I spent a while this evening talking to Jake Walker of DiscLive on #joiito.
DiscLive is a service which is basically in competition with Clear Channel's live CD service. Basically, the concept is that you can leave the concert you are at with a CD (or CD set) from the show you just went to within about 5 or 10 minutes of the show ending.
I think this type of service is an awesome service for all bands, but I think it works best with bands who do something different every night. Bands that do the same show every night, with the same songs and the same dance moves in the same order every night don't really offer much from having discs of each show recorded. Though, as Jake pointed out to me, some people would just enjoy hearing their favorite artist saying "Hello Boston!" or something.
I would definitely buy CDs from a service like this. I see it as a much better souvenir than a $30 t-shirt. Jake says they are selling discs for about $20-$25 a set. They have full color packaging and discs, so you aren't just getting some burned CDs and a piece of paper with the band's name.
I really think artists would buy in to this as well. Many bands are against bootlegs for 2 reasons. The first being other people making money off their music. Well, with this service, the band takes most of the cash, the company just charges a per disc service charge of about $6 per set. The second big reason bands give against bootlegs is quality. They don't like their music out there that sounds like crap, which is a very valid point. Well, this is recorded directly off the soundboard and with the addition of some ambient mics. So, you get good quality boots and great souvenirs.
I would much rather see a company like DiscLive thrive in this business than a giant like Clear Channel. A small company is going to strive to create the best product possible where someone like Clear Channel would probably just try to make the cheapest possible, largest profit discs.
Currently DiscLive is trying to work directly with artists and possibly just tour with an artist (one for now, hopefully more once enough money is there to buy and build more rigs). I think it would be awesome for a medium sized band who plays a different kind of show every night to take these guys out with them. Think of someone like moe or Gov't Mule. They play theater shows, but still have a good following and mix the set up pretty nicely.
I guess the one worry in the jam band community would be the lose of tape trading and the like, but at the same time, I would MUCH rather pay $25 for a perfect recording of a show than trade blanks for an ok version taken from someone's mics.
I'm going to try and keep an eye on these guys and see how they do. If you happen to be in a band that plays in venues around the size of 2500 people or so, talk with these guys and hopefully you can make many fans happy to go home with a great souvenir.
