Live Nation and Yahoo will live-stream 365 concerts over a 12-month period set to begin
later this summer, the two companies announced during Yahoo’s “Newfront” presentation
to advertisers at New York’s Lincoln Center. The program seeks to answer a question that
Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino has wrestled with when live-streaming the company’s 60,000
concerts a year – “how can we do this at scale, and efficiently?”Yahoo appears to be the solution
to the scale part of Rapino’s question, touting its 800 million monthly uniques (which surpass 1
billion when you factor in its May 2013 acquisition of Tumblr) and vast abilities to customize and
target a user’s experience on any screen through digital magazines. “There’ve been a lot of attempts
in the past to launch events online in more of a one-off or episode nature,” says Yahoo’s chief marketing
officer Kathy Savitt. “This is the first time, at scale, where two behemoths are getting together and saying,
‘Live is the future, and we’re gonna create a daily habit for music fans.”
It’s the pitch to sponsors that will create the efficiency solutions, helping underwrite the significant
costs of streaming a live concert every day for a whole year. Kellogg was announced as the program’s
first sponsor, and is expected to be involved for a full-year commitment. Advertising executives familiar
with Live Nation's initial sales packages say the company is asking for upfront commitments in the
mid-to-high seven figures.
Rapino expects participating acts to vary wildly in terms of stature, from the emerging acts who play
Live Nation clubs and theaters, to the arena-sized Grammy winners, to its growing roster of festivals
in rock, country, EDM and other genres. “We have 100-plus shows a day somewhere in the world
right now,” he says. It may even perhaps include the company’s latest big announcement – Beyonce
and Jay Z’s On The Run stadium tour. With the Yahoo partnership, Live Nation officially throws its
hat into the ring alongside YouTube, Vevo, Vice and other music-adjacent players vying for a piece
of the “upfront” advertising marketplace, valued at some $20 billion spent on top-tier sponsorships
for broadcast television, cable and live events.
Source: Billboard