Recently an article published on the music site Gigs and Bands went viral. The title of the piece was, 5 reasons why open mic nights are killing live music. The article in question raised several points criticising why these nights were detrimental to music scenes in cities. The writer suggested that the nights were a bad advert for true live music, that they are often exclusive and that it is unfair that musicians are playing for free while the organiser takes all the money.
This seemed to strike a cord in the Cardiff area as the capital has a huge number of these events. Between Monday to Friday there are a plethora of nights to choose from if you are keen to play a few songs in front of a crowd.
It seems that opinions are split on whether open mics help or hider the scene. In an attempt to gage the opinion of the music community we visited various open mics and gig venues in the city asking musicians their thoughts on the subject.
To join the debate, find the original article by following the link below.