Bandsintown launches live streaming service

The service provides access to a number of live performances for a monthly fee. It costs $10 per month after an initial seven-day free trial, and users will get access to more than 25 live shows each month. Interested subscribers can sign up for the service here.

“For the past year, we’ve been hungry for live shows and for a chance to support the artists we love,” Bandsintown managing partner Fabrice Sergent said. “Bandsintown Plus is an opportunity to break the barriers of cost and location that have historically hindered live music experiences. Now, with Bandsintown Plus, live music can be more affordable, more accessible and more approachable”.

He added: “Touring artists have been economically ravaged by COVID-19’s restrictions. Bandsintown Plus is a chance to help innovate the industry, creating new sources of revenue for artists, while deepening connections with their fans”.

The platform will begin broadcasting shows on 14 January and the company says each musician will receive a flat fee for each performance. Performers on the line-up for January and February include Melissa Etheridge, Sir Chloe, Phoebe Bridgers, Fleet Foxes’ Robin Pecknold, Flying Lotus, Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy, Little Dragon, Soccer Mommy and Toro Y Moi, among others.

The move adds to the current rush of activity around live streaming from popular platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, Twitch, TikTok and Mixcloud. In November last year, Bandcamp also announced it was launching a new ticketed live-stream platform called Bandcamp Live.

Bandsintown last year swiftly transitioned from being a service that assists people to discover physical concerts to one that directed them to online live streams. Late last year, the platform said it had tracked almost 61 000 live streams from 25 March to 12 December.

In March, the company also announced that it would offer artists free accelerated access to Twitch’s live-streaming monetisation tools.

Bandsintown, which was founded in 2007, in March claimed that it provided more than 530 000 registered artists with the ability to reach 55 million fans registered on its platform at no cost.