Fabchannel comes to Manchester…

If Britain’s the home of indie, and Manchester’s it’s capital city, then I think Amsterdam must be our twin town. The Dutch love British music, and for the last ten years have been recording and broadcasting gigs from a wide range of bands who’ve played at the Paradiso. But it’s not on television, but the internet, that full length concerts from Elbow, I Am Kloot and the Courteneers amongst others can be found.
So it was really exciting to see the guys behind Fabchannel – the internet concert station that is broadcast from the Paradiso – come to Manchester to tell us how they’d done it. Because its not just about filming the concerts, or making them available on the internet – but also, in negotiating the rights with both indie and major record labels.
What was interesting was the insight it gave into the current music industry, where record companies are increasingly wanting to be live promoters, and venue owners are starting record labels. In a world of grainy Youtube videos its refreshing to see (and hear) the high quality concerts that the Fabchannel crew have recorded.
They were being given a tour of some of Manchester’s venues new and old this morning – and what was really exciting was how keen they were on finding out about the city where many of their favourite bands came from. Paradiso is a great “proving ground” for bands on the way up the ladder – and that’s what makes it’s archive so vital. With opportunities to see music on television increasingly limited, the internet’s an increasingly viable way of helping new and upcoming bands build an audience.