Quantcast

JAMBASE: NOW STUFFING RHAPSODY’S BONG

Listen.com’s Streaming Sub Service Gets Unique Live Content, Promises to Brush up on Hacky-Sack
Subscribers to Listen.com’s streaming-only online paid service, Rhapsody, will be able to space-dance to a heaping baggy of live jam-band noodling, thanks to a deal with live-music info site JamBase.

Think of the guitar solos. The percussion interludes. The bass… hey, do you know where the bathroom is?

Of course, the "JamBase Live Archive," which boasts more than 250 hours of onstage wizardry played—and selected—by the likes of Charlie Hunter, Little Feat, Soulive, Astral Project and Psychedelic Breakfast, among many others, only really makes sense after six joints and a cup of psilocybin tea. But that’s actually not what sets this pact apart from the rest of what’s going on in the digital-subscription world, according to the Listen folks.

"For so long, digital music has been dogged by accusations that it cuts into hard goods," exhaled Listen’s Matt Graves. "This is a way to expand the market, and this is a way to give fans guaranteed quality—and to compensate bands, who can also expand their audiences. It’s also good for JamBase, who can finally bring the actual music to their community… Hey, mind if I snag a Frito?"

"The JamBase Live Archive gives musicians a way to build an even stronger connection with their fans by giving them easy access to the best music from their live archives," declared guitar virtuoso Hunter, whose eclectic remake of the Bob Marley album Natty Dread is fucking amazing when you’re wasted.

A stand-alone version of the entire Archive will be available for $7.50 a month via the JamBase site, but Rhapsody subscribers will have access to a portion of these improvisational expeditions.

The latter service already features music from four of the Big Five label groups, thanks to licensing agreements with everyone but UMG, as well as 51 indie imprints. But it’s been clear for a while that trying to sell catalog music online is tough, given the widespread availability of such tunes via free peer-to-peer services.

Whether subscribers will line up to hear a white axe-slinger with dreads play modal hammer-ons for 25 minutes at a time remains to be determined, but offering content that can’t be found elsewhere seems like a pretty good idea.

And it seems like an even better idea when you’re, like, fully ripped.

UMG BROADENS SPOTIFY OFFERINGS
Sir Lucian and Daniel are in harmony. (3/28a)
THE COUNT: COLDPLAY IS HOT, COUNTRY'S COOKIN' IN THE U.K.
The latest tidbits from the bustling live sector (3/28a)
YTD MARKET SHARE
Zeroing in on the elite teams (3/28a)
TRUST IN THE TOP 20
Hip-hop is no longer hibernating. (3/28a)
SONG REVENUE:
A STYLISTIC STEW
MC, divas and singer-songwriters rub elbows. (3/28a)
THE NEW UMG
Gosh, we hope there are more press releases.
TIKTOK BANNED!
Unless the Senate manages to make this whole thing go away, that is.
THE NEW HUGE COUNTRY ACT
No, not that one.
TRUMP'S CAMPAIGN PLAYLIST
Now 100% unlicensed!
 Email

 First Name

 Last Name

 Company

 Country
CAPTCHA code
Captcha: (type the characters above)