Page 32 - ATODAY

PEOPLE & ARTS A31
Website offers concert experience to those outside the arena
DAVID BAUDER
AP Entertainment Writer
NEW YORK (AP) — Bruce
Springsteen’s generous
gesture to snowbound fol-
lowers this winter was the
first time many music fans
became aware of Nugs.
net, a website that offers
concert experiences to
those who can’t make it to
the arena.
Phish, Metallica and Pearl
Jam also sell recordings of
their shows through Nugs.
The website’s emergence
illustrates the growing im-
portance of the live music
industry at a time record-
ing sales have sharply fall- lica streamed a concert
en, giving acts with strong
live reputations a new rev-
enue stream.
“As the future unfolds, I
think every touring act is
going to have to do some-
thing along these lines,”
said Marc Reiter, who
manages Metallica and
Red Hot Chili Peppers at Q
Prime. The website’s roots
date back to the 1990s
when two friends who
grew up in the Philadelphia
area, Brad Serling and Jon
Richter, created it to share
their recordings of Grate-
ful Dead concerts. They
reached out to the band
for permission and the
response, basically, was
“what’s a website?”
By the beginning of the
century, their recordings
had become so popular
that the band’s lawyers
gave them two choices:
shut it down or go into
business together. Ser-
ling worked briefly for the
Dead.
Hank Williams’ biopic soundtrack:
atmosphere without twang
LINDSEY TANNER
Associated Press
Because Hank Williams’
mark on country music is as
indelible as a two-stepper
in a honky tonk, it’s shock- Hiddleston wisely avoids
ing to be reminded that
he lived just 29 years —
and died more than half a
century ago. British actor
Tom Hiddleston resurrects
the legend 63 years later
in the new biopic “I Saw
the Light” and everything
about the accompanying
In this March 15, 2016 file photo, Bruce Springsteen, center, performs with Nils Lofgren, left, and
Steven Van Zandt of the E Street Band during their concert in Los Angeles.
Nugs officially became a
business when the men of-
fered copies of Phish’s 2002
New Year’s Eve concert for
sale. As its only client at the than 100,000 copies were
time, the site grossed more
than a million dollars.
“That’s when we knew we
were on to something,”
Richter said.
Nugs has expanded to
stream audio and video
of live shows on a pay-
per-view basis; Metal-
through the site the night
before the Super Bowl. For
a monthly or yearly sub-
scription, Nugs also grants
unlimited access to a li-
brary of more than 10,000
shows.
Springsteen offered a free
soundtrack sounds straight
out of Williams’ heyday.
Except Hiddleston’s voice,
but that doesn’t matter be-
cause the actor can sing.
trying to mimic Williams’
unmistakable nasal twang.
With an upbeat tenor that
bears no trace of his roots,
Hiddleston creates a sani-
tized but pleasant Hank,
lacking the rough edges
that make Williams sound
right at home on a dive bar
concert recording for a lim-
ited time after he had to
postpone a New York City
show due to snow. More
downloaded. His concert
downloads generally cost
$9.95, with CD copies $23
and audiophile options
also available.
The top eight sellers listed
on Nugs.net last week were
from Springsteen’s current
“River” tour.
The jam band community
is big on Nugs because its
acts view each concert
as a unique experience.
A band that follows the
same setlist every night, hit- get these amazing mo-
ting precise cues for danc-
ers and lights, isn’t made
for Nugs. The acts must be
jukebox. It’s a version that
might go better with a cou-
ple of craft beers.
He gets a top-shelf assist
from the Saddle Spring
Boys, a crack backup band
that includes alt-Nashville
veteran Rodney Crowell,
guitarist Richard Bennett,
bluegrass fiddler Stuart
Duncan, Mickey Raphael
on harmonica and Chris
Scruggs — Earl’s grandson
— on steel guitar and vo-
cals.
Wednesday 23 March 2016
time surfing YouTube and
come across snippets of
his concerts with terrible
Associated Press sound quality, he might not
have reached out to Nugs,
confident enough to sell all Serling said.
their shows without editing, The recordings come from
even on lousy nights. a mix of a band’s sound
If something is held back, board at a show and from
fans notice and conspiracy the venue itself, a combi-
theories begin. nation that promotes clar-
“Sometimes I can be some- ity and avoids sterility. Nugs
what hesitant,” admitted sells recordings through
Aron Magner, keyboard their acts’ website and on
player for Disco Biscuits. their own, trying to make it
“The segues don’t go as an easy experience for the
planned or there was a musicians. Financial details
wrong note, or a series of of the arrangements aren’t
wrong notes. But that’s released. Take away the
what this genre is all about. recording costs, and it’s es-
It’s walking on a tightrope sentially found money — a
without a net. Everyone un- way to profit from a con-
derstands that and it’s part cert outside of ticket sales.
of the fun of it. You don’t It’s primarily a service for
the die-hard fan: Springs-
ments unless you are willing teen offers a discount to
to jump off a cliff.” fans who purchase every
If Springsteen hadn’t spent single show of the “River”
tour.
“Our fans are both loyal
and rabid and have al-
ways been voracious to
devour as much content
as we are willing to deliv-
er,” Magner said. As Disco
Biscuit members get older,
they don’t tour as much,
he said. Nugs offers them a
way to stay in touch.
The recordings sell at a
consistent level, he said.
“But if there is a specific
show that rises above (the
norm), the word will spread
pretty quickly,” he said.
Reiter said that for the
bands he manages, Nugs
has been great service to
their most loyal fans. “It has
been better than we ever
thought,” he said.
This CD cover image released by Legacy Recordings shows the
soundtrack from the motion picture, “I Saw the Light.”
Associated Pres