Sunday night, Ustream will begin what it believes to be the first live music concert delivered to the iPad: Bon Jovi's sold out show in Dallas, Texas.
Unless you account for portability, the best way to enjoy a concert is live, of course, with movie theaters and computers or televisions (updated) coming in second and third, and the iPad coming in fourth, well ahead of the mobile phone, whose small screen relegates it to a distant fifth. But the iPad represents a new viewing option for the mostly-untapped live online music market with promise for the mobile viewing market, as well as in households where only one person might be a fan of a given band.
The device won't make live online music (finally) happen singlehandedly. But large, portable screens will encourage the phenomenon of watching events live and online, because live shows are both a visual as well as an auditory medium. And as the above screenshot suggests, the interactive possibilities on an iPad or similar device outpace those of many other live music viewing platforms.
Ustream cofounder John Ham told Wired.com that live music will be a bigger part of the company's strategy going forward, and that his company is already "the leading live streaming service on mobile products" apparently beating out YouTube, which has also dipped its toe in the live concert waters but doesn't have a mechanism for regular users to webcast live shows. He said Ustream is "a natural enabler for live music" and that KISS, The Jonas Brothers, Taylor Swift, Diddy, Carrie Underwood, 50 Cent and The Black Eyed Peas have already streamed their own shows through the site and mobile app. Tonight's Bon Jovi show will be the first one for the iPad.
"Mobile products like the iPhone and iPad solve a fundamental challenge for live events, which is being able to reach everyone when the show starts," said Ham. "Some people aren't in front of their computers or TVs when a live event starts, and mobile products allow Ustream to syndicate the content to the device that is with them all the time."
The idea of watching -- or even paying to watch -- live music online has yet to take off in a widespread way on any platform, although progress has been made. Will the iPad bring us closer to the tipping point when live music streams are simple, interactive and immersive enough that more of us will watch or even pay to watch them?
The pre-show starts at 8pm ET, with Bon Jovi taking the stage in Dallas via webcast at 9:30pm ET. Fans can watch the first four live songs plus pre-recorded footage of the band performing with Kid Rock in Detroit, and the whole thing is free. So far, over 700 people have RSVPed.
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