Two weeks ago, Sukhumvit Soi 22 live music venue The Overground announced it was closing. "Business is tough out there,” wrote its owner, Graham Lynch, on Facebook. “Costs keep on rising, and income is not rising to match. The powers that be are actively hostile to the nightlife scene and probable imminent developments will make for an even more treacherous trading environment. We also have little visibility over the future status of our leased property which removes the incentive to invest for the long term. Most bars and clubs in BKK I talk to are down 30-50% in revenues."

He might be right. In the same month as Overground’s announcement, another long-loved Bangkok bar revealed they’d be going the same way: Moose, whose arrival in Bangkok in 2012 heralded a new dawn for live indie music in this city.

So what, exactly, is happening out there? While owning a bar which is also a live music venue—as both of these venues were—sounds really cool, the reality is that it’s seriously tough.

“People seem to assume that music venues are just money machines,” says Lynch. “They are not. They are usually labors of love from dedicated owners and promoters who accept reduced incomes or subsidize losses with their day jobs.”

He predicts many more venues will be forced into closure over the next few months, driven by declining revenue and rising rental costs. The rising cost of commercial property is a big problem for bars that make their peak earnings for just a few hours of a couple of nights per week. Compare that to 7-Eleven, which can turn around money round the clock.

Passapong “Bard” Phetpradit, owner of Soi Suan Phlu’s low-key cocktail spot Junker & Bar says that the only way his bar can survive is because he also lives there. “"The fact that I live above my bar, and next door is my grandma's place, really, really helps a lot in terms of reducing the big cost of renting," he explains.

And then there’s the uncertainty caused by the current political situation. “With the army gaining policing powers, bars are now subject to the law enforcement attention of both the military and the police and they do not always issue orders in lockstep,” says Lynch.

Bard has experienced similar troubles. “The military have come to visit my bar five times in the past two months—from mid-May to mid-July—asking for all kinds of licenses, randomly asking customers for their IDs, and scaring them,” he says. “I know they are just doing their job, but somehow, lately, it has been very tough, and they do pay visits unnecessarily often. It’s scaring the customers a bit."

The closure of Bangkok bars which support live music also has a knock-on effect on our local bands.

“Moose’s owner has always been a big supporter of Bangkok indie musicians,” explains Yuan Santiwattan, co-founder of Rats Records. “It’s a venue that’s guaranteed to bring you quality underground bands. Now that it’s closing, Bangkok musicians are losing another valuable live music venue. When things are tough for bar owners, that makes it very difficult for the independent music industry as well.”

However, we shouldn’t be too despondent. While many bars are struggling, there are still plenty of gems out there who continue to support the Bangkok independent music community, such as Jam, Play Yard by Studio Bar, Whiteline, or Bar21.

Show your appreciation for the scene by dropping by Moose this Jul 31, when the bar will bid farewell with a party featuring live music from Yellow Fang, Plot, Fwends, Gorn Clw and The Blackcodes. Entry is B200 (includes one free drink) with performances running between 7:30pm-midnight.