(CelebrityAccess MediaWire) — Live Nation has announced plans to transform 120 venues and festival sites throughout the U.S., Canada and Europe into next generation “wired” studios, which will utilize state of the art technology to capture and repurpose thousands of live concerts for television, mobile phone carriers, terrestrial and satellite radio, online use and other digital music distribution avenues.
Building on a network that already includes 36 “wired” venues across the United States, Live Nation will bring that number to 120 globally by the end of 2006. The company began testing the concept in early 2005, broadcasting more than 350 concerts around the world from a variety of venues, and becoming the leading producer of live concerts for 3G mobile phones.
The company has also expanded its Instant Live division over the past few years, making high quality recordings of live concerts available to fans immediately following a show. In 2005 alone, Instant Live recorded and made available to music fans more than 250 shows from 50 different artists.
“Live Nation is involved with more than 29,000 live events reaching more than 60 million fans a year,” Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino said in a statement. “Our venues are natural platforms for transformation into live studios, particularly given recent advancements in recording technology which have dramatically reduced costs. Lower production costs coupled with the proliferation of distribution channels hungry for live content, have created a unique opportunity for Live Nation to help artists connect with their fans in a brand new way.” –by CelebrityAccess Staff Writers
