Live For The Moment

As I sit here within the realms of Syllabus Agency HQ, Listening to the ‘Best of Rush’, nursing a bad night’s sleep and the aftermath of a far from average Goo Goo Dolls gig at the Kentish forum on Sunday night, there are a number of issues pacing themselves through my head. One has been bugging me for a while now and while on the absolute occasion I may be an offender, over the past 2-3 years this issue has gone into absolute overload. 

I would like to point out that this blog should’t be seen as a rant in any way. If you choose to see it as a rant then it should be seen as a “constructive” rant more than anything.

I am fortunate enough to be somewhat of a connoisseur London’s live music scene. Having attended well over 300 gigs over the last 6 or so years and one thing that absolutely kills me (aside from high pitched screaming and people that whistle loudly right beside your ear deafening you), are the good people that pay inflated ticket prices to attend shows and yet spend duration staring at a little screen 12 inches from their faces. 

Why?In this day and age where bands simply do not stay together for more than 5-10 years (if they’re lucky) would you want to attend a gig and not even watch it. These moments are ones that should be treasured in your mind and not on the web - If you were to search for a live performance of any song by any band then it is highly likely that you would get between 5 and 25 versions posted on youtube, with maybe one being of decent quality.

In my opinion there is only one way this is going and I cannot understand why band / record labels haven’t fully caught on to it yet. A few years back, www.concertlive.co.uk caught on, signing up bands to make official recordings of shows on their tours. I attended a few gigs where this product was offered but it was organised so badly, not enabling fans to take the recording home that night, having to wait up to 7 days and also being charged far to much.

One band got it right - METALLICA - they set up a website where fans are able to buy any show they have ever played, some dating back to 1982 and the beginning of Metallica. -(www.livemetallica.com). Now, after every Metallica show, swarms of fans (including myself) log on to the website and buy their very own high quality copy of the show they attended and can relive that special moment again and again. 

Metallica have proved that this works and it can be seen at their shows, with less people standing, staring at their phones / cameras recording their single moment in low def.

What’s next? Video - If high quality recordings can be produced within moments of the shows finishing, ready for fans to take home / download, then surely it is only a matter of time before bands start making good standard video recordings of all their shows readily made available for fans to buy very soon after the show.

We all know that the Music Industry is monetary black hole, so surely labels should be taking advantage of this cheap product with high sales potential as bands begin to make a name for themselves.

Finally, going back to my original point. Fans, put down your phones and cameras and live for the moment, life is to short and so are band careers.

DC