Live Music Archive Surpasses 250,000 Concert Recordings Available for Free Listening

Since its inception in 2002, the Live Music Archive has been a valuable resource, offering free access to both lossless and MP3-encoded audio recordings of concerts. Over the past two decades, this collaborative effort between Internet Archive staff and volunteers has grown into a substantial collection, now featuring over 250,000 concert recordings that listeners can enjoy without any cost.

The Live Music Archive, a non-profit and ad-free initiative, reached this significant milestone in June, showcasing the enduring dedication of fans, bands, and the Internet Archive itself. This treasure trove of audio content occupies more than 250 terabytes of data on the Internet Archive’s servers, reflecting its vastness and diversity.

Founder of the Internet Archive, Brewster Kahle, remarked, “It’s a huge victory for the open web. Fans have helped build it. Bands have supported it. And the Internet Archive has continued to scale it to be able to meet the demand.” He further emphasized the importance of providing permanent access to creative content without the constraints of commercial platforms.

Kahle highlighted, “It shouldn’t cost to give something away. We wanted to make it possible for people to make things permanently available without having to sell their souls to a platform that is going to exploit it for advertising. That just seemed like the world that should exist, and we thought we could play a role.”

The Live Music Archive was launched in collaboration with the etree music community in 2002, aiming to offer ongoing and free access to high-quality audio recordings. Over the years, it has gained support from over 8,000 artists who have allowed their concert recordings to be archived on the platform. With over 600 million listens and nearly 30 new items uploaded daily, the archive has proven its significance in preserving and sharing the musical experience.

Notably, the archive extends beyond established acts and is known for featuring the works of emerging musicians spanning various genres. It has also played a role in introducing new listeners to bands and inspiring attendance at live shows.

Jonathan Aizen, a technology entrepreneur who contributed to building the Live Music Archive, stated, “There’s no doubt in my mind that the accessibility of the recordings on the Internet Archive is exposing bands and drawing people in who then go to the show.”

The Live Music Archive stands as a testament to the power of collaborative efforts and the dedication to preserving and sharing the magic of live music with the world.