A concert is basically a live musical performance in front of an organized audience. Usually the performance can be by just a single artist, at times known as a recital, or even a string quartet, or a musical group, including a choir, orchestra, or band. Concerts can be for solo artists, groups, and even ensembles. There is always a stage and an audience.
In the early days, concerts were rather rare because there was very little money circulating around. The price for a ticket was usually determined by the king or queen of the day. In order to gain popularity and more profits, concert promoters began to realize that they had to find new ways of attracting audience. This was done by making the musicians perform at popular places, like banquets in fashionable homes and restaurants, and by organizing public performances for the people at large. These “concerts” were also open to the public. This is the first form of concert promotion.
The next concert promotion method was the development of theaters where the music performers would come on stage to “perform”. These so called “open air concerts” were intended to attract larger audiences. But in the early days it was difficult for the musicians to get audiences of their own, and so they often performed for free at the homes or restaurants where large numbers of people would gather for entertainment. This was the beginning of the concert tradition.
The development of mass media events like radio, television, and cinema changed the face of concert promotion. These forms of promotion made it possible for large numbers of people to attend concerts without having to pay anything. This increased the concert attendance, and helped the concert societies to grow. It also changed the face of the concert business. Today, most of the big concert organizations are international, and their activities can be seen all over the world.
The concert activity has evolved further since the early days. Today it is much easier for people to attend concerts, as they are provided with many convenient ways to do so. This has led to a drastic decline in real estate costs of concert promoters, as tickets cost much less nowadays. Thus concert promoters are no longer as constrained by financial issues as they used to be in the early days of the concert activity.
Opera singers have been given special concerts where they perform to a specially composed instrumental piece instead of their usual opera songs. Thus opera singers have achieved great popularity through concert series. In addition to the concert series, there are also other innovative ways of promotion that are being tried. For instance, some concert organizations have started holding a concert version of a famous movie. This is an excellent way of spreading information about a new movie, especially one that has just been released. Thus the concert promoters are now able to reach a greater audience all over the world.