Total Live Music, All About Live Music!

I recently had someone from of all places, iTunes, make the following statement on their Twitter account "@totallivemusic but, unfortunately, not live" I have never stated that totallivemusic.com is a live streaming site of concert events.

As a person who has helped in the production of such events I don't see a business model in this yet. Places like the AT&T Blueroom, Control Room and the upcoming streaming of the U2 show from the Rose Bowl on YouTube may all seem like a very nice thing for fans but unfortunately when the bills get paid for the cost of production and delivery you come out in the negative.

As a bootstrapping business we may in the future get into the delivery of live events once it's proven as a smart business model but for now I'll leave it up to people like Apple to cover the losses of broadcasting "live" with their iPod and iPhone sales, while we here at Total Live Music will continue to be all about live music!

Music Still Dominates YouTube Views

Music videos are the number one type of content viewed on YouTube according to a recent chart released by TubeMogul, an online video analytics company, seen above. Supports my argument from a previous post regarding Vevo.

Vevo's $300M valuation

Vevo, the  recent joint venture between Universal and Sony music with YouTube providing backend tech support is currently shopping for money at a $300M valuation.  No doubt online entities such as Hulu, which raised $100M based on a $1B valuation proved there was a market for television content owners when built with an end user ease of use and content to satisfy demand.  But is music in a similar position as television currently?  I have my doubts.  The biggest question is rights; what do the labels have rights to that hasn't currently been exploited on the web already?  With their dwindling front line releases they will have to set their value based on catalog, which is extensive, but seems to be accessible already.  Also, if they continue to diminish their new artists releases they will be dependent on striking deals with new talent, outside of the deals they have with the labels, based on the Vevo experience for which the jury is still out?

One of the reasons I moved to the live experience is that I understood this day would be coming.  One where the only place you will be able to successfully replenish new content to keep fans engaged online enough would be artists offerings of their live media, for which every night there is a performance in which new content can be created.  The argument is who gets the rights to the "live" performances which are being spelled out more and more in contract negotiations and what are you doing with those performances (broadcast, transactional, etc.)

I'm sure Vevo will be successful in a raise despite what the price for the money is.   They certainly have a catalog and a smart team for which to build the business initially.  The big question I'm sure by some of the investors is how do they plan on keeping a sustainable business?

Audience Recordings

Audience recordings have been the most common type of recordings that have been available over the years. These are more often captured through sound equipment "smuggled" into the venue as most artists and venues prohibit this form of recording. Examples of these can be found all over YouTube. However, with the advent of the Internet and the increase of portable recording technology (cellphone, etc.) more and more artists are starting to realize the promotional power of allowing such an activity to take place. Although most are still labeled as bootlegs (an audio and/or video recording of a performance that was not officially released by the artist or under other legal authority) many artists recognize the promotional value behind it and allow it to take place regardless. I personally keep a rather neutral position regarding this type of content as I understand the fans eagerness to obtain what is often poor quality recordings but respect the rights of the artists. One of the objectives of Total Live Music is to bridge the gap of such recordings, offering fans a higher quality recordings that the artists feel is a proper representation of who they are.