One great thing about broadband video is that programming can exist for niche audiences. These are shows that might not have a big enough audience to air on broadcast or cable TV. However, they have fanbases passionate enough to pay for them.
Live video of concerts are a perfect format for the Internet. Fans now have the opportunity to watch a concert that they might have been shut out for tickets or taking place in another town, in their own living room. This sensation is commonly known by live music fan as “couch tour”, and there’s a few companies currently getting in on the action.
1. Nugs.net This is a company who’s primary product is audio recordings of live concerts. Their existing relationships with live acts, big and small has led to live webcasts of concerts. Since Nugs.nets offers audio downloads of concerts, they can sell the live video stream and audio of the concert in a package deal.
2. Tourgigs Based in Austin, TX, a music/tech hotbed centered around the annual South By Southwest (SXSW) music and tech conferences, Tourgigs offers the option to own concert video after the fact, besides showing it live. Tourgigs also boasts Roku access, unlike Nugs.net.
3. Live Nation/Yahoo Being the largest concert promoter and venue owner in the US, Live Nation has the most cloud on this list, and could possibly acquire one or all of these music startups. Live Nation has been streaming free webcasts of major artist through the Yahoo Screen service.
4. Qello Unlike the other services mentioned, Qello is a service that shows previously recorded concerts and documentaries. It is essentially a Netflix for live music.
5. YouTube The top video site in the world streams live concert videos, particulatly festivals like Bonnaroo and Coachella. YouTube also has a plethora of live concert footage, recorded professionally and by amateurs. This may include video that is up there without permission from copyright holders and could be removed at any moment.
Live streams of concerts are (still) in its infancy, with room for tremendous growth. As the services listed above, as well as others not included in this list (and those which do not yet exist), the “couch tour” experience will continue to improve.