Recently I discovered that one of my favorite artists had played at one of my favorite venues and that I had missed it. But then I learned that the show was filmed and I could watch it for free at Volume.com. I wanted to learn more about this cutting-edge technology.

Volume.com is a platform that allows artists, venues, or creators to broadcast music, curate subscriptions and build their communities all for free. But when I saw the website, I had more questions than ever like: How can you physically broadcast live shows from all over the world? How can the website, artists, and venues make money from Volume.com? And why is this better than YouTube or some other live-streaming platform?

I spoke with Volume.com’s COO Greg Nacron to get a better understanding of this website/app.

Volume.com is an open platform. Artists who are buskers to those who do full bands can use the app to connect with fans. Like Patreon, Volume.com has levels and the ability to have monthly subscriptions to generate revenue from a loyal fanbase. Not only can artists use the app, but venues can as well.

Third and Lindsley was the first venue to pilot Volume.com livestream. It is one of my favorite venues in Nashville, but unfortunately, I don’t have time to attend many of their awesome shows. But now, because of this application, I can see shows live-streamed or even later on, after they have been recorded.

Other venues like Basement East (Nashville), Bitter End (New York), and Nectar’s (Burlington, VA) have gotten on board.

During CMA week, Country Goes Global was filmed at Chief’s in Nashville and is available to anyone to view for free.

Nacron advised, “We've got like seven more venues coming on in the next six weeks or so. And what we're doing is we're building kind of like a destination site for music lovers who love live music that can come to the site on any given night, see different content, various shows going on from different bars or venues across the country.”

Logistically, I couldn’t understand how one team could be in so many places at once. It turns out that they aren’t. If a venue purchases the new technology/equipment (which is only several thousand dollars), Volume.com can remotely and expertly produce the show at any time in any location. Artists love this option because they need quality content for social media, and Volume.com provides professional footage for them to use.

And because Volume.com has subscribers, artists, and venues can track their audiences. It can help an artist know where the best place for them would be to play next. This is what differentiates them from a platform like YouTube which generates views without additional marketing information.

Nacron explained, “We're trying to give these artists the intelligence to be able to spend their money wisely and plan their tours and plan their marketing budgets so that they're optimizing it on places where they know.”

There are artists like American Idol’s David Cook, who have embraced this platform and can make a living using it. He does live streams from his home studio and when he does a live venue show, Volume.com helps him promote that.

If a band or artist charges for a live-stream, Volume.com helps to promote the event and in return, they recoup a percentage of the ticket sales. The better an artist does, the better Volume.com does. Not only that, if you have a platform like Apple TV, you can cast the live stream directly to the television, so your phone isn’t tied up.

The thing that I find most impressive about Volume.com is its versatility. If you are a burgeoning artist, you could start broadcasting from your bedroom. If you are more established and play at venues, Volume.com can broadcast your show from anywhere in the world. It’s up to you if you want to engage fans with various subscription levels or charge a fee for a live-stream ticket.

Volume.com brings you live-streaming like you have never seen it before. They work with everyone from buskers to live bands. Their innovative production strategy promotes performers and venues alike. It is beneficial to any artist at any level anywhere in the world.

You can follow Volume.com on X, Instagram, and Facebook.

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Bethany Bowman is a freelance entertainment writer. You can follow her blog, Facebook, Instagram, and X.