Live Nation Jumps Into Digital. Wiring 120 Concert Venues

Concert giant Live Nation is going to turn 120 of its venues and festival sites throughout the U.S., Canada and Europe into next generation "wired" studios to record and repurpose live concerts for television, mobile phones, terrestrial and satellite radio, online use and other digital music distribution channels.  The company will also ramp up it’s Instant Live program which produces live CD’s that capture a concert delivering it often on the night of the show as the ultimate souvenir.

Getting more involved in digital content delivery is a smart and obvious play for Live Nation; as is its increasing use of the net to communicate with fans and sell tickets.  Live Nation’s newest and most important audience Wall Street should respond favorably. But a list of specific venues was not provided in the company press release and the thorny issues of rights to these live performances which are increasingly entangled by previous label, publisher, and artist deals could be a stumbling block.