In speaking with people in the process of organizing concerts, it occurred to me that we should post a bit about our work on the Tibetan Freedom Concerts, and specifically the distinction we have always made between benefit concerts and message concerts. In producing cause-related concerts, as in any campaign, the key is to identify and live and die by your goal.

In benefit concerts, the goal is to raise as much money as possible for a cause. You may seek corporate support to do this. You may have higher than normal ticket prices. You may also arrange licensing deals for digital, broadcast and other rights.

In message concerts, which is a term we made up to describe our work and differentiate it from benefits, the goal is to raise awareness; to spread a message. This impacts every decision you make. For instance, we decided not to serve alcohol, cover up corporate sponsorship, have a low ticket price, and build sometimes expensive educational components into our front-of-house production. The results were incredible.