Should I stand up and sing along while watching the concert? Netizens argue: How to watch a concert

"Thank you to the audience for giving me an unforgettable concert."

Recently, a netizen posted a set of photos on social media: the audience sitting in the back seat of the infield was blocked by a row of spectators standing on chairs in front of them.

A stone stirs up a thousand waves. In the comment area, roast complained that the audience around them screamed and sang all the time, which made it impossible to hear the singer singing clearly, waved the fluorescent wand randomly or raised their hands to shoot videos that affected their vision. "If you have quality, you can't watch the concert."

However, many viewers have pointed out that concerts should have been places to release passion. Nowadays, many concerts are so strict that fluorescent sticks are controlled remotely. "If you want to listen to music quietly, why not go home and listen to the sound system?"

According to data monitoring and analysis from the ticketing information collection platform of the China Performance Industry Association, there were 110200 performances in the national performance market in the summer of 2023, an increase of 301.53% compared to the same period last year; The box office revenue of the performance was 10.277 billion yuan, an increase of 792.41% compared to the same period last year; The number of viewers was 32.5619 million, an increase of 806.70% compared to the same period last year.

Some industry insiders admit that the booming market has made it difficult for the public to keep up, and "we can only try to satisfy the audience as much as possible while ensuring safety."

Can you stand up during the concert? Diverse opinions on social media platforms

"Why is it not allowed for the audience to stand up in the concert venue?" Not long ago, Mr. Yuan and his wife, a citizen, rushed to another city to enjoy a long-awaited concert. The two of them spent nearly ten thousand yuan on additional tickets, and transportation, food, and accommodation were also expensive. However, the on-site experience was not entirely beautiful. "Our position is in the middle of the infield, and our line of sight was originally good. However, shortly after the opening, the audience in front stood up one after another, and even the large screen was mostly blocked." Because there is no height difference in the infield, as long as the audience in front stood up, we cannot see the stage. "What's even more astonishing is that some people even stood on their seats," The infield is a temporary plastic seat, and if it falls, the consequences will be unimaginable. "

Mr. Yuan was not the only one on site who disliked such behavior. According to his recollection, several spectators in the same row were shouting for the front row audience to sit down, but the effect was minimal. Later, someone reported to the on-site staff that they stopped the audience standing on the seats, but did not stop the other audience standing up.

This situation has become commonplace at the concert venue. Foreign company employee Xiao Lin, who has watched three concerts including Mayday this year, found that such a phenomenon is happening every time. "Such behavior can affect a large area with just a few people. Whenever a few people stand up, the people in the back row can only stand up to see clearly, and in the end, everyone has to stand up."

Besides standing up, singing along with others has also been disliked by some viewers. Citizen Liu Lei purchased a ticket for Lin Junjie's Shanghai concert for 820 yuan and used her phone to capture the process of Lin Junjie singing "Unfortunately, there is no If". She wanted to share it with her friends who also like Lin Junjie and have studied abroad in Australia. "Lin Junjie sang very well, and the female lead in the music video, Yang Ying, even arrived at the concert site. I always thought it was perfect." However, when a friend who received the video replied, "I laughed a lot." She only then realized that the female audience sitting next to her in the video sang along the whole time but seriously misplaced. On social media, some netizens who share live concert videos will also specifically indicate the "no magic version". Qin Yue, a 30-year-old citizen, bought tickets for Li Zongsheng's concert this year, surrounded by older fans. Shortly after the opening, the male audience next to him reminded him, "Please don't sing along. We want to hear Li Zongsheng sing."

Although Liu Lei believes that sitting next to her and singing together can affect the effectiveness of filming her own videos, her behavior of filming videos during concerts is also difficult for some viewers to accept. On social media, someone posted footage of the audience holding their phones high during a concert, "blocking the singer's figure throughout the entire process.". Some people were amazed by this and said, "Do we still have to use our phones to watch the concert when everyone is on site?"

Singer Wu Bai often invites fans to sing on stage

However, there are also many audience members who express different opinions and feelings towards behaviors such as standing and singing along. "The key to a concert is to enjoy the atmosphere," they said

"Some singers are already in the singing and dancing genre, and it's too normal to stand up." Mr. Wu, a citizen, took several concerts he watched this year as an example. "Jolin Tsai sings fast and mainly sings and dances, and it's normal for everyone to stand up and move. Mayday's songs are very inspiring and inspiring, and everyone feels excited and needs to express their actions." He admitted that he can't imagine what the people sitting upright at the concert are thinking. "If you just want to listen to the singer singing live for so much money, why not go home and listen to the sound system?"

Mr. Wan, who is 29 years old this year, has been following concerts since college and has watched two concerts this year. "Every concert must be sung together.". In his view, a large-scale concert is about immersing oneself in the overall atmosphere, "singing songs on stage and singing one's own emotions off stage.". In his view, concerts are different from symphonies and operas. As a form of popular culture, "singing along is inevitable." At the recently concluded Wu Bai Shanghai concert, singer Wu Bai even invited the audience to sing a chorus without singing on stage. "This kind of atmosphere that releases passion is great. Moreover, the live volume of the concert is already noisy, and the impact of singing along on the surrounding audience can be almost negligible."

"Nowadays, in order to pursue a unified effect and a safe environment, there is not much space left for the audience to freely play in concerts." Mr. Wan and his friends found that more and more concerts nowadays cannot even turn on and off the fluorescent sticks themselves. When they light up and change color is controlled by the backstage, and some concerts even have coils fixed to their seats. "In this situation, if even standing up and singing along are condemned, what's the point?"

The fluorescent sticks for the Mayday concert are centrally controlled in the background and require additional purchase

According to information from the China Performance Industry Association, this summer, concerts and music festivals have driven a large number of people to move across regions. The audience for concerts and music festivals are mostly young people, with over 75% of the audience aged 18-34. The large-scale performance brings about a large influx of people in a short period of time, which puts higher demands on the venue and performance institutions to improve their abilities in traffic guidance, audience guidance, safety assurance, and other aspects.

"The average number of people for a concert is controlled within ten thousand, which is already an astonishing scale. If it is a concert held in a sports stadium like Mayday, Jay Chou, and JJ Lin, the number of people will double. How can everyone's feelings be taken care of in such a situation?" According to Mr. Feng, a staff member of an entertainment company engaged in organizing concerts and other activities, with concerts becoming popular nowadays, safety is the top priority for internal venue management. "For example, if someone stands on a chair or blocks the aisle, they must be managed. But if someone stands up and makes the back row audience unhappy, they can only remind as much as possible. According to industry insiders, some concerts now require fluorescent sticks and other materials." Unified backend management of equipment, in addition to on-site effects and idol culture, also takes into account visual considerations. "For example, this year's concert had an audience proposing or taking wedding photos, which caused a lot of dissatisfaction among the audience. We should try to let more viewers enjoy the concert."

Some viewers suggest that the organizers can divide the audience area more finely based on the actual situation and stage design of different venues, in order to enhance the viewing experience of the concert. "For example, in some overseas concerts, a 'rock area' without seats will be set up by the stage to entertain fans." Mr. Wan found that the division of areas for multiple concerts this year is simple and rough, "for example, the entire interior will have a single price. He hopes that in the future, prices can be subdivided into different areas, clarifying the rights and obligations of different areas. For example, a separate ticket price area can be set up in the front row of the interior, which is not recommended to stand during the viewing process. The price of the back row area can be appropriately reduced, which can also make it easier for viewers whose vision is blocked due to various circumstances to accept." Qin Yue also said that this year's concerts are almost impossible to choose seats. "Since it's the allocation of seats in the background, it's better to let the audience keyword their preferences after successfully purchasing tickets." Choose and categorize appropriately in the background, such as separating viewers who enjoy listening quietly from those who want to follow and sing, to reduce interference