"one anecdote doesn't add up to hard evidence"

Artists who spend 15-30 hours a week ringing round for gigs are the only people who are likely to know what's going on nationally. The people who talk to me, both club organisers and touring artists, are not liars or fools - and the feedback is unanimous, even if not technically 'hard evidence.' If anyone wants hard evidence they could always ring 200 or so clubs (I've spoken to 400 in the past couple of years), and ask them if they have reduced the number of guest nights in the past 5 years or not. Then they could try to ring all the clubs that have closed altogether to check that they really have gone away. It would be a great service to folk, and I'm rather hoping that we may have a volunteer on this very thread..?