Clear Channel Entertainment (CCE) is expanding its concert-recording program Instant Live. The technology will be put in place at several CCE-booked venues, allowing for a wider range of talent to churn out Instant Live discs for fans.
Previously, CCE hooked up Instant Live with a particular touring artist and produced and sold live albums immediately following shows for the duration of the act’s road trip. For example, Instant Live last fall created two-disc sets, priced at $15 apiece, for jam band moe.
CCE has set up Instant Live at the Odeon club in Cleveland, and by the end of month will have installed the equipment at the Cotton Club in Atlanta and the Fillmore in San Francisco. The “regional rigs” will be housed at these clubs, but the idea is to later transport them to other CCE venues in the regions.
Former Allman Brothers Band member Dicky Betts was the first artist to sell Instant Live discs at the Odeon, after a show March 9. Last summer, Instant Live created three-disc sets, priced at $22, for a select number of Allman Brothers amphitheater shows.
While Instant Live has been gaining momentum since its February 2003 launch, its director Steve Simon, who is also executive VP of CCE’s music division, has told Billboard that it will take time before the technology is widely adopted. Concerns include possible cannibalization of the acts’ studio discs.
Still, the expansion of Instant Live into clubs is a boon for the program, says Simon. “This provides artists with an opportunity to offer fans something special and to create a new revenue stream.”
He adds that the system will also help small acts gain “access to national retail distribution that would not otherwise be available to them.” In addition to the venues, fans can pick up Instant Live discs at instantliveconcerts.com and at various retailers through Toothface Distribution. There are also future plans to let fans download Instant Live concert files.
