Most bluegrass fans already know that the Station Inn in Nashville is perhaps the premiere live music venue in the world of grass. With live entertainment 7 nights a week – and some afternoons as well – local residents and visitors alike know that they can count on a great show anytime they stop in to the Station Inn.
If you’ve been there for a show, you also know that it is not a large venue, and concerts often sell out or have to revert to standing room only. So management has come up with a great idea to increase their reach.
Permanent cameras have been installed in the room, with the necessary lighting for video recording, leading to the official launch of Station Inn TV on April 3. The online subscription service will allow for live viewing of about a third of the shows scheduled there at the Station, plus access to the archive of previously recorded programs.
Facebook users may have noticed that some of the recent shows have been streamed live over there, but at dramatically lower resolution than the 1080p HD signal that will be available on Station Inn TV. All of the content of those Facebook Live streams will be offered in HD once the service officially launches next month. Management suggests that as much as 200 hours of prerecorded music will be viewable April 3.
Jeff Brown, Marketing Director for the club, tells us that the combination of archived and ongoing concerts gives them something not offered elsewhere for bluegrass lovers.
“The best part about Station Inn TV is that we are offering both live streaming and shows on-demand with a single subscription. Currently we are streaming an average of 10 shows per month and more than 120 sets available on-demand. And there are no limitations to the number of shows a fan can watch, or how much time they spend watching.”
Artists booked to perform at the Station are given the option of whether their shows will be broadcast.
Subscriptions to Station Inn TV go for $7.99/month, or $79.99/year, in line with what most other online TV services charge. At launch, there will be no app available for ROKU, Vizio, or AppleTV, though users will be able to connect with any web browser. Detailed instructions will be posted on their web site in time for the launch.
The debut will take place on April 3 when the Po’ Ramblin’ Boys play the room at 9:00 p.m. (CDT).
For Brown and the club staff, this service is mostly meant to connect with fans that would like to visit the club when they come to Nashville.
“We have been asking customers questions for years and we noticed the biggest problem is that everyone is so far away. 80% of our fan base is more than 100 miles outside of Nashville! We are doing this for the fans.
Station Inn TV is a better way to do this and we’re thrilled to be able to do something like this for bluegrass fans, quite literally, all over the world.”
Subscription details can be found online.
