LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--IROCKE.COM, the leading guide to live streaming concerts worldwide, released its exclusive 2012 rankings today. A live streaming concert is a live music performance digitally broadcast in real-time via the Internet to an audience able to enjoy, share, and transact from their computer, smart phone, tablet, television, or game console.
IROCKE.COM editors and contributors rated a total of 11,536 performances by 3,843 different artists streamed live from 684 different sources during 2012. Ratings are based on performance quality, online audience size, online audience engagement, unique use of the live streaming medium and other criteria.
“2012 was a landmark year for live streaming concerts with a record number of artists and fans connecting for live performances via the Internet,” said Karl Rogers, co-founder and CEO of IROCKE.COM. “The dramatic increase in the quantity and quality of live streaming concerts during 2012 attracted a much larger audience than any previous year.”
Based on data compiled and analyzed by IROCKE.COM an estimated 100 million people worldwide watched live streaming video during 2012. For the first time, virtually every major music festival in North America and Europe live streamed concert performances to fans around the world resulting in an unprecedented increase in the number of artists and fans experiencing live streaming concerts during 2012. There were an average of 1,200 live streaming music performances per month during the second half of 2012, nearly double the number of monthly performances during the first half.
Artists, producers and brands experimented with new ways to entertain and engage online audiences in 2012. Holograms, dance avatars, and audience controlled cameras were just a few of the technological advances that captivated online audiences in 2012. Intimate and unscripted formats also provided some of the most compelling live streaming music moments of 2012.
IROCKE.COM named “American Express Unstaged,” produced by American Express in partnership with VEVO and YouTube, the #1 live streaming concert source for 2012. The innovative live streaming concert series generated tens of millions of live stream views during 2012 by combining top artists and visionary directors with cutting edge interactive audience engagement.
“We are thrilled to be recognized by IROCKE.COM as the top live streaming concert series of 2012,” said Deborah Curtis, vice president of entertainment marketing at American Express. “When we created American Express Unstaged, we were driven to bring the engagement, excitement and creativity of a live event to viewers at home in continually innovative ways. This is a tremendous recognition that we are achieving on that goal.”
“A vibrant live streaming music marketplace has emerged with a wide variety of free and ticketed performances in every imaginable genre, setting, and geographic location,” said Allen Sanford, co-founder and COO of Live House Media, Inc. “Our mission at IROCKE.COM is to give fans a simple way to discover and share live streaming concerts worldwide, and to provide artists with an open, customizable platform to promote and perform live streaming shows directly to their fans and in collaboration with music venues and sponsors.”
A summary of the top five rankings for each IROCKE.COM list is presented below.
TOP 50 LIVE STREAMING CONCERT SOURCES OF 2012
- American Express Unstaged
- Live On Letterman
- Livestream Sessions
- YouTube Presents
- iTunes Live
TOP 25 LIVE STREAMING MUSIC MOMENTS OF 2012
- Eddie Vedder & Roger Waters, “Comfortably Numb” Concert For Sandy Relief (12/12/12)
- The Killers, “Mr. Brightside” American Express Unstaged (9/18/12)
- Tupac Hologram, Coachella (4/15/12)
- Avicii Set, Tomorrowland Music Festival (7/27/2012)
- Jack White, iTunes Music Festival (9/8/2012)
TOP 10 LIVE STREAMING MUSIC FESTIVALS OF 2012
- Tomorrowland Festival
- iTunes Music Festival
- Coachella
- Global Citizens Festival
- Austin City Limits
For complete rankings, multimedia, and additional information visit: blog.irocke.com/bestof2012.
About LiveHouse Media, Inc. (dba IROCKE.COM)
IROCKE.COM is the leading guide to live streaming concerts and live artist appearances worldwide. IROCKE.COM is developed by LiveHouse Media, Inc. headquartered in Hermosa Beach, CA with editors and contributors throughout the Americas, Europe, and Asia. www.irocke.com @IROCKE
About “American Express Unstaged”
Launched in the summer of 2010 in partnership between American Express, VEVO and YouTube, “American Express Unstaged” has live streamed 11 music concerts. Bringing the in-concert and at-home viewing experiences to new heights, “American Express Unstaged” showcases some of the music industry’s most breakthrough artists playing at landmark venues across the country, while tapping some of today’s most influential filmmakers to direct the live streams and using digital and social media to connect the online audience to the live shows in unexpected ways. 2012 “American Express Unstaged” performers included Jack White, Usher, Kenney Chesney and The Killers.
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