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NPR On Gay Bar Extinction
On Friday, NPR's Marketplace show discussed the rash of gay bar closures around the country, citing Fortune Magazine's recent list of "10 Businesses Heading For Extinction", which includes gay bars. Listen to the audio here. An excerpt:
Every year, Fortune Magazine releases a list of 10 businesses it thinks are facing extinction. Some of this year's casualties? Record stores, crop dusting and telemarketing. Oh, and gay bars, too. That one caught our eye because gay business in general is booming. Stacey Vanek Smith has more. STACEY VANEK-SMITH: It's a busy weekend night at a gay bar in Los Angeles. Actor Jason Dottley says gay bars don't just cater to a gay clientele anymore. The scene has become a lot more mixed.Jason Dottley: It's an indication of open-mindedness. I think it's a sign of progress. But that progress has a left some older gay bars sounding like this . . . [sound of ocean waves crashing]. The Boom Boom Room opened in Laguna Beach in 1947. It used to be a favorite hangout of Rock Hudson's. But today the windows of the white, art-deco facade are papered over. Fred Karger started coming here in 1973. Fred Karger: It's a magical place. It had a little, kind of loungey bar, and it had pool tables. They'd have this wonderful cabaret show on Wednesday nights. The new owner plans to tear down the Boom Boom Room and build a luxury hotel. Gay bars all over the country have met similar fates: New York's Roxy, The Avalon in Boston, The Pendulum in San Francisco. But here's the weird thing: Gay business is booming. Gay spending power in the U.S. is worth an estimated $750 billion. So why are gay bars having so much trouble? Marketing expert Jerry McHugh says part of it is generational. Jerry McHugh: Generation X people and Generation Y people are less concerned about gay-exclusive socialization, and they're more interested in a more-diverse environment. McHugh says for gay boomers, bars used to function like community centers. McHugh: When I came out it was the early 90s, and it was really helpful to go to these places. Boston Globe writer Robert David Sullivan says a few years ago he noticed the number of gay bars in Boston had been cut in half. He says it was strange because they had been such a cornerstone of the gay social scene. Robert David Sullivan: It was sort of structured that you could meet people that way, and you could say things and not censor yourself. Sullivan says today young, gay men and women use the Internet, not bars, to meet people. And the older generation has graduated from late-night bar hopping to a mellow meal out.
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Washington, D.C. -- The total buying power of the U.S. gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) adult population in 2008 is projected to be $712 billion, according to the recently updated analysis by Witeck-Combs Communications and Packaged Facts. The estimate was originally derived in a joint study by both organizations entitled, "The U.S. Gay and Lesbian Market." In 2007, the gay buying power projection was estimated at $690 billion.
In sharing the latest analysis, Bob Witeck, CEO of Witeck-Combs Communications said, "Estimating buying power can be an important business measure for companies and policy decision-makers. This offers us a reasonable snapshot of the projected economic activity of America's diverse gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender population." Since 1993, Witeck-Combs Communications, Inc. has provided expert marketing and communications counsel to Fortune 500 companies in their strategies to reach the gay consumer market. Bob Witeck and his co-founder, Wes Combs, also are co-authors of "Business Inside Out: Capturing Millions of Brand Loyal Gay Customers" (Kaplan 2006).
Witeck stated that "buying power is not the same as affluence or wealth. No one should infer that same-sex households are more affluent than others. We have seen evidence from academic researchers that gay men may earn slightly less than their heterosexual counterparts."
He added that, "the best available Census data on same-sex couples supports the understanding, however, that gay populations tend to be somewhat more concentrated in major metro areas, and less likely to live in rural, under populated areas -- a characteristic generally associated with higher than average income. We also see that same-sex couples are less likely than their married heterosexual counterparts to have kids, and they are more likely to have both partners in the workforce, factors which yield higher per capita household income, especially in the case of gay male couples."
Justin Nelson, co-founder and President of the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (http://www.nglcc.org/), highlighted the latest analysis: "Our mission is dedicated to educating American business leaders on the far-reaching financial contributions made by GLBT households and business owners. This analysis helps confirm what we've learned about the integral roles that GLBT people play throughout the entire U.S. economy, and remind us that our efforts are valued and recognized."
Based on a reasonable and broad range of population samples, the analysis benchmarks between 6% to 7% of the adult U.S. population who self-identify as gay, lesbian or bisexual, or between 15 and 16 million adults. Unlike estimates of buying power for other populations, such as African Americans or Hispanics, the GLBT population is estimated only among adults over the age of 18 when they are more likely to be fully aware of their sexual orientation or gender identity. For other groups, the population total includes all ages.
Gays Have $712 Billion Buying Power
