How the internet has changed the way people find out about concerts/gigs

I love music and it's even better when it is live.  Concerts/gigs are how bands make their money as the download culture has decreased album sales.  The way I have found out about gigs has changed, even in the past year. 

Previously, it would have been through 'word of mouth' from school or university friends. It was like a social event more than anything with a bonus of seeing your favourite bands. As I finished university (2006), social network sites like Facebook and Bebo were just starting to become popular. In the three years following, social networks have arguably become a part of people's daily routine. Therefore, it follows logically that bands would use these social network sites as a means to advertise freely about themselves. The beauty of this is that you, the user, can choose which bands you want to be kept inform about. It also helps independent labels and unsigned artists to distribute their music, which was impossible before these networks were established without expense.

I found this document for bands who want to advertise on Facebook. This explains how bands can use Facebook as a platform for advertising up and coming events and sharing their music with their audiences. They also give the "fans" links to their official websites, twitter pages, clips from concerts and dates for album releases. It also gives the chance for fans to commentate, which makes it quite a symmetrical way of dealing with your audiences.

Back in the day, I used Ticketmaster. I still get newsletters via email, showing me what bands are playing locally. This was how I found out about the Eagles of Death Metal concert in Belfast. You can also buy your tickets from the website. You get so much information on the web, that you don't get on a poster at the bus stop.

Big names like Pink or Take That do still use TV commercials/large posters to advertise albums or concerts. This is probably because they attract a lot of people from all walks of life. It is an asymmetrical way of communicating. A lot of young children enjoy their music, but they won't be able to know about concerts through the internet.

As Twitter is a relatively new way of bands communicating with their audiences, I haven't used it yet for finding out about up and coming tours. However, unsigned bands ask me to follow them. This is a great way to find out about new bands. Muse, who are an exceptionally brilliant band (in my opinion), are on the ball when it comes to sharing their news online. I get updates nearly every week about their new album and how they are getting on, on their current tour.

However, I still believe that there is a room for the conventional advertising as people like to see images on billboards etc. Adam Webb from the Guardian discussed the rise in online use by record companies. Conventional advertising is on it's way out, but it is still being used and is still successful. The facebook pages are brilliant if you have access to internet all the time, but still there are people out there who do not have access to the internet permanently.