Simulcast concerts on the big screen

I went to a movie in the SF Bay Area over the weekend, and paid $9.75 for my ticket (ouch!). But of course concert tickets are a much more painful hit to the wallet (these days they range from $65 to $300 plus -- double ouch!!). And of course if you're in Cleveland and your favorite band is performing in Brazil, wouldn't it be great to be able to catch the show anyway? Theater chains like National CineMedia have started to embrace the opportunity of providing you with the concert experience in the comfort of your neighborhood theater for the (comparative) bargain price of, you guessed it $9.75 -- with all your friends in tow if you like to embrace the crowd feel of a 'live' concert! There's a brief blurb that touches on this very topic in this month's Wired.

My colleague Kevin Wall has taken this notion a step further with his company Network Live which focuses on a fully integrated concert experience. The fan can experience the 'live' concert via a mainstream online portal like AOL, satellite radio, DirecTV, in theater (National CineMedia), and on their mobile phone. Kevin, having been the Executive Producer of both Live Aid and Live 8, along with Sir Bob Geldof, launched the company in July 2005 on the heels of Live 8 (which effectively served as a prototype for Network Live) -- and is breaking new ground in the concert world with his maverick approach. Artists of course profit from multiple revenue streams as a result of this new model (which by now you know is what I'm listening for!).

I'm moderating a panel on the Concert of the Future at the Digital Music Forum in LA on October 5th. If you're in town, join us. I'll have colleagues from Ticketmaster, Network Live, Live Nation, House of Blues, and PassAlong Networks discussing how new technologies and business models are impacting the concert experience.