Concert reviews

[dexander]

Can somebody tell me the purpose of concert reviews? If I read a review of a restaurant or a movie I can decide I need to add it to my list of things to do. But what good does it do to tell someone that "the greatest concert that ever occurred in the history of the universe was last night and you missed it"? Is it some form of one upsmanship? A

Comments

[jaberwockynmt]

1) if there's a concert series, it can increase turn out at later shows.
2) Any publicity helps sell records.
3) Journalists (and pretty much everyone else) love free concert tickets.

[chamewco]

It's sort of like sports too. You go to them and have a good time, and then you can hear or watch them on TV and relive a little bit of the energy and feelings (chemical or otherwise) you had while you were there.

[fusiongyro]

Well, you beat me to it.

1. If the band was great, you want to support them. Likewise, if they sucked, you want others not to waste their time.
2. It's likely that future concerts from the same band will be similar in quality.
3. Concert reviews allow concert goers to share the experience, even in a limited, low-fidelity way, with others.

[dexander]

But that is just my point. Most concerts are one shot deals. Now online reviews are available at the next stop on the tours but long before the Internet made this easy you would see reviews in the local newspaper about a concert that happened the night before which was now gone. I could understand if the paper published some reviews a from couple of previous stops along the tour for its readers beforehand but this isn't what happened. Rather you would get a review published in a place where it was no longer useful. It would support ticket sales if the right people could see it but that would seldom happen since it was being published in exactly the locale that no longer needed the information. Why were the promoters anxious to give free tickets to reviewers who would write reviews for an audience that could no longer use the information to increase ticket sales?

[discreet_chaos]

I usually read the reviews in Rolling Stone and I can see how the show they did in Cleveland may be similar to the show in Albuquerque, but that wouldn't necessarily explain a review in the local media.

Of course, I've rarely gone to concerts since college and that's because it's usually an hour to three for me to reach a venue. So, I've mostly read concert reviews since then, where I don't actually have to go.

economics answer

[anonymous]

The purpose of a concert review is the same as the purpose of any press material. People want them, rational or not, which sells copies and advertising.

Re: economics answer

[metaed]

(me)

Just because you missed it doesn't mean you can go

[schlake]

If I read a review today of what a great concert Disaster Area gave at that little restaurant on Frogstar World B last night, I'd have plenty of time to open a bank account with a single penny in it and then head off to last nights concert which really happened billions of years from now.