Concert Season Kicks Off on Hulu June 1st, 2009
Tom Amontree

Whether you bought Dave Matthews concert tickets for the show at the Beacon Theater in New York tonight, or you plan to sit comfortably on your couch in Des Moines, you can join summer concert fever, thanks to broadband.  Tonight, Hulu brings viewers across the nation its first-ever live streaming concert of The Dave Matthews Band on the eve of their new album’s release, “Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King.”

Hulu, which has enjoyed a meteoric rise recently, jumping to third place among U.S. online video sites, is also offering plenty of Dave Matthews music videos to build excitement for the show.  And, given the fact that the band’s Gen X and Gen Y fan base is also the crowd that streams music and videos online, Hulu’s first concert venture is expected to be a success and inspire other online concert collaborations.

The days of legally streamed live concerts via the Internet may be new, but reliving rock n’ roll history is not, thanks to WolfgangsVault.com.  The website boasts legendary concert promoter Bill Graham’s archive of more than 2,000 rare recordings of live concerts, all of which can be streamed for free.  Housed in a 27,000 square foot, state-of-the-art facility in San Francisco, Wolfgang’s Vault features everything from Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin to Bruce Springsteen and Black Sabbath.

And, for those who are drawn to the competitive fervor of televised music shows, there is no lack of websites to keep you up to speed.  Susan Boyle’s original performance of “I Dreamed a Dream” on Britain’s Got Talent attracted more than 59 million views and set off a flurry of online speculation on the best sources to stream this past weekend’s season finale online.  From YouTube to a parade of television websites, replays of this season’s American Idol performances are instantly available.

There’s no doubt about it: online video and music are taking the Internet by storm, giving Americans everywhere unparalleled access to exciting performances in the comfort of their own homes — or as a brief reprieve from the office grind.

This entry was posted on Monday, June 1st, 2009 at 2:18 pm and is filed under Benefits of Broadband. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.