The place of house concerts in a musician’s career lifespan

This exploratory study delves into the House Concert movement in Australia. House Concerts are common in Europe and the United States of America, and more recently have become popular in Australia. A Melbourne (Australia) concert organiser, Parlour Gigs (The Age, 2017) reported a 680% growth in six months over the summer of 2016/2017. They are associated with independent solo artists primarily a singer accompanying themselves on guitar or keyboard and programmed digital rhythm effects, with a focus on the musical genres of country, blues, folk/traditional, ballad and world music. However, classical musicians are becoming more involved. Concerts in private homes in Australia are not unusual, primarily for the purpose of philanthropy and often coincide with season launches. The Melbourne Chamber Orchestra, Musica Viva Australia, Friends of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra are some examples of artistic companies who organise a solo musician or a small group (from that ensemble) to perform in private homes. The growth of House Concerts in Australia has followed two paths. The private approach is where individuals self-host performances of a musical group, in which they play, in their own home or a community/church hall. The publicly advertised approach where concert facilitators who have developed business models as start-up companies, using their own websites and extensive use of social media, work with a host, musicians and an audience to create performances.