Garth Brooks to headline Amazon’s first Black Friday concert
Amazon Music has announced its first-ever Black Friday Amazon Music Live concert, headlined by American country star Garth Brooks.
Brooks’s performance will be livestreamed from the grand opening of his new downtown Nashville bar, Friends in Low Places Bar & Honky-Tonk, giving fans around the world a front-row seat for one of his well-known ‘Dive Bar’ concerts.
The sold-out show has already earned over three million ticket requests from Brooks’ fans.
For those unable to attend, Prime Video and Twitch will air the 24 November concert from 19:00 ET. Viewers will have free access to Amazon Music Live, including viewers without an Amazon account or a Prime membership.
“Not only will the people see the Friends bar for the first time, but they will also hear new music live for the first time”
“We’ve already seen over three million entries to win a chance to attend, and thanks to our friends at Amazon, this episode will ensure that everybody who wants to see this show can,” said Brooks in a statement.
“Not only will the people see the Friends bar for the first time, but they will also hear new music live for the first time…and if you know us, we will be playing the old stuff, as well.”
Sponsored by Verizon, the AML Black Friday special will air after Black Friday Football—the first-ever NFL game played on Black Friday in history, streaming on Prime Video.
Previous episodes of Season Two of AML included Ed Sheeran, Feid, Lil Durk, Trippie Red, Machine Gun Kelly, Metro Boomin with Post Malone, Nav and Offset. Meanwhile, Peso Pluma became the first musical Mexicana artist to perform on AML.
Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.
Is live the new battleground for streaming giants?
Streaming giants such as Apple, Spotify and Amazon are ramping up their live music offerings with exclusive live stream series featuring some of the world’s biggest acts.
Apple Music Live yesterday (27 October) announced that Grammy Award-winning artist Megan Thee Stallion will be the latest act to feature in the inaugural, exclusive live performance series.
Her upcoming concert at The Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles will be available to Apple Music subscribers in over 165 countries on 21 December at 19:00 PST, and local fans can register for the chance to be in the room for the rapper’s set.
Megan Thee Stallion follows in the footsteps of artists including Harry Styles, Billie Eilish, Mary J. Blige, Lil Durk and Luke Coombs, all of whom have performed for Apple Music Live.
“No matter how much time and effort an artist may spend crafting music in the studio, it’s on the stage where they really get to show their work,” the company notes. “Apple Music Live is a new recurring series designed to do just that: give the biggest stars in music the biggest possible platform to flaunt how they connect with audiences and how their songs translate to live performance.”
Harry Styles, Billie Eilish, Mary J. Blige, Lil Durk and Luke Coombs have all performed for Apple Music Live
Prior to Apple Music Live, the streaming behemoth previously dabbled in live music with events including the discontinued iTunes Festival and Apple Music Festival.
Amazon Music has also announced details of a new livestream concert series, which will also feature Megan Thee Stallion.
Hosted by American rapper 2 Chainz, Amazon Music Live will be streamed live from LA, featuring “the biggest artists performing their latest hits live”.
It will air on Prime Video following Thursday Night Football in the US and premieres 27 October with Lil Baby, followed by Megan Thee Stallion (3 November) and Kane Brown (10 November), with further performers to be revealed in the coming weeks.
“With Amazon Music Live, we’ve created a new, can’t-miss series for fans to experience the most exciting new music together,” says Kirdis Postelle, global head of artist marketing of Amazon Music. “For artists, this show represents a massive new stage to share their music with fans after Thursday Night Football – the biggest game of the week, airing live on Prime Video.”
Amazon Music Live will be streamed live from LA, featuring “the biggest artists performing their latest hits live”
As well as hosting Amazon Music Live, 2 Chainz will interview each night’s performing artist during Thursday Night Football shoulder programming. Each concert will be available for fans to stream live around the world on Prime Video and will also be available to stream on-demand for a limited time.
Each week’s performance will be filmed in front of a live audience. Attendance to the show is by invitation only and will be facilitated through ticketing and event discovery platform Dice.
Amazon Music also recently livestreamed Kendrick Lamar’s sold-out 22 October show at the Accor Arena in Paris.
Fans were able to watch the livestream for free exclusively on Prime Video in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide, the Amazon Music channel on Twitch, and on the Amazon Music app.
Spotify previously stepped into the live music sphere when it launched a new livestreaming virtual concert series during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Spotify launched a new livestreaming virtual concert series during the Covid-19 pandemic
The Black Keys, Rag’n’Bone Man, Bleachers’ Jack Antonoff, Leon Bridges, and girl in red were among the artists that delivered what Spotify called “pre-recorded live shows” – which each ran for 40-75 minutes and cost US$15 to attend.
More recently, Spotify soft-launched a new website to sell tickets directly to its users, instead of redirecting customers to partner ticketing platforms.
The streaming provider premiered its tickets.spotify.com on 10 August, enabling those with a Spotify account to purchase event tickets via debit or credit card.
Apple, Amazon and Spotify join several other digital giants that have hosted live concert performances, such as YouTube which has been livestreaming Coachella performances for years and Hulu which has been enlisted to stream Lollapalooza and Bonnaroo music festivals in 2022 and 2023.
Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.
Amazon Music to livestream Kendrick Lamar show
Amazon Music and Prime Video is to livestream Kendrick Lamar’s sold-out 22 October show at the Accor Arena in Paris.
Fans will be able to watch the livestream for free exclusively on Prime Video in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide, the Amazon Music channel on Twitch, and on the Amazon Music app. The concert marks the 10-year anniversary of the release of Lamar’s good kid, m.A.A.d city LP.
Lamar’s performance, which will provide a special look at Lamar’s 65-date The Big Steppers world tour, will be available to view on-demand on Prime Video following the event, which will also feature sets from PGLang’s Tanna Leone and Baby Keem.
Produced by Live Nation and presented by Rotation, Amazon Music’s hip-hop and R&B brand, Lamar’s tour is currently making stops in Europe, UK and Australia before wrapping up at New Zealand at Auckland’s Spark Arena on 16-17 December.
“We are thrilled to be working with Kendrick Lamar, one of the most influential and groundbreaking artists of my generation, and PGLang to collaborate across Amazon for this epic entertainment event,” says Alaina Bartels, Amazon Studios’ head of talent synergy & specials. “We continue to be the home for talent and creating special opportunities for our global customers to experience their awe-inspiring creativity.”
“For artists, this show represents a massive new stage to share their music with fans”
Amazon Music has also announced details of new livestream concert series Amazon Music Live.
Hosted by American rapper 2 Chainz, the series will be streamed live from Los Angeles, featuring “the biggest artists performing their latest hits live”.
It will air on Prime Video following Thursday Night Football in the US and premieres 27 October with Lil Baby, followed by Megan Thee Stallion (3 November) and Kane Brown (10 November), with further performers to be revealed in the coming weeks.
“With Amazon Music Live, we’ve created a new, can’t-miss series for fans to experience the most exciting new music together,” says Kirdis Postelle, global head of artist marketing of Amazon Music. “For artists, this show represents a massive new stage to share their music with fans after Thursday Night Football – the biggest game of the week, airing live on Prime Video.”
As well as hosting Amazon Music Live, 2 Chainz will interview each night’s performing artist during Thursday Night Football shoulder programming. Each concert will be available for fans to stream live around the world on Prime Video and will also be available to stream on-demand for a limited time.
“Every Thursday night, I’m bringing the biggest and the brightest stars in music to the Amazon Music Live stage in Los Angeles,” said 2 Chainz. “We have the people that are influencing the culture and have carved their own unique path in music, like Lil Baby, Megan Thee Stallion and Kane Brown. Amazon Music Live is the only place to be for the official Thursday turn up!”
Each week’s performance will be filmed in front of a live audience. Attendance to the show is by invitation only and will be facilitated through ticketing and event discovery platform Dice.
Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.