YouTube and Vevo are seemingly intent on carving out a competitive niche in the music sector. And the partners are not content on music videos, now turning their attention to live streaming with a great series of concerts.
The five artists being featured include Arcade Fire, John Legend, and The Roots, with more possibly being added as time goes by.
YouTube Live Streaming
YouTube’s core business isn’t live streaming. It’s mostly left that to the likes of Ustream, Livestream, and Justin.tv. However, things are slowly changing.
YouTube has streamed a few events live in the past couple of years. A U2 concert in Pasadena gained 10 million viewers, and political speeches and debates have also proved popular.
The streaming of all 60 matches of the Indian Premier League tournament in the space of 45 days then indicated YouTube was upping its game in this department. And so has proved to the case.
‘Unstaged’ Concerts
YouTube and Vevo are teaming up to stage a series of five concerts. Known collectively as ‘Unstaged’, concerts from big names such as Arcade Fire and John Legend will be streamed live on YouTube, with highlight clips available after the event.
Arcade Fire are kicking off proceedings on Aug. 5, with American Express sponsoring the gig. The concert from Madison Square Gardens in New York has sold out, so watching it live on YouTube will be a good alternative for fans of the band.
People watching on YouTube will have the option to view different camera angles and vote on the songs to be featured in the encore. These interactive elements should help entice more people to watch.
Conclusions
These concerts come hot on the heels of the new YouTube ‘Music’ hub. Which suggests YouTube is on a mission to become the primary source for music on the Web. And with its mix of live streaming and music videos, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if it succeeds.
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