Apple Signs with Live Nation for Live Concerts via iTunes

Concert promoter Live Nation has announced a new partnership with none other than Macintosh maker Apple, in an effort to launch a new initiative focused on audio and video recording of live concert events for distribution via the latter’s iTunes Store. Apple, for its part, has launched special section of the iTunes Store, dedicated to featuring the content.

An excerpt from Live Nation’s official announcement  has been reproduced below.

Live Nation, the world's largest live music company, has joined with the iTunes Store (www.itunes.com), the world's #1 music retailer, to launch a new live music program, which debuted today. Live Nation Studios will now offer exclusive recorded and filmed concerts from its network of "wired" venues for purchase and download only on iTunes. Exclusive live recordings from OK Go, Jesse McCartney, Saving Abel, A Fine Frenzy, Duffy, Plain White T's and Ziggy Marley, to name a few, have been released this week, with many more to follow.

Michael Rapino, president and chief executive officer of Live Nation, added that Live Nation is ecstatic to the idea of offering a new platform focused on sharing high-quality, live content. His comments could also be found in the press release mentioned just above. “We are thrilled to offer artists a new high-quality platform to share the magic of their live shows with their fans,” said Michael Rapino.

The report also includes information as to what Live Nation does, and how it does it, for those looking to learn more about the company. Basically, Live Nation explains, the business is focused on recording concerts in more than 80 of its venues, which have been transformed into next-generation “wired” live recording studios, and will now offer a variety of them for purchase and download exclusively on iTunes. This, the company says, is done through its Studios division.

Giving customers exclusive content while offering artists a way to easily provide their fans with audio and video recordings of live concerts, the program extends the live performance experience well beyond the show itself, according to Live Nation. The event promoter asserts that artists, labels and music publishers also win, as the initiative will create new sources of revenue for both Live Nation and its partners.