DRIIFT INTO THE LIVESTREAMING SPACE
ATC Management's Ric Salmon and Brian Message have launched a new live concert production and promotion company, Driift, to livestream ticketed events. Beggars Group are founding investors and shareholders.
The company oversees ticketing, production, licensing, rights management and digital marketing for artists and their teams. Its next event will be a one-off worldwide performance by Biffy Clyro on 8/15 — the band will be playing their forthcoming album, A Celebration of Endings, from a Glasgow venue. Sleaford Mods are also lined up to play The 100 Club on 9/12. Further dates will be revealed over coming weeks, including a number of shows in North America.
"Ticketed live streaming is currently a space that no one controls, and we believe there is a long-term and commercially viable business here,” Salmon said. “It’s incredibly exciting. However, the ultimate goal of Driift is empowerment. We’ve created a truly agnostic service that will enable artists and their teams to recreate the unique magic of live performance, and to curate an experience worth paying for."
The business is founded with a belief that paid-for streaming will offer a sustainable and complementary experience in the future, unlocking new creative opportunities and revenue streams. Driift has already promoted online shows during the coronavirus lockdown, including Laura Marling at London's Union Chapel, Lianne La Havas at the Roundhouse, and Dermot Kennedy at the Natural History Museum.
"It strikes me that this is just the beginning of an exciting opportunity for artists and their teams to create new art that many will choose to pay for,” Message added. “If we get this right, ticketed streamed productions, whether live shows or something not yet dreamt of, can comfortably sit alongside promotional videos, traditional live shows and other ways fans and artists relate.”
Beggars Group join ATC Management as founding investors and shareholders, and the business has collaborated to date with CAA, DICE, Universe/Ticketmaster, YouTube, Pulse Films and Jackshoot, alongside numerous management companies.
