The ongoing digital festival Live From Out There has reportedly raked in over $150,000 in just the first two weeks of programming.
According to an article in Rolling Stone, the subscription-based virtual festival from 11E1even Group and Nugs.tv made $100,000 in the first week alone. While the article marvels at the success of a digital festival “without major headliners”, it profiles the event’s organizers at 11E1even Group as an inspiration to independent artists across the country in these uncertain times. One thing that 11E1even Group owner Ben Baruch emphasized was the quick turn around, “Part of it is how fast we formed this,” Baruch said. “I don’t know if anyone was thinking virtual festival even a week ago.”
Serious talks of producing Live From Out There supposedly began back on March 12th, just as many smaller artists were starting to cancel shows and tours. That very same day was when Pigeons Playing Ping Pong postponed the remainder of its tour with Goose, following a sold-out show at the Madison Theatre the night before. Pigeons and Goose would go on to top the lineup for the first week of Live From Out There, and have remained a consistent presence through the second and third weekends of programming. While live streaming concerts isn’t anything new to Pigeons Playing Ping Pong or Goose, Baruch acknowledged that these unique circumstances have caused a sizable jump in demand for remote content.
“It definitely wouldn’t be getting the same type of viewership and revenue,” Baruch said. “Even with some artists we know who get 10,000 streams on a normal day, we’re seeing upwards of 60-70,000 on that specific set.”
Acts that Rolling Stone may consider “major headliners” have also begun their own live streams, including Elton John‘s iHeart Radio’s Living Room Concert for America which reportedly raised over $8 million for coronavirus relief efforts. Other corporate entities have also gotten in on the action, such as Verizon who kicked off its recurring Pay It Forward Live streaming series with a performance by Dave Matthews last week. If you’re Elton John or Dave Matthews or any musician of that caliber, however, it’s pretty safe to assume that you can pull in hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars with any run of concerts or tours. What is inspiring about this report though, is that live streaming is proving to be economically viable for acts that are far less nationally renowned, and outlets like Rolling Stone are starting to take notice.
“There’s so much uncertainty, it’s hard to tell what the live music landscape is going to look like even a year from now,” Baruch said. “But what we’re seeing is another stream of revenue that we can get for artists. If artists want to participate, I don’t see it as any reason to stop. These artists, some are making more than they would’ve made playing some of these shows because there’s no cost.”
Live From Out There continues its weekly programming Sunday, April 5th with performances from Aqueous, Rick Mitarotonda and Peter Anspach of Goose, and more. Check out the full schedule here, and head to Nugs.tv to tune in.
[H/T Rolling Stone]