Nineties pop darlings Hootie & the Blowfish are trying a new angle on the live bootleg market. On their 25-date Homegrown summer concert trek, fans will be able to instantly purchase the show they just rocked out to-from a cell phone.
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Nineties pop darlings Hootie & the Blowfish are trying a new angle on the live bootleg market. On their 25-date Homegrown summer concert trek, fans will be able to instantly purchase the show they just rocked out to-from a cell phone.
Partnering up with trueAnthem, an advertising supported online music distribution, promotion, and marketing company, Hootie is the first band to debut the one-of-a-kind live concert widget. Using trueAnthem’s Homegrown trueWidget, concertgoers can send a SMS text message to purchase the show for $14.99 as soon as the lights hit. This instant gratification gives the show to fans immediately without having to wait for a CD or rock a fashionable, trendy jump drive. They will also be able to pre-order files for upcoming shows and be notified when a particular show is ready for purchase.
In a one-two knockout punch, Darius Rucker and his band are also using this tour as a fundraising charity series. While visiting back home in South Carolina, the boys who penned “Let Her Cry” and “Only Want to Be With You” were exposed to the poor education conditions of their state and were inspired to give back to the community. They are requesting that attendees bring school supplies to their shows to donate to the cause, and have raised over $150,000 worth of supplies so far. “This tour is particularly meaningful for us as it is supporting a cause that is incredibly important: the education of our nation’s youth,” says Rucker. “To add the opportunity for us to sustain the connection we make with our fans at each show is truly incredible and until today, not possible.”
trueAnthem, a San Francisco based company, claims it is a music label for the modern ages by providing services to promote independent and undiscovered talent. Their trueWidgets can be embedded online and will be compatible with sites like MySpace and Facebook. “Now, concert-goers can take home more than the t-shirt as the keepsake from the show—they can take home the concert itself,” says trueAnthem CEO Brad Barnes. “And what’s even better, they can share it with their friends, follow the band from city to city and re-live their memories over and over with fellow fans.”
Live concert USB drive necklaces are so last year…
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