The Rolling Stones: Free Concerts — The Aftermath

FREE CONCERTS constitute a threat to the established promotional ethos. An opportunity for music to be played without the encroachments of contractual stipulations, of advertising and admission prices that have to be lived up to and all the other barriers to an ideal musician/audience relationship. In this country they are something of a new development and one that the established hierarchy of promoters/agents/managers haven't yet got to understand. They're so used to people paying relatively large sums of bread to see one name act and a supporting group, that the idea of several supergroups playing for nothing blows their minds. Similarly with audiences who've become accustomed to accepting the somewhat rigid and capitalistic manner in which their patronised venues present their entertainment — they can't quite understand how best to judge a free concert.