Usher, Justin Timberlake, and 363 more live concerts headed to Yahoo

BY JOSHUA COHEN

Yahoo made two major announcements at its 2014 Digital Content NewFronts presentation. The first was a tease of a sci-fi comedy set in space from Freaks and Geeks creator Paul Feig. The second was a partnership with Live Nation Entertainment that promised to produce a year’s worth of live concerts featuring talent with recognizable names streamed to the online video masses exclusively by way of Yahoo. And while Feig’s Other Space still appears to be orbiting production and release dates, Yahoo and Live Nation’s initiative just released concrete information of when it’s set to launch.

A Very Special Evening with Dave Matthews Band at the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena on July 15, 2014 will kick off 365 days of live concerts on the Live Nation Channel on Yahoo’s online video destination, Yahoo Screen. More high-profile acts performing live from famous stages and locals to audiences worldwide are set to follow, including KISS, John Legend (who will perform Marvin Gaye’s album “What’s Going On” in its entirety with the Los Angeles Philharmonic), Justin Timberlake, Usher, Gavin DeGraw, Common, The Neighbourhood, MKTO, 311, Everclear, OK GO, Wiz Khalifa, Ziggy Marley, and 300+ others.

“LiveNation produces more than 23,000 annual shows for 60 million fans globally. With the LiveNation Channel on Yahoo we are bringing these amazing artists with great production to the 800 million monthly Yahoo fans,” said Live Nation Entertainment CEO, Michael Rapino in the release. “This channel will create a powerful new way for artists to continue to grow their global fanbase.”

The individuals that comprise those global fanbases will be able to live stream the concerts through Yahoo Screen on a number of platforms and devices, including desktop browsers, the mobile web, iOS, Android, AppleTV, Roku, and Xbox 360. And once the live performances are over, the Live Nation channel on Yahoo Screen will be home to insider videos of artist interviews and behind-the-scenes footage, as well as an on-demand catalog of songs for viewers to enjoy.

Here’s a promo video that will give you a glimpse of what’s in store.

Photo via josemanuelerre/Flickr (CC BY ND 2.0)