Blue Rock Studios: Exploring the High-End Possibilities of Concert Window

Blue Rock Studios, a full-service recording studio and arts complex in the Hill Country outside of Austin, had been broadcasting live sessions via the web for quite some time. They were constantly tweaking their online shows, improving the sound and camerawork. But they couldn’t seem to find the perfect platform to partner with.

“We’ve been around the world finding a partner,” explains studio owner Billy Crockett. “Then when we found Concert Window, it felt really comfortable. They understood us. What they were doing and wanting to be was a really good match for the things we wanted to do and be. I love the fact they were building an audience, a subscribership.”

Moving to online concerts was a natural step for Blue Rock. Hand-built with field stone and woods from the state, it’s a building that’s beautiful visually as well as acoustically. Artists like Lyle Lovett began documenting their recordings in the studio, bringing in their own video crews. That inspired Blue Rock to develop a video production team, and to hold monthly sessions with its artists in front of a live audience. Recent artists include Irish powerhouse Solas.

“The shows are always packed. For some shows, all the reservations go within minutes,” Crockett notes. “We thought we could broadcast and offer the experience to a wider audience, to the tribes of these artists worldwide, to the ones who could never get here.”

The Blue Rock broadcasts have become a showcase for what Concert Window can do at the high end of the spectrum. “I think people are surprised to find a beautiful setting with multi-cam and studio quality sound.” Crockett observes. “It differentiates us from more on-the-fly stuff. We’re in-studio, full production, High-Definition, and with great sound. It looks like what people see on a professional cable broadcast, and that’s something that might change their expectations and viewing habits.”

The folks at Blue Rock also understand that these days, fans and artists need something more than they’ve had in the past. The fact that Concert Window works so well, so flexibly, and so smoothly has allowed Blue Rock to make ambitious broadcast plans for the future. It will help realize the potential of broadcasting, and strengthen the bond between musicians and fans. They aim to air the entire recording sessions of a major band in their studio.

“It will be rolling 24/7,” Crockett says. “There’ll be a debriefing every morning, and fans will be really involved in the process. It’s going to experimental, but also interesting So many artists are used to sharing as they go. It’s an opportunity for them, precisely because budgets are low for making records. You want to make a great album, but no one’s selling records. You have to find other models. We’re developing the idea of getting fans to fund the project because they are there, in the studio.”