Canaries In The Coalmine
Being in two entertainment categories as I am (food & music), it occurs to me that these two vocations are a dead-on barometer of the current economy.
The music category is more obvious: When talent buyers, agents, non-profit theaters and festivals from around the country all start telling the same story about sponsor funding drying up, attendee numbers being down, etc., you start to get a clear, independent assessment of what's happening all around the country - and it ain't pretty.
Less obvious, but equally revealing, is the catering/special event category. In a robust economy, there are lots of corporate gigs, holiday parties, contract feeding, etc; you know things are bad when catering companies strip things down to skeleton crews, and some of these owners are back to delivering & working the parties themselves.
