For many, attending a concert is considered as a waste of money, with the reasoning that it sounds better on the CD anyways. However, money is not the only thing one should think about when they are debating about seeing their favorite artist live in concert. Live Concerts offer numerous benefits that should be taken in consideration during the decision making process.
In addition to the simple, pure fun that can be found at concerts, there are also scientific reasons behind attending concerts. Mainly, experience is one of the most important reasons that one should consider when scrolling through the listings about their favorite artists attending their city.
The brain classifies going to a concert as an ‘experience’, rather than an expenditure. Hence, it is not considered as a material purchase. This places them in the same category as all the Thanksgiving dinners and Christmas parties, which means that they will be retained as a memory for a long term. As memories fade, the brain remembers the fun and good memories, cutting out the bad experiences. Since material purchases fade, the brain considers it as short-term happiness and the memory of a material purchase is temporary; it is more likely to fade from the mind.
This ideology that experiences are more likely remembered are proven in psychological research conducted by Van Boven & Gilovich. More research conducted on this has shown similar results – the brain considers experiences to be superior as compared to possessions.
Experiences are not the only benefits that come with attending a concert, there are also many physical benefits such as burning calories. Concerts involve a lot of dancing, jumping, yelling and also an overall increase in energy and this energy translates to burning calories. The movement required when attending a concert burns far more calories than sitting on a couch listening to the music on a CD player or an iPod.
Concerts are not only the ones that include mosh pits, but can also be the ones that take place in intimate settings such as coffee shops. At these places, budding musicians and local bands come to share their music with everyone. There are great places where one can discover new music, before the musicians get famous. The huge concerts can also be a good place to discover new music, as many of the bands have opening acts that include up-and-coming musicians.
Not only do concerts provide a great outing with friends, they can also be a perfect place to meet new people who share the same taste in music. It is one of the safest places where people can meet new people and instantly feel a connection through the music. If that is not enough, it is also a good place to meet one’s favorite artist. In many concerts, artists come down the stage to meet their fans or even throw special merchandise that is designed specifically for the concert.
These concerts can also be full of surprises as one never knows what unexpected thing might happen. Some artists end up revealing new sound tracks at their concerts, if they love the energy of the fans. They might even crowd-surf – i.e. throw themselves literally at their fans.
Once a person sits down to consider what they have to gain from going to a live concert, they will find that the benefits of attending a concert often outweigh the monetary losses.