Talk:Benefit concert

Difference in Benefit Concerts
There needs to be a differentiation (maybe even two different articles) on the idea of the benefit concert for the 18th century, and the current benefit concert. While current concerts in the vein are for the greater cause, a benefit concert in the 18th century would be for the benefit of no one but the composer.

Anyone have suggestions for ways to break up the different types of benefit concerts?

Ok, this DOES need to be broken up between the definition of benefit concert used in the 1700s, and the definition of benefit concert as it is used today. Opinions on how to make this work, or how the two articles should be named? Letoofdune

+++++++the above posts were placed on this page in April & May of 2006 - and were signed but not dated++++++

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Keeping the list special
There have been literally thousands of benefit concerts since the breakthrough rock benefit concert (Bangladesh in 1971)

There is no point or merit in listing them ALL in the article.

The list should be of NOTABLE or INFLUENTIAL benefit concerts. Concerts that were landmark events or that influenced/inspired other benefit concert-organizers to do something even greater. A good indication (though not crucial) is if there is has already been a wikipedia article about the event. And if the event had a title or name that is widely known. An event that had no special name, was just a worthy fund-raiser for a good cause and featured a few well-known names - does not itself qualify as a NOTABLE benefit concert.

If someone wants to create an article that is a list of EVERY benefit concert that has ever happened - then he/she is welcome to do it (!) - but we have to be selective for this article.

I have listed below the 6 concerts that I deleted from the list. Deleted NOT because they weren't worthy - but because IMO they were not especially NOTE-worthy.

Other viewpoints welcomed of course. Davidpatrick 00:27, 29 March 2007 (UTC)

List of concerts deleted as not especially notable

 * On January 18, 1973 - The Rolling Stones raised over $350,000 for victims of an earthquake that had destroyed Managua, the capital of Nicaragua, on December 22, 1972.
 * On May 3, 1977 - Amnesty International staged the second of its Secret Policeman's Ball benefits. The show known as The Mermaid Frolics was a one-night show staged in London. It features primarily comedic performers such as John Cleese, Peter Cook, Peter Ustinov and Terry Jones.
 * January 13, 1980 - The Beach Boys, Grateful Dead, and Jefferson Starship headline a concert at Oakland Coliseum for the benefit of the people of Kampuchea (now Cambodia).
 * August 11, 2001 - The Thrash of the Titans was held in San Francisco, CA, a co-benefit for Testament vocalist Chuck Billy, and Death frontman Chuck Shuldiner, both of whom were battling cancer. The show featured ten thrash metal bands, with five re-uniting specifically for this show.
 * September 24, 2003 - Dave Matthews Band played a free concert in New York City's Central Park to help raise funding for NYC's public schools.
 * March 20, 2006, NY America organized a concert on the third anniversary of the invasion of Iraq to benefit Iraq Veterans Against the War and Veterans for Peace. The concert featured R.E.M. singer Michael Stipe, Bright Eyes, Public Enemy frontman Chuck D and Rufus Wainwright, peace activist Cindy Sheehan, actress Susan Sarandon and comedian Margaret Cho.

Davidpatrick 00:27, 29 March 2007 (UTC)
 * Three more


 * Sound Relief (2009)
 * 14 March 2009 - 2 simultaneous concerts were held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground and Sydney Cricket Ground to raise money for all those people affected by the Black Saturday bushfires of February 7 2009.


 * Hope for Haiti (2010)
 * 22 January 2010 - Wyclef Jean organized three benefit concerts to raise money for the victims of the 2010 Haiti earthquake. The concerts took place simultaneously in New York, Los Angeles, and London.


 * Aashayien KK Live in Concert for a Cause- 27 March 2010, Delhi
 * 27 March 2010, Delhi. Aashayien- KK Live in Concert was a benefit concert to raise money for the health and Education of underprivileged children across India, it took place at the Hansadhwani Auditorium, Pragati Maidan in New Delhi. Performers included: Krishnakumar Kunnath.
 * All of the entires should have articles of their own.   Will Beback    talk    02:58, 24 April 2011 (UTC)

"Historic" classical concerts deleted
As suggested above by Letoofdune there is a complete incongruity between "benefit concerts" organized in the classical music era (which were often benefit events for the composer himself!)  and the multi-artist "benefit concerts" of pop and rock music for social and political causes that started in earnest in the early 1970s. Those classical music concerts may indeed deserve to be listed somewhere - but not on this article. Davidpatrick 00:51, 29 March 2007 (UTC)

Freddie Mercury
How come his tribute concert isnt on here?

It was a tribute, and a benefit concert for AIDS or something..=/ —Preceding unsigned comment added by Ganon391 (talk • contribs) 23:08, 8 May 2008 (UTC)

Possible Addition
I think it would be beneficial for the article if the following information was added:

A paragraph about the musical encounters enabled by the benefit concerts. That is, information about opportunities when musicians from different backgrounds got together and "created" new music by playing together.

A paragraph analyzing the relation of rock music and benefit concert. Most of the attractions seen in this events are somewhat related to that genre.

There should be a discussion on here to come up with a clear description about what makes a concert notable or not.

Furthermore, the article would be better organized if instead of doing the organization of the notable concerts chronologically, the contributors would distinct the concerts in groups according to kind of issue they addressed.

Finally, this section could be reviewed in order to make sure that all concerts listed there are fully explained and have the links to their Wikipedia articles within that explanation. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Carlosmbr (talk • contribs) 02:41, 16 February 2012 (UTC)

Article needs editing.
Greetings,

I am an undergraduate International Relations student at an American university. As part of one of my courses I had to choose a Wikipedia article that dealt with the issues of music and IR and I spent this semester studying the topic of the article as well as the Wikipedia editing policies. Well, I concluded that ‘Benefit Concerts’ would be a good topic for my research, and after reading scholarly sources, new media articles and entertainment news I feel confident that I can add to the work others did before me. First, I would like to edit the introduction to the article in a way that it will be backed up by referenced literature; there is no reference section in this article as of right now and that undermines its credibility. Overall, the definition of benefit concert will remain with the same ideas, but I plan to add a discussion about the importance of Live Aid in shaping the usual format of benefit concerts. I also plan to get rid of the section that mentions the concert for Mozart’s family for I found no source that proved it existence. I will later further develop on the importance of the quality of the entertainment provided by the concert to the overall success of it, about the efficiency of such shows as a mean of political action (my hypothesis is that benefit concerts are a efficient form to achieve socio-political goals) and on the criticisms directed towards them. I will back up all of my claims with references to credible sources. Furthermore, I noticed that the list of concerts on the article is lacking some major examples, like the ones directed towards relief for the 2005 tsunami, the Hope For Haiti, and Hurricane Relief. In this section I want to add more information to some of the most important examples, such as their revenue, number of spectators and perceived legacy. Finally, since I know very little about parodies, I am not sure what to do with that section, so I might just add it to the part where I expose the criticisms.

I hope for some feedback on these ideas. Thank you. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 140.141.130.49 (talk) 17:18, 13 April 2012 (UTC)


 * Sounds perfect. Just watch for OR DJSparky    huh?  21:37, 19 October 2012 (UTC)


 * Aha! This is why the article reads like an essay. (He/she definitely did not not watch out for OR.) JSFarman (talk) 05:39, 7 September 2019 (UTC)

Benefit Concerts Merely Tax Shelter?
Musicians are taxed at outrageous rates. Deducting expenses incurred at 'benefits' could go a long way toward offsetting the amount they'd normally have to pay the taxman. Plus of course they'd still have the fame, the travel, the elbow-rubbing, the networking and the groupies. 'Benefits' could be one of music's best kept secrets.65.49.216.57 (talk) 03:28, 12 November 2014 (UTC)

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