks are expensive. I can’t remember the last time I went out to a nightclub and didn’t have at least one drink spilled on me. Nightclubs are horrible, and I am willing to bet they always have been. But up until recently they were the best option.

      Now there are better options. Social media, facebook, online dating, activity organizers things like Meetup.com, all of these things let people find other people (both romantic and platonic) that share their interests and want to go out and do things. Why stay up all night at a loud nightclub and barely talk to anyone when I can go to sleep early, get up early, and go for a hike with a bunch of people that was organized on Meetup.com. Why go to a nightclub and try and guess which of the women there might be single, then try and have a conversation with them to find out their interests and hobbies, when I can just go on Tinder/Ok Cupid/Match and see a whole list of single women, along with everything I need to know about them.

      Now don’t get me wrong, I am not saying I’ve never had fun at a nightclub. I have, though it was almost always when i went with a date and a group of people I already knew. But for meeting new people, nightclubs are horrible. There are simply better options now.

    • Amy Schiffer

      As I read this article, I simply imagined being at a night club….dancing while everyone in the room stared at their phones, without the exchange of eye contact, guests bumping into each other like that of bumper cars at the fair.
      Perhaps, the clubs should make the “experience” more interactive….have a mega screen posts the thoughts and images of what attendees are posting — a holographic light show of posts. Drones with cameras filming club goers around; then, there in another room where spectators could watch. Really, this challenge to be conquered could certainly be revolutionary. (Apologies if I mentioned what was in other posts….I haven’t read all the posts.)

    • D-Jam

      The reasons make sense, but I toss this into the discussion:

      Many Millennials flock to big EDM festivals, thus it could mean they want a return of “rave culture” clubbing like in the 90s, as opposed to the uptight overpriced bottle service culture that’s dominated the last 15 years.

      • 10songsblog

        OR they could do some work and put some effort into finding clubs that will fit their needs as opposed to just going to yelp. It sounds to me like millennials get burned once and give up. To find a club you like today is not that easy. You have to try out several places but as I said that require effort and time and patience something the that cannot be done in clicks but with feet on the ground.

        • D-Jam

          I do agree with you, and I also think promoters and venues need to do a better job to make their events more appealing.

          Frankly, when I see Millennials out partying (I’m a 40something Gen Xer), I see them go to places with craft beers/cocktails and gourmet food…rather than $20 to get into a venue for $8 well drinks. Unless it’s a big name at the music venue, they’re still seeking more quality over status and fakery. I see many of these spots as nice restaurants/lounges with DJ booths and sound systems.

          I have seen many venues and promoters adapt to the changing times, but yet too many still cling to the last decade where they push booths, bottles, “proper attire”, fake people, and thus they end up struggling. It’s the rule in any business: adapt or die…and I have no issue with promoters and venues washing up because they wouldn’t change.

          Still, to your point, many need to explore. Here in Chicago some of the cooler events are NOT in downtown or the “hip” areas. Maybe internet promotion needs to step up, as I don’t think these kids are heading to the record store for flyers.

    • CMM318

      I had the worst experience at a nightclub in NYC which confirmed my hatred of nightclubs. I was on a girls trip with 10 friends from college. 4 of the girls live in NYC and one friend was texting a nightclub promoter who was gonna get us into some club on Saturday night- sweet!

      We go to dinner. Then on to DA CLUB! There is a line outside the club, with fancy red rope and shit. My friend, who is texting the promoter tells him we are here and to come on and get us… We wait and he doesn’t come, we wait some more. I’m loosing my buzz from dinner at this point.

      Finally he comes out and tell us some bullshit that he can’t get us in and walks away. Hmm alright. We couldn’t get into the club without him so we left to drink some craft beers. No dancing for us.

      It was obvious we didn’t have the right “look” to get in. The whole experience exhausted me. The scene is so very lame as well.

    • asucolin

      Electronic music sounds like an oxymoron. You mean the repetitive boomcha boomcha boomcha beats? Back in my day we watched MTV to discover new music and FM radio. Both are pretty much dead now.

    • Glen McBride

      Good lord, do you have a proofreader? If not, please find one.

    • Mitchell

      Nobody is going to nightclubs because “it’s too crowded, the lines are too long, it takes to long to get a drink”, so who are the people in line, getting drinks, and making it crowded? What a moronic article.

      • Thomas F. La Vecchia

        your comment made my night!

      • 10songsblog

        I think he meant millennials don’t have the patience to wait in line or get rinks. The could get a drink delivered faster with app I guess.

    • Shannon

      This article is very difficult to read based on the grammatical errors. The author is, allegedly, a journalist, and it is incumbent upon s/he and the editors to proofread and correct content. Start by learning the difference between the incorrect usage, “steady decline for the passed several years” and the correct usage, “steady decline for the PAST several years.” There isn’t a paragraph that doesn’t require major editing. It is difficult to understand why the Insider – the Guidebook to Millennial Culture – wouldn’t expect more of itself…or is this part of the Millennial problem? Less attention to detail and content due to less attention span overall?

    • Viir Exeter

      Millennials don’t have real lives. They exist inside of their cell phones, have never played in the street, and validate themselves through hitting the ‘like’ button and uploading pics of their latest meals to social media (like anyone gives one damn). Their entire world experience is VIRTUAL, i.e, pixel-based, un-real. Not one of them could exist 5 seconds without their cell phones surgically attached to the palms of their soft, pale, little hands. Going to an actual club would entail actually expending energy, dealing with real people in a real life situation, and dealing with REALITY, something that they are diametrically, categorically, violently opposed to doing. They might have to have a face-to-face conversation with real people, without hiding behind a 2+ year old avatar, and without
      resorting to Internet slang and emoticons, a fate worse than death.

      • Thomas F. La Vecchia

        Agreed. be careful you met get the evil eye emoji…lol

      • chris007

        I tried talking to girls and getting them to dance and they act like little kangaroos hopping away from me. So I’m like what the fuck?

    • Stacie4

      I wouldn’t go to a night club just because either. It is true about being around rude & disconsiderate people. I like going to a club with the purpose of seeing live music / bands I really enjoy listening to are playing! I think it has to do with our ages & the time frame! A lot of people come to have families & jobs, which begin to take priority. Plus, single folk have difficulty finding people who share their interest in music to meet up with. It is easier talking to a good friend for dinner or coffee or whatever. The start time of shows become late for people as well, especially with jobs & family. It is probably true to go other places to experience & listen to music! But still, in my opinion, I have met some incredible people through my enjoyment of music & there is nothing quite seeing your favorite bands live & singing along!!! And being amongst people who obviously share your interest in music & with a particular band!!

    • Jim McBride

      Social networking is helping people to do more than date online as facebook-fueled events and meetups etc. make it easier to find and create good parties any night of the week. The tech culture is growing too as the startup scene in dc has also led to coworking spaces full of launch and networking events where u drink for free or cheap and can mingle in a safe, friendly environment. Im sure that most big cities are developing these kinds of communities.

    • Elaine Caroll

      Please also add, that going out to have a few drinks has added up to nightmare for some when on the way home they get pulled over by the cops and arrested for DWI. Happens so often now, not like the old days when a cop will make sure you get home safe. Its easy to get busted for just having a few drinks. Why risk this expensive and humiliating experience when you can stay home with a few friends, have some drinks and food delivered, and enjoy some Xbox safe at home? Its getting riskier everyday out there!

      • chris007

        Especially with terrorism on the rise, it pays to stay home and relax.

    • Mmmmaven Project

      This article is terrible. No links to anything they mention, it’s clickbait and it’s very awful. Moving on…

    • Phoboskibbity M’Goo

      was this written by a MILLENNIAL? or is it that really the author and his friends can’t dance so would rather chill on some trendy roof top patio and talk about whats on TV? rather than grind on the dance floor?

      We are in a major recession… night clubs cater to the masses, the middle class the workers… not to mention more than half of new clubs fail in the first year just normally… there is this myth that the recession is over… its not… the economy did not recover, just super rich people recovered ( so they still go to their clubs in Manhattan ) the big cities known for clubbing are chugging along fine, my friend owns a club its just passed its 2 year mark, its full of millennials and Gen X, the trick is you have to throw some good parties and have some good promoters….

      not to mention the Rave Scene changed everything… clubbing was just about getting wasted and maybe dancing and picking up a chick or a dude to fuck maybe….

      Raving is about dancing… you get high with your friend and you spend 10pm-7am dancing your ass off and having a magical experience, a decent party has amazing lighting, crazy super cool deco, a plush chill space were you are your friends can cuddle and even take a nap and security will not throw you out….

      the high crest of the rave scene has passed but it has left us with “parties” and “festivals” ravers and hippies formed communities around this,

      its the Top 40 clubs that are really hurting… those are the places were casuals and people who just go out on special occasions flock too… people who like dancing and like good techno or house of Bass music are going to parties in little clubs thrown by small promoters and collectives and the bars just sit back and rake in the booze money…

      there are always places to go “for those who know”

    • Dan Cummings

      You are wrong on your birth years. Millennials are early 1980s to esrly 2000s Gen X is 1960s to 1980

    • RepliCarter

      Uber and Lyft have also made it easier to “pre-game” and so the clubs maybe aren’t selling as many drinks.

    • Johnny Bingo

      Millennials are simply not into cultivating a taste in music. They like the hits, and the next one…. clubbing is about refining a taste in a niche, while partying to accommodate that. It makes me sad that clubbing is now a circus show. And what makes me more sad is what seems to be a global War On Night Culture?? Its happening in London, NYC, LA, and Sydney (a once bustling place nocturnally). The day Berghain shuts, its all over… the vein short term memory idiots have won.

    • Ian Maddox

      How about we bring back the RAVE scene? I always liked these better than clubs. Much more experiential.

    • Uber Drowse

      I went to a night club maybe 5 times in my life. I agree to most of the stuff in the article, I personally don’t like that I can’t have conversations with friends, or a girl I would happen to meet there. The music is far from what I’m into and I won’t even start on drinks and prices. I used to spend lots of time in bars, especially with live bands, but now I prefer to go hiking or some fancy dining to any bar…

    • Adolfo Lopez de Haro

      Spanish gens go differently prior to the latest gen:

      Gen Z; Gen Global, Gen iPad (late nineties-onwards)

      The sister generations (the younger sister which I like to dub “Erasmus kids” or Zapatero Kids, who are greaduating from college now, born between late 80’s and mid 90’s,and their “older sister generation”, the “transition kids” born roughly between “1977 and 1986” who are fathers and mothers to the Gen Z kids and which I like to dub “the promised generation” , “the generation that never was”, “BMX/NES gen” or the “Spanish Gen X” This sister gens spanning some 25 years (between Franco’s death and the end of the century) share characteristics of both America’s Gen X and Millenial gens but also many things that are different. They are the sons and daughters of the “movida kids”

      The Late Francoist/Movida kids are in many ways similar to Gen X and Baby Boomers, but again, with their own set of characteristics that would prevent them from recognising themselves into either of Anglo-American’s gen-x or baby boomers, mostly due to being the sons of the Franquismo generation…Late francoism was still a dictatorship, but very much weakened and liberalised, something not entirely unlike what Germans lived in the 80’s with the end of the climax of the cold war and the reunification only 15 years earlier.

      The generation of Franco’s regimes. Too young to remember what it was like to live before franco, born immediately before, during or immediately after the civil war. The grew up in a poor and morally destroyed country and through hard work and solidarity turned the country around without much help unlike the marshal-plan countries, into one of the world’s wealthiest, safest and most incredible nations, all while suffering appaling lack of freedom, most importantly freedom of speech, and hoping for a future in which their descendants would be one day free. For me they are the “silent generation”, the “repressed” generation,but also the generation that founded what our country is today.

      Their parents (my great grand’s gen). The founders of the 20th century. The generation that “fought”. They fought in 3 wars (Morocco in the early 20’s, Spain in the mid 30’s and WWII in the 1940’s)This generation was really adventurous, spirited, idealistic and encompassed the spirit of the XXth century’s first half like no other perhaps in the entire continent. They also shared their terrible destiny and the struggle (and in the Spanish case, much like in Eastern Europe) the defeat against totalitarianism. This was a fratricide generation in my country were century’s old bad blood was poured in rives.

    • StepfordWife

      I agree with a lot in this article. I’m 29 and the friends and family I hang out with range in age from 25 to 42. We only go to clubs when we are in Vegas or Miami. We take trips around the world without setting foot into a nightclub. If I’m going out its to a bar or lounge. Some place with good drinks, music that isn’t deafening and seating. We bowl a lot, I met a guy at the bowling alley a few years ago. Most of my friends and family have families so going out to get wasted isn’t really a thing for us. I do agree that changing the atmosphere in the clubs will draw in that younger crowd and the kids who will be 21 in the next few years

      • 10songsblog

        So you are one of the few who are not broke. frankly I like to travel also but I HAVE to go out dacning it is not an option for +9sanity reasons. So I have to budget than in.

    • Captiosus

      Gotta love how they keep trying to push the start of the millenial generation back further and further. I’ll take the word of well respected academics on it and leave it at 1980, thanks. Born in 1977, I’m firmly Gen X in my attitude and beliefs. I didn’t grow up around the turn of the millenium, I was already an adult, graduated college and out on my own. That’s the exact opposite of what it means to be a millennial.

      As for nightclubs, I think that very much depends on where you grow up. Having grown up in Southeastern Virginia, the only “night clubs” around here really catered either to the country music scene, mainstream rock, or military folks. They were generally poorly run with bad local cover bands and very little in the way of anything approaching new music. From ages 18 to 23, I basically hung out at one little dive-slash-pool hall because I had friends who liked the place. I made some friends there over the years but then it went out of business and nothing ever took its place.

      I just turned 39 and I haven’t been to an actual night club since my early 20’s. There just aren’t any here worth visiting and if I were to go to a place with an abundance of nightclubs, I’d be treated as an old fart grandpa by, you know, actual millennials. So why bother?

    • Mitchell Lodge

      Not one mention of adults playing computer games… easily the biggest factor.

    • SlayerNina Friki

      Sooo… The only way to save nightclubs is to attend to a crowded place, buy expensive drinks, listen awful music, can’t talk to my own friends and being harassed by assholes?

      I still don’t get why they call Millenials “stupid”.

    • UnitedStatesCitizen

      Night clubs are expensive, thats the main reason. If you go to a club more than once in your life, than you know about every issue with clubs mentioned in this article and people still go. Those issues will always be present and I dont feel have changed with time or will change. Also I think there are a lot of clubs that wouldnt even be around if it wasnt for social media as A lot of club goers use social media to find out what clubs to go too. So I have to come back to money, I feel like its probably more likely that more people have less money are working more and they dont feel like the club scene is worth it after a while. I think a lot of people like to give some of the reasons stated in this article instead of just saying I cant afford to go out every weekend or multiple times in a week and blow money at a club.

      • Thomas F. La Vecchia

        It prob is strictly financial

    • aytakk

      Where I am (Adelaide, Australia) microbrew/cocktail bars and small venues are on the rise while the larger venues are shutting down. We had a change in licensing laws here that made setting up small venues a lot easier so there has been a boom. Basically Adelaide is trying to become more like Melbourne with a laneway culture of small venues.

      Its driven the standard right up so where a good bar/club would survive before, it needs to have that extra something special to survive now. A few of the small venues have shut down in about a year in spite of having positive reputations. Good but not good enough.

      The hipster element in all of this can’t be ignored. There is a market for exclusivity, expensive microbrew beers and cocktails. Pubs still have the regular cheaper stuff though.

      • Thomas F. La Vecchia

        So its not just in the USA… Interesting

    • Dominic Quintana

      One aspect you might not be thinking of is the economy that Millennials are living in. The job market for long-term, well-paying jobs with benefits is frankly abysmal. Why would they be out in nightclubs blowing hundreds of dollars on the weekend if they can be “downsized” or laid off on Monday?

      At least speaking for myself, this is a huge reason why I don’t go out to bars or clubs anymore. I’m much happier having a dinner at someone’s home with a few friends. Much cheaper and more fun.

    • MF

      So instead of fixing prices and costs to make the experience affordable, and god forbid it hurts profits in the short term, clubs are just doubling down, partnering and getting more glitzy and flashy while still keeping costs high, if not raising them.

      Logic never fails these people.

    • Adolf_Mingan

      From 22-24 and 25-26, I attended both nightclubs and concerts on a budget. My time with clubs has been good mostly. Used to go to underground clubs in Alburquerque, not your poppy music from radio, charts, flavour of the weak. People got along mostly there, door prices were cheap compared to other people’s experiences. I did not feel peer pressured to blend in with drinks. Dancing was a blast as I hated being at home alone month in/out during college. Nowadays like most Gen Y, I am saving up for either a future date with clubnights or just getting ahead in life, be it job searching or looking for opportunities to expand my skill set. I will say drama in any circle ruins the memories of night life as you question why did you move away from home. Sad when those who ran good club nights ended them out of selfish reasons or betrayed their conscious. Maybe people will get back together who knows.

      I will agree with other commentors that most of this generation is struggling to stay on their feet financially. I cannot say much on de-humanization via technology overtaking interaction in person. Funny how people told me to come out of my shell as a teenager, only then to find most people went into theirs as a 20-something. I am more out-going now than back then, loneliness is not something to be proud of. You too shall hurt in time. Nothing wrong talking to strangers, that is how you break ice and perhaps make some new friends and connections. I am more inclined now to branch out than stay small and unconnected. I like how other Gen Y told me that I would not be popular without iPhone shit back in freshmen year of college. I kept being frugal into my post-high school life as I did not really see a need for all this technology eating me up. Doubt anyone with it would be anymore happier than those without.

    • frankieboy1

      daughter’s catholic HS banned all phones (including smartphones) during school hours.. As a result she has been able to develop a nice group of friends (including a steady group of kids at lunch) that are becoming very close-and from what I hear the phones will not be back anytime soon…

    • dookieboot2

      Apparently millennials don’t seem to know how to properly edit prose either. There are at least ten grammar and usage mistakes in this article.

    • Christian Hutchinson

      Its called a $10000 dollar for a DUI. Plus any halfway decent job requires you to be carried on the company’s insurance, which means a DUI hurts you in the job market for 3 to 5 years.

    • Rob Boss

      Oh fer fucksake! They’re hooking up with Tinder, not a nightclub! How hard is that to grasp?

    • stevelb1

      Generation X aren’t the parents of the millennials. The Millennials are the offspring primarily of the late or 2nd cohort of Baby Boomers.

    • ApathyNihilism

      You lost me with the word “impactful”.

    • ApathyNihilism

      Most nightclubs are depressing, overcrowded, overpriced, versions of high school cafeteria social hierarchies, with torturously awful soundtracks. Why would we want to subject ourselves to this “experience”?

      • 10songsblog

        You need to hang out with me, I go to the fun plays where people dance and don’t give a fuck about hierarchy.

    • HuangYou

      For most people there is only 1 reason to set foot in a shitty club with overpriced drinks, rude service and dirty toilets. It’s not dancing. Apparently the need to visit these establishments is no longer there. This phenomenon is not limited to the US / UK but global. Events, concerts and festivals are having their best attendances ever, so it’s not like people don’t want to hear music anymore or don’t want to meet new people. It’s that most (not all) of the old venues were simply awful.

    • JohnnyQD

      I can’t blame the Millennials for not frequenting clubs….LOL….I’m a Gen-Xer and these are the VERY reasons I quit clubbing:

      Expensive cover charges

      High-priced drinks
      Long lines
      Slow bar service
      Rude staff
      Being pushed around in crowded atmosphere

      Poor male-to-female ratio

      Better ways to discover new music
      Inability to have a conversation

      • Thomas F. La Vecchia

        I agree, the nightclub landscape and changed dramatically

    • missmack

      Blame Dj culture its boring and it happened on thier watch. If there are better ways to find music than djs what exactly is their job at this point? Lame

    • Mat Wilson

      The night club scene needs to reinvent it’s self again. Using old names, themes, and events that once was many many moons ago and old music is eventually going to get tired. The current EDM music and celebrity DJS, and everybody’s a DJ with their laptop is not going to cut it. House music needs a come back with new sound and style without all the top 40 and rap artists, the current noise is an awful sound. The “gay” circuit house music sound is dead, that was a late 90s, and 2000s thing. When music gets better again and night clubs start hiring real disc jockeys, and start putting money into things and invent new ideas I think Everybody will start supporting night clubs again. Until then, it’s only going to get worse. Glad the article is brought up, but I don’t believe those are any reasons why people are abandoning the night clubs. Sure many people are complaining about different things, but obviously there are reasons why. And also the economy as mentioned by other people seems to be a factor. It’s still not good, and people still don’t have the disposable income as they did 20, 30, 40 years ago.

    • Dingus

      Millennial here! think the better question is “Why does ANYONE want to party like this?” why would anyone want to destroy their brain cells, hook up with strangers and then feel like crap the next the day?

      Not only is it boring because you can’t talk to anyone, it’s filled with sleazy losers that drink/drug themselves up to the point of crapping their pants or going home with someone as moronic as they are.
      The whole thing reminds me of those animal documentaries where a herd of mountain sheep compete for sex.

      Not only that, I can see the effects of this lifestyle showing up in past generations, with people who used to party in their youth, now showing signs of alcoholism and illness at age 40 due to messing up their bodies so bad at age 20.

      A lot of people are still out there clubbing, but some are just choosing to hang out with friends and mess around with people they know and trust.

      • Thomas F. La Vecchia

        I agree. Niightclubs just care about bottle service and having you spend $1,500 on a $20 bottle of booze.

      • 10songsblog

        Well maybe there are a large segments of the population who go out to dance! It is great exercise. If fact I do not know any drunk dancers at the moment nor do I see many except for the newly minted legal age young people going out to party. Older people know how to handle their liquor. Sure some are alcoholics but that has NOTHING to do with nightclubs,. You can stay how and be an alcoholic too.

        And again if you are going to clubs with the intention of having conversation your are an idiot. Nobody ever said to me, “Hey I’d love to talk to you let’s go to a club.” LOL!

    • Scotty B

      Bloated article skewed to fit the intended impact.
      Really??
      People are “napping” instead of going to a nightclub at 11 o;clock at night?
      Isn’t that called going to bed early???

      And… the author added this “Nightclubs? Nope.” seemingly using the fact that
      “nightclubs” weren’t in the list of answers to “what millennials enjoy INSTEAD of going to nightclubs”?

      So instead of BLUE, what’s you”re favorite color? ———- I bet BLUE won’t be listed.

      Nightclubs that are run well will thrive. Granted there are more entertainment options, but no one goes to a nightclub to talk – they go to dance and party – they’ll go to a lounge, bar or a quiter area of the club to talk.
      There is such a thing as bar hopping.

      • Thomas F. La Vecchia

        yes but the days of 1,500 bottle service (in NYC) are done as gen y either stays in, goes to bars or hits Tinder for a hook-up, those seem to be the reason for the decline.

    • 10songsblog

      ” and would certainly much rather spend their hard-earned money on experiences rather than material possessions.” WTF? If that were true they would not be obsessed with the latest phone or t-shirt and going out to have experiences at clubs. But as I said above when they do go out they do not live the experience they get on their phones at take selfies or stand around in the middle of the floor.

      Also I think the biggest reason club attendance is down is because frankjly the music is SHITE mono-genre every song sounds the same clap-trap. In the new wave scene you had all different kinds of sounds from Devo to Depeche Mode to Siousxie Sioux, & Blondie… hell even in the 90s one would never confuse a mix by Love To Infinity with David Morales or Hex Hector. But now record companies have a hit and send out 20 more clones to reproduce the same success for their wallets.

      And disco supposedly a bastion of clones actually was quite varied in the beging from Salsoul to Moroder to Sugarhill to the Cerrone and Italo. This is why I hardly go clubbing unless it is a retro dance night because I get bored.

    • 10songsblog

      Reading the comments I am perplexed as to why ANYONE would think you’d go to a nightclub to have a conversation. This say to me you have no idea WTF a nightclub is. It is for dancing and drinks to loosen you up. And for some to hook-up. But not for having some, “hey let’s catch up” or discuss world politics thing. It was never for that and YET people still managed to somehow go to clubs and find time outside them for conversation. I do both regularly.

      • Thomas F. La Vecchia

        I agree. For some reason though Nightlcub attendance is way down, even more so with Generation Y.

    Comments are closed.

    You May Also Like

    Top 5 Things You Need To Know About New Jersians

    5 Things To Know About Jersians Source: Google Images #5. Our pronunciation. There’s a ...

    Top 10 Things Everyone Who Has Two Jobs Knows To Be True

    Having two jobs, also known as “juggling,” is becoming increasingly common. With underemployment and ...

    Top 10 Reasons Being a Bridesmaid Sucks

      Okay so your best friend’s man finally popped the question! The announcement is ...