Selling live recordings at shows

Pollstar magazine asks a good question: why aren't more artists recording their live concerts to CD and selling them at shows? I recall that the Pixies recorded most of the shows on their reunion tour in 2004, but I haven't seen many bands do it since.

Pollstar notes that some venues retain the rights to sell anything recorded there, while others charge artists a fee for the privilege of recording their own shows for resale later. (Fair enough--the venue has probably invested heavily in sound gear, or at the very least in acoustics, which may have an effect on the final product.) Copyright issues surrounding co-written songs and label/publisher ownership can also be an issue.

But another reason is technology: rigs that can burn lots of CDs simultaneously cost several thousand dollars, and the artist has to haul this gear as well as blank CDs and jewelcases around. One possible answer is memory sticks. They're more expensive per unit than blank CDs, but they're smaller, file-transfer is faster, and they don't require dedicated equipment--just a computer, which you're probably already using to record the show.

At least one high profile artist is already doing this. Last summer, I spoke to Seattle P-I reporter Todd Bishop (who maintains an excellent blog on Microsoft) right after he got back from seeing Willie Nelson. Willie was selling USB wristbands of the day's concert for $25 a pop at the show--in fact, you can still buy them through his Web site. Trent Reznor also made some very creative use of memory sticks to promote Nine Inch Nails' last record, and given his recent split with his label, I wouldn't be surprised if he starts selling music this way as well.

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[Antemeridian]

I've seen this before as well

I was actually at a Barenaked Ladies concert this year where they did this as well. You prepurchase the drive before the concert and pick it up on your way out. For bands who have a great live show (either for the music or for the banter), this is a great way to keep a copy of everything.

[Stephen Russell]

Why not just put it up with a BT for download ?

It takes time for them to mix the stream to the various songs.

I go to bt.eTree.org to get my concerts dowloaded after the show instead of waiting at the venue for 2 or 3 disks.

Disks are so old school anyway. If you could get it on a SD card say 4 gig. That would be better.

[M C]

Gimmick value, not much else

Look, even fully-produced, blown-notes-fixed nationally released live albums don't sell.

The only reason most people (i.e., not the top 1% of fanatics) want an "on-the-spot" live recording is the exact same reason they want a t-shirt: to show others they were there.

Hardly a good reason for a band to release a mediocre-fi recording of an average show.

[MattRosoff]

Gimmick or fan bait?

The top 1% of fanatics are the ones who go to shows. And soundboard recordings don't necessarily suck, presumably if the live mix was decent the recorded mix will need little adjustment.

I agree with some other posters that downloads are attractive because they don't require you to wait in line, but there's a spontanaeity right after a great show that fades away after a few hours. I'd personally be more likely to pay right away.

[daveturnley]

Downloads = no overhead

Pearl Jam released recordings of every show on one of their tours five years or so ago (on old-fashioned CDs). The idea of capturing the show you've just seen is cool, though I wouldn't want to pay in advance (in case the show blows). And I wouldn't want to wait in line afterward.

The obvious answer is that bands should just upload the shows right after they end. Fans can then go home and download, and fans elsewhere can collect the whole tour. Charge a low price (like $3 each) and watch the people eat it up.

A band like Radiohead (sorry, but aren't they required to be mentioned on music blogs for at least another month?)--with their rabid fan-base--could make some nice cash.