LiveHereNow is a company that specialized on Instant-Recordings
This idea is intriguing. You go to a concert and at the end of the show, while you walk out of the hall, a freshly produced instant-recording of the concert is already up for sale at the merchandise stand at the exit doors.
Think of this CD as an official souvenir of the concert you just heard. The album will be avaiable only at the concert venue after the show. It is professionally produced and packaged and contains an unedited recording of the show you just heard.
Would you buy such a CD if it were available after the next concert you visit?
If you are a musician: would you like your concert to be recorded and sold this way?
That’s a pretty good idea. I could be tempted. If the concert includes a special thing (bonus track, special guest, or world premiere of a piece), then I’m sure it would be a great memory to keep – and many could be willing to pay for that.
A propos world premiere: As a composer, would you like the idea that a non-edited recording of your piece is sold before a studio recording of it is available? I am just thinking that both performer and composer are giving up a lot of control in this situation, no?
Musicians are getting closer and closer to their audiences. As performers, we’re more and more like primary producers who bypass the musical supermarket, and sell direct to our audience. In some ways it is much harder than before. If you don’t get savvy about the business of being a musician, and spend a lot of time finding niches, promoting and organizing, you can’t survive.
But the up-side is that it is possible to get to a global audience, and if you have something good to offer, it will find traction if you are also savvy with digital media.
In this brave new world, every little opportunity to monetize matters. If a new technology simultaneously demands higher standards, less pretense and a more alive experience for the listener than the previous technology, it will do a lot of good for the industry/artform and for individual musicians.
Selling a recording of a live performance, I believe, ticks all the boxes. I think its a great idea, and I can’t wait to be able to buy one the next time I am blown away by a concert.