The life of a concert addict can be rough. Constantly you are out at amazing shows watching amazing acts give dominating performances. Looking back sometimes a few months can seem like a blur of plastic cups and sweaty bodies. In comes the idea of the perfect keepsake. You want something to remind you of the night. An item that will bring a smile to your face and have you reminiscing in seconds. For some, keeping the ticket stub is good enough, but those get tucked away out of sight. Then there are tshirts and such articles of clothing, but those get worn, and ruined. This is where the concert poster outshines the rest. It is the perfect keepsake, cheap to buy and can be highly valuable. In this article we will discuss the art of collecting concert art.
Since live music has existed there have been people creating concert art. In the beginning it was simple pieces of advertisement. Something to announce the date and venue a certain performer would be visiting. Over the years this has grown into a very elaborate and decorative art form. Made hugely popular during the 1960′s with colorful and very ornate styles wrapped in psychedelia. The world of concert art is now a huge industry, with many artists offering rare pieces at every stop on their world tours.
There are now two types of concert art connoisseurs. You have the collectors and the resellers. Collectors are the individuals scouring the shows for prints offered by their favorite artists; either poster artist or musical. They amass collections to reflect the history of their concert going past. Then you have the resellers who buy up concerts in bulk. Buying of several copies of a concert poster or purchasing entire tour runs online. End goal for this group is money, and taking advantage of the first group. At the end of the day they have found a niche market and make quite a good bit of profit so why not. The collector despise the resellers as they jack up the prices and make it sometimes impossible to acquire certain pieces they desire.
If you are not just buying posters as a keepsake, and want to make sure you are buying the rare pieces here are some great tips. The base level of the collectible realm is a mass print. This being one that is made in huge quantities and with little thought. It usually comes on thin cheap shiny paper stock, and shows nothing more than a band photo with their name. This is usually worthless due to its existing quantities.
The next tier would be the concert advertisement. They appear pasted up all over town prior to a show. Acting as a quick glance notice system. They are desirable because they are not for sale, you have to “acquire” them by alternate means. This means few people have them, especially in any decent condition, thus increasing value. Here is a video of a true local concert addicts collection:
Third on the ladder is the silkscreen or offset print. Due to the type of media used to create them, they are created in very limited runs; usually 500 or less. Limited means rare, which means valuable, which means it’s a must have. After this tier you get into the really geeky stuff such as working pieces, print screens, or other such nonsense. So we will leave the top tier here where it belongs for the average Joe.
Other criteria that will make your piece more in demand are additions to the above categories. First you have the signed editions, which is hand signed by the artists who created the poster. Following this you have numbered editions, which are hand numbered depicting the specific number and the run total (ie 35 of 500). Next you have the date and venue specific editions, which declare the exact date and venue of a performance. Finally you have the autographed edition, which is hand signed by any or all of the performing artists. A silk screened print that is signed, numbered, date and venue specific and autographed by the performing artist can be extremely valuable.
After spending some time searching the net and compiling information, I have come up with some links to get more information to those who are interested. Here are a list of sites that can help you in your quest for knowledge:
ExpressoBeans.com – Is a not-for-profit art collector’s community resource built and maintained by volunteers.
GigPosters.com – Dedicated to the artists, designers and musicians who create amazing gig posters.
ConcertPosters.com – A simple site to purchase posters from past concerts.
AllPosters.com – Their concert section is a great place to purchase concert posters.
PosterGeist.com – A great resource for posters of the 70′s and 70′s.
Well there you have it, a brief introduction into a new aspect of the concert world. Now when you are out to rock through the night you will have a little more understanding of why there is a lineup at the poster side of the merchandise stand. This is a vast subject with many areas to cover, so we will have more to discuss in future articles. Until next time concert addicts.
Happy Concerting
Jamie Taylor
My Concert Posters
