We all know the concept of social media ephemerality: posts or messages that disappear after a certain time period rather than stay online permanently (Snapchat, Facebook & IG Stories, Twitter Fleets). A startup is applying that idea to music livestreams.
The company is Blast Radio, armed with a device called ‘Blast Box’ for musicians to connect to their turntable/mixer or recording kit. “Broadcast studio-quality, live audio with one button,” is its high-concept pitch. “All content expires after 24 hours so it’s a low-pressure way to experiment and play what you love right now without worrying about it existing forever… from DJ sets to daily B-sides, sneak peeks of new material to live experimentation.”
The service is free for listeners, but they can tip the artists or DJs. And licensing? Well, that may be a question that Blast Radio will be fielding from rightsholders in the weeks ahead, particularly on the DJ sets side.
