I’m not sure what sparked me to start thinking about this idea today, but here it goes. Will there come a point in time where people won’t go to concerts anymore but will be able to stay home and watch them streamed on their TV? I think so. YouTube has become extremely popular, to the point where it is being used as it’s own verb now (like Google.) Let’s not forget other streaming sites like Hulu too. At the same time, certain technologies are becoming more and more affordable. These include HD cameras, HD TV’s, projectors, projection screens, and home theater systems. I have a friend who’s family just installed a home theater system in their basement: 100 inch screen, 7.1 HD sound, HD projector and 6 theater seats. On that system they are able to stream YouTube videos and HD movies via Netflix with the click of a button. While Netflix movies aren’t live shows, I think we are definitely headed that way. Would you rather go to a live show and be crammed in with a bunch of people or kick back at home with your high definition set and comfy seats? I’m sure different people would have different answers.
When I say live shows, I don’t mean a few songs on some award show that we already see. I mean full-length couple hour long concerts. Only a handful of people have tried this and it was very successful. One of those artists was U2. They teamed up with YouTube and streamed one of their shows live, with an estimated 10 million people composing the online audience. While this definitely is not feasible for anybody that doesn’t have a ton of money right now, I really do think that this will change in time. Type in your favorite artist on YouTube and I’m sure you will find a ton of amateur videos that have been uploaded from their live shows.
So would streaming your concert online deter people from spending the extra time and money to come to your concert? Probably. But at the same time, you are opening your audience up to an unlimited number of people instead of the venue capacity. The possibilities are endless. Like I said, this is not something that is going to happen in the very near future. However, as the price of technology comes down, connections get faster and people become lazier, it is more than possible to see something like this happen. I’d love to hear your thoughts and ideas on this. Maybe I’m just crazy?
- U2 Live on YouTube
Bridging the Gap 