[59Martin]

Just a random thought while I wait for the coffee machine to warm up:

I pay around $10 a month for Netflix and since March, I haven’t seen a live show which sucks. I enjoy when people post YouTube clips of music here and I occasionally spend time scouring the net for concerts and music documentaries but it occurred to me that I’d very happily pay for a streaming service that was exclusively dedicated to music.

Imagine a service that would buy up all the Austin city limits, BBC, Live at Lincoln center, Tiny Desk etc shows as well as documentaries (muscle shoals, standing in the shadow of Motown, chasing trane, etc.) and would invest heavily in producing live shows from bands from all over the world...

Someone should get on that.

 

[buddy lee]

Just a random thought while I wait for the coffee machine to warm up:

I pay around $10 a month for Netflix and since March, I haven't seen a live show which sucks. I enjoy when people post YouTube clips of music here and I occasionally spend time scouring the net for concerts and music documentaries but it occurred to me that I'd very happily pay for a streaming service that was exclusively dedicated to music.

Imagine a service that would buy up all the Austin city limits, BBC, Live at Lincoln center, Tiny Desk etc shows as well as documentaries (muscle shoals, standing in the shadow of Motown, chasing trane, etc.) and would invest heavily in producing live shows from bands from all over the world...

Someone should get on that.

Yeah. I wonder how well it would sell to the general public, who is now used to listening to music for free whenever they want. I think it would be very, very risky for the investors. I'll save my rant about why musicians and music's value has been reduced to nil since 2000 for another day.

 

[LostConn]

it occurred to me that I'd very happily pay for a streaming service that was exclusively dedicated to music.

Many of these exist, of course -- it's just that they are audio-only. Apparently, that's what most customers want when they think of a music service.

There are some specialty streaming video channels in the space you describe; e.g., the Met Opera on Demand service enables fans to watch, not just hear, many past performances on stage. There are various free channels too, that focus on things like quirky indie rock. Some of these are easier to find on a smart TV than on the web. However, given the huge amount of recorded concerts available on YouTube, with every conceivable variety of music. I think a dedicated, fee-based video music service aimed at a mass audience would be a tough sell. For example, just yesterday I decided I wanted to hear "Dido's Lament" from Purcell's Dido and Aeneas. I found a great performance on YouTube instantly. I could easily have watched the whole opera instead if I had wished. A couple of weeks ago, I discovered a full performance by the early 70s group Fanny, perhaps the best all-female rock band ever.

The range of material you can find just by searching is quite amazing. The cost of re-acquiring the rights to this vast repertory would be prohibitive. But anyway, most of the items on your wish list are already on YouTube. This would be mighty tough competition for any general pay service.

 

[59Martin]

I understand 'the everything is on youtube' and 'who would pay for this' arguments and that's probably why no one has done it. Still pretty cool to think about a *curated* service that would make suggestions, allow me to save stuff for later viewing, and doesn't expect me to watch a kid schlepping a $250 saxophone while I'm still basking in the afterglow of something like this:

Oh and most importantly, a lot of the streaming services have recorded in-house live sessions. I'd expect a service like this to be a go to place for live and pre-recorded concerts.

But now that I've had my coffee, I agree with you guys, it would might be too much to ask...

 

[stingray3]

There is one called Qello, but its pretty expensive for what it is, and doesnt add much new stuff.

 

[Always_Learning]

It would be hard to compete doing something similar to Netflix with music only, to websites like YouTube. I think you'll eventually see it, mainly because we are seeing a dramatic increase in video streaming sites but I think they will have a tough time competing with Youtube.

 

[bobsax]

There is a huge selection of music concerts and documentaries on Amazon prime. You just got a look for them

 

[hakukani]

If you like opera, there's Met Opera on Demand.

 

[bobsax]

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