TuneIn, the audio streaming app and network that corrals real radio stations from around the world, along with NFL, NBA and MLB broadcasts in one place, has secured the exclusive audio streaming rights to a slew of the top U.S. music festivals, TheWrap has learned.
Hangout Music Fest, Outside Lands Music, Firefly, the Newport Folk Festival and Seattle’s Bumbershoot Music and Arts Festivals are part of a multi-year deal that includes the launch of stand-alone festival radio stations on the TuneIn platform.
The live-hosted, hand-curated, 24-7 channels (à la Apple Music) dubbed TuneIn Festival VIP Radio, launched today (May 16). Unlike the festivals, the stations will run for months.
“Each of the festivals that we’ve partnered with are world class tastemakers in the booking of incredible lineups,” Charles Raggio, Sr. Director Music Partnerships & Branded Content of TuneIn, said in a statement to TheWrap.
“Live music is the heartbeat of every music fan, so it’s exciting for us to use our platform to amplify the efforts of these fests and offer music festival experiences and exclusive artist content to millions of monthly listeners throughout the summer,” he added.
First up is Goldenvoice’s surging beach front Hangout Music Fest in Gulf Shores, Alabama, this weekend.
While fans in the south will have their feet in the sand or be swimming by the stages (literally), global fans will be able to listen to festival headliners like Dillon Francis (who dominated at Coachella), The Head and the Heart, Band of Horses, future “Where are they now?” contender Marshmello, and the cultishly-beloved RÜFÜS DU SOL via TuneIn.
TuneIn expects eight to 10 full sets to be streamed per day from each festival.
The patchwork of festival partners is notable because TuneIn struck deals with festivals on both sides of the U.S. music festival duopoly: AEG Presents and Live Nation.
The former co-owns Goldenvoice and produces Hangout, Delaware’s Firefly Festival (June) and Bumbershoot in Seattle (September), which are included in this deal. (Other AEG Presents festivals include Coachella, Stagecoach, FYF (LA, July), Panorama (NYC, July), and last weekend’s heavy metal fest Carolina Rebellion in Charlotte, North Carolina, amongst others.)
Live Nation will be represented by its stake in Outside Lands festival streamed under this deal (San Francisco in August). The partnership was planned using data collected during the 2016 festival season including Live Nation’s Meadows Music and Arts Festival in New York.
Outside of this deal, Live Nation’s festival tentpoles include Bonaroo (Tennessee, June), EDC (Las Vegas, June), Lollapalooza (Chicago, August), and Austin City Limits (October). Red Bull TV has the video livestream rights to all of them. Audio is separate.
“We believe this service is great for the fans who are traveling to the festivals and want to get a head start on their favorite bands,” Kim Hawkins, AEG’s Sr. Director of Partnerships, told TheWrap. “[The channels are also] for those who can’t attend and can use TuneIn to listen to some of the events live. Additionally, as a part of this partnership, our mutual brand partners can expand beyond the festival grounds and get exposure through a different media platform.”
Despite the TuneIn consolidation, the market for festival livestream rights remains dynamic and decentralized. Youtube, Facebook, SiriusXM, Red Bull TV, TuneIn, Pandora, and Verizon’s Go90 app have all secured rights to major festivals mentioned above during the previous year.
For TuneIn, the Festival VIP channels join TuneIn’s 100,000 audio channels, serving 60 million monthly active users. Comcast Ventures, IVP, Sequoia Capital, Google Ventures, and Icon Ventures are amongst the backers of the San Francisco-based service.