If you are a fan of classic rock then you will be glad to know that music and memorabilia site Wolfgang’s Vault has struck a deal with Universal Music Group to make available vintage concert performances from artists such as The Kinks, Jimi Hendrix and Bob Marley.
The addition of the acts will join the nearly 500 recordings currently available for download purchase at the site. The recordings include live performances from thousands of concerts produced by late promoter Bill Graham, along with classics from other catalogs going back decades.
“This is a far-reaching agreement to make available what I would consider previously unreleased live performance recordings of Universal Music Group artists from the mid-’60s on through today,” founder Bill Sagan told Billboard.com. “It covers hundreds of UMG performers and thousands of live performance concerts.”
Sagan launched Wolfgang’s Vault in 2003 after purchasing Graham’s extensive collection of memorabilia and concert recordings for $5 million. The downloadable content deal is for 10 years, with a streaming deal lasting “into perpetuity,” Sagan said.
If the concert is more than 30 minutes, a full download will cost $9.98, concerts less than 30 minutes are $5.98. Single song performances are priced at $3.98. The site will still offer free streaming.
“Of the 1,434 concerts that are up on the site, 488 can be downloaded right now,” said Sagan. “And some very major artists will be downloading within the next 30 to 60 days.”
The concert recordings will eventually be available as CDs and vinyl under Universal’s direction. “There will be a physical product,” Sagan said.
Some of the classic recordings available for download on the site include The Rolling Stones, Grateful Dead, Miles Davis, Bruce Springsteen and U2.
