http://www.nugs.net
http://www.livedownloads.com
Concert downloads via file sharing services with an emphasis on doing it all legally. What a concept! The recording industry would be wise to look at how nugs.net and livedownloads.com are giving artists (or labels) control over music released to the Internet and how it is distributed. Most of the artists currently available from these two sites have jam band status of the Grateful Dead kind, including The String Cheese Incident, Dave Matthews, and Rat Dog. Singer/songwriter Jack Johnson offers downloads, while Robert Randolph allows listening only. Audio quality is as good as live concert recordings ever get. Marketing question for the industry: How many kids could talk their parents out of ten bucks for a download of the concert they just attended? I know several concerts I’ve attended are worth having in *any* recorded format.