The Cat Empire have announced a unique 'virtual' launch of their new album CINEMA this Sunday June 20, making them the first (known) Australian band to broadcast an Australian concert live to fans all over the world, with a one second delay.
After years of dreaming about the possibility of presenting a Global Gig, the band discovered technology, provided by local Melbourne company Rivus which would enable them to play to their global fanbase at any time. The technology was developed by a group of young entrepreneurial uni students who were friends of Felix from The Empire. The Rivus technology is commonly used to stream sporting events, but its application to music is just about to take off. The development of a broadcasting box enables the band to broadcast shows from anywhere in the world, with surprisingly little complexity.
The advent of this technology, and its accessibility opens up new possibilities for emerging bands who face limitations in touring the globe, but want to reach a global audience. It also enables bands to monetise virtual gigs through the selling of tickets to online shows.
In the case of The Cat Empire this weekend though, it is a free event, aimed at playing to an already well established bastion of fans worldwide.
"This is something we were talking about years ago, and at the time it was just a dream idea" said Felix from The Empire. "We were saying 'wouldn't it be wild if we could play live with people watching over the internet from all over the world?' And now the technology actually exists to do that."
This technology presents the perfect opportunity for The Cat Empire to simultaneously release their new album worldwide to fans in all corners of the world. They have amassed a huge following throughout Europe, UK, Canada, USA and parts of Asia as a result of years of extensive touring. Thousands of these fans will be in attendance when the band takes to the stage at a secret Melbourne location on Sunday night.
People have registered from a staggering 56 countries already to attend this event from as far as Brazil, Peru, Canada, United Kingdom, all parts of Europe, United Emirates, Istanbul, United States and of course Australian fans who remain fierce supporters of the band's music. The band is planning future events utilising this technology where fans in Australia will be able to attend shows in other cities; from Montreal to Mozambique and everywhere in between.
There is still time to register to 'virtually' attend this free event which can be Streamed on home computers wherever you happen to be at 10.30pm Melbourne time on Sunday June 20.
Worldwide times for this unique event are:
Melbourne time: Sunday June 20, 10.30pm
NYC: Sunday June 20, 8.30am
Toronto: Sunday June 20, 8.30am
Vancouver: Sunday June 20, 5.30am
LA: Sunday June 20, 5.30am
London: Sunday June 20, 1.30pm
Berlin: Sunday June 20, 2.30pm
Paris: Sunday June 20, 2.30pm
Tokyo: Sunday June 20, 9.30pm
Or to check your city: http://timeanddate.com/worldclock/full.html
To register your intention ahead of time to join us for the launch, go to www.thecatempire.com, click on ATTEND ALBUM LAUNCH and follow the prompts. Type in promo code : "presser" for access. The band will do 'live' shout-outs to fans who register in advance!
100 lucky people, who will need to be the fastest internet users in the state of Victoria will get the chance to attend this event in person. The band has today released 100 of their guest tickets for public purchase. These people will join the bands friends and family and fiercest supporters in the room to witness the launch of CINEMA.
Tickets available from here - http://www.moshtix.com.au/event.aspx?id=37436&ref=toff
