It has been a rocky road for the electronic music scene in Chicago for quite some time now. Specifically, Chicago’s biggest promotor, React Presents, has been the topic of conversation. After venue changes hurt the company’s flagship Spring Awakening Festival, rumors pointed to the festival’s cancelation for 2020.
This morning, however, it has been announced that LiveXLive, a global digital media company focused on live entertainment, has acquired React for $2 million. The streaming company will now own Spring Awakening, Sunset Music Festival, as well as more than 250 club and venue shows per year.
So what exactly is LiveXLive?
It is a streaming platform that combines video and audio. It allows users to create and share customized music stations. It’s free because it runs on ads and various subscription levels. Essentially, they are the company that helps fans, who cannot attend small events and festivals, enjoy it all from their own homes and more. LiveXLive has hosted Electric Daisy Carnival‘s livesteams for the past several years. However, that’s not the only festival they work with. The company has a decent history as well that is worth a check out.
“LiveXLive is creating a new music stack combining audio, video, social and live events into one end-to-end experience. This acquisition will create powerful cross-marketing opportunities based on direct access to a new pool of active music fans. Leveraging the built-in synergy of event and festival ownership, we anticipate significant growth in audience, subscribers, and original content offerings through expanded audience reach and tighter artist relationships,” said Robert Ellin, CEO and Chairman of LiveXLive.
This is a huge development for the industry, as it marks the first time a content producer is expanding vertically into full-scale festival production. You can expect Spring Awakening and other events to get the full livestream treatment going forward. LiveXLive is taking a big step into an area it has not yet tried. React has been estimated to have made $15 million (ticket sales, sponsorship, merchandise, and other) during the calendar year ending December 31, 2019. With React’s solid foundation, LiveXLive has the opportunity to make it all bigger and better than ever. We’re sure there will be more news regarding 2020 and beyond soon!