Well I would say I can't agree with you on all your points. I live in Europe, Norway to be exact. And the way you describe, is not accurate.

There are a lot of bands here, and no they don't all play folk music. We have cover bands, imitation bands, original bands, high profiled bands, low profiled bands, bands who sing in norwegian, bands who sing in english, solo artists of every listed variation, we have DJ's, rappers, big shows, small shows, and just about every other thing you have over there.

One Man Bands are rarely popular in clubs, bars, etc. They are usually only playing in weddings, birthdays, christmas parties and other private social gatherings. In clubs and bars you have the Pianoentertainers, or DJ's. The latter beeing the most popular. Most clubs and bars cater to the younger audience, those who are 18-20, and some for those who are 25 - 30. The first group prefer DJ's playing cd's, the last group is a bit widespread. A lot of places have live bands, even "open mic nights" for up and coming artists.

The reason why arrangers are so popular here, is that we have a tradition, in weddings and other social happenings, we almost always have live music. This tradition made a lot of people tossing their drummer and bass player, buying a keyboard, that way they didn't have to share their earnings.

As for prices, yes stuff is a bit more expensive over here. But USA is a bit country, low tax, more people, capitalism, all that add up to lower prices. But overall prices are on average not more than 20-30% higher over here, mostly due to taxes. Ex: PSR-3000 costs 1500$ in USA, and it costs 2000$ here in norway.

A Gibson guitar costs from 1000$ - 5000$ depending on type. Most people here earn $3000 or more a month. A USA Fender Strat, costs from 1000$ to...

Norway is a country with a lot of distances, we all have cars, most of use have two or more cars.

And gas prices have reached a record high of 2$ a litre...(about 7.50$ a gallon) so you are right, gas is expensive, I use about 500$ a month just for gas.

Having traveled playing music in a lot of other european countries, I find that this situation is pretty simular. At least in Scandinavia and southern europe.
DJ's are still the most popular, and the cheapest entertainment you can hire for a club, bands play a lot in the summer, omb's are for weddings and christmas parties, and pianists play in high energy bars.

Doc-Z