Christopher BarrettHaving recently livestreamed an array of acts at Festival Republic’s Wireless Festival, including performances by Digga D, Sean Paul and Vanessa Bling, Amazon Music is expanding its single-show City Sessions streaming programme internationally.
Already running in the US, City Sessions kicked off in April this year with a streamed performance by The Black Crowes, followed by shows by Kings of Leon and Wallows.
Amazon Music EU head of production & creative Mish Mayer said the focus is now on rolling out the initiative internationally with plans for UK shows later this year: “We are launching our City Sessions format globally. It’s an exciting livestream proposition, enabling fans to see really intimate, amazing, performances.”
Having launched the livestreaming festival proposition during the pandemic, Amazon Music has expanded the offering to include festival content from around the world. Prior to Wireless, Amazon Music has livestreamed performances this year from festivals including Vive Latino in Mexico City, Vibra Urbana in Miami, California’s Stagecoach and Primavera Sound in Barcelona. This weekend it will stream performances live from Japan’s Fuji Rock Festival. Having had a presence on-site at Fuji Rock last year with a consumer experiential activation, this year Amazon will broadcast performances from the event for the first time.
As well as making content from festivals available on Prime Video and the Amazon Music channel on Twitch, Amazon has created physical activations at the events. While the streaming operation involved 15 cameras across two stages at Wireless this year, the event also saw the creation of the Amazon Music Terrace; offering Amazon streaming service customers access to a purpose-built viewing area overlooking the Amazon Music stage.
Said Mayer, “We want to deliver fans and customers the best possible video experience at festivals. So we livestream on HDR for Prime Video, which means you’re getting super crisp cinematic footage of the action on the stages. Then we add social content, including interviews, so you’re getting a full experience.”