Mariah Carey knows how to make history. Now, the bestselling female performer of the 1990s racks up a new milestone: The music industry's first mobile and digital concert.
On Saturday, October 10 the performer's "Mariah Carey Live in Las Vegas" concert will be simulcast to mobile (Internet enabled phones) and other digital devices worldwide.
Carey's concert will be accessible in more than 200 countries via 235 mobile and digital partners including iClips and iTunes.
"This is a concert-to-go experience," says Toronto's Bob Kasher, Managing Director of GDE Partners.
This mobile and digital concept was developed by Kasher and his partners. It is being presented through their www.iviago.com
"This idea once sounded like science fiction. But, as smartphones improve the experience of watching videos, live music and television on mobile phones will increase dramatically," says Kasher.
For the last three years Kasher has been creating a project for Macmillan publishing to make content available on mobile.
"The concept started with print books and expanded into music and video," says Kasher.
One of Kasher's GDE partners, a concert promoter, suggested the idea of putting concerts on mobile phones.
Enter Carey, a diva with a hefty international following.
"We pursued a couple of other opportunities that didn't work," says Kasher, whose company pitched Universal in April of 2009.
"Universal felt this would be a great tie in with the release of Mariah's new CD, her new single and a great way of getting that info out to the world," says Kasher.
After four weeks of negotiations with Carey's representatives, a deal was reached by mid-August.
"There was lots of back and forth with lawyers, but not because anyone was being difficult," says Kasher. "This is a new area to define in terms of legal rights."
The deal has made Steve Bartels happy. The President/COO of Island Def Jam Music Group says: "Fans from all over the world can now share the excitement of a live concert, wherever, whenever, and on whatever digital device they chose."
Carey's involvement also bodes well for this deal's money-earning potential.
"Mariah was the perfect performer for our first time out," says Kasher.
"She's huge in Asia, the Middle East and Europe. Our goal was to try to cover all these territories with our distribution," he says. "It was a good merger of interests."
The concert-to-go experience will cost you
Participating in this new concert experience hinges on two factors.
First, it is not free. Virtual tickets are priced at $9.99. For that fee, fans can view content immediately or save for future, one-time viewing. Content cannot be rewound or replayed once it has been viewed.
"If you were in Las Vegas you'd have to pay $200, so the fee is reasonable," say Kasher.
Second, the mobile carrier's capabilities will determine access to the event.
"It all depends on what country you are in," says Kasher. "In the U.S., Japan, and Korea broadband is accessible and available. In developing countries like Africa, China and Latin America more people access the Internet through mobile phones rather than the computer."
Those who have online capabilities on their computer or a mobile phone that can access the Internet or a video player can stream the concert or download it, says Kasher.
Fans can also go to www//iviago.com and click on the 60-second preview sample. "If the sample works, the concert will load onto your mobile phone," says Kasher.
As for earning projections, Kasher says, "We'll have to wait and see how fans respond. We're hoping to earn as much money for the partners as Mariah would earn in a normal concert."
Now in negotiations with other artists, Kasher says GDE hopes to do four concerts in the next six months, and a concert a month after that with the quality of a star like Carey.
"Mobile presents huge, new realms of opportunity for content," says Kasher." "What's really exciting is that we can bring North American stars to the rest of the world and vice versa. The potential for making inroads in new markets is huge."
