Fabchannel.com
Encyclopedia
Fabchannel.com was a Dutch
company that aimed to give attention to artists unrecognized by the mass media
.
The project was founded by Justin Kniest in 2000 in collaboration with internet service provider XS4ALL
and broadcast facility company N.O.B.
The website streamed free, live, and on-demand video from the Paradiso
, Melkweg
venues in Amsterdam
, the Netherlands
and The Roxy Theatre
venue in Los Angeles
.
With more than 900 live concerts, festivals, performances, debates and lectures, Fabchannel.com built a substantial concert video
archive, their claim of being 'the largest concert video archive in the world' however being an exaggeration, given the far larger archives developed by major broadcasters such as BBC.
In April 2007 Fabchannel announced that it has launched its own channel on Joost
, an online TV distribution platform. This channel, The Best Of Fab, shows a selection of the archive.
In November 2007, the city of Amsterdam and Foreman Capital each took a 25% share in Fabchannel. The city of Amsterdam paid 1.25 million euro for the share.
In February 2008 Fabchannel and Universal Music Netherlands announced a recording and multi-territory digital exploitation partnership for concert videos. This was a breakthrough for Fabchannel as this meant Fabchannel was able to record and stream concerts of artists signed by Universal. Despite this deal, the business model underlying Fabchannel proved difficult to maintain, with no clear source of direct revenue from the end users (viewers), and with copyright holders (artists and/or record labels) being reluctant to allow premium value content to be streamed for free. Moreover, notwithstanding tight security measures, Fabchannel content got pirated on places like Youtube and Peer-to-Peer filesharing networks.
On March 6, 2009, Kniest announced that the site would be shutting down the following Friday, March 13. In an email to subscribers titled "Fabchannel Stops." Kniest wrote: "After nine passionate and beautiful years of sharing the most amazing concert recordings with you, Fabchannel is stopping. ... With a bleeding heart we're pulling the plug of our online archive Friday 13th of March. Until that time, enjoy your favorite concerts and who knows - we'll meet again."
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
company that aimed to give attention to artists unrecognized by the mass media
Mass media
Mass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...
.
The project was founded by Justin Kniest in 2000 in collaboration with internet service provider XS4ALL
XS4ALL
XS4ALL is the third-oldest Internet service provider in the Netherlands, after NLnet and SURFnet. However, XS4ALL was the first company to offer Internet access to individuals, since 1993...
and broadcast facility company N.O.B.
The website streamed free, live, and on-demand video from the Paradiso
Paradiso (Amsterdam)
Paradiso is an iconic rock music venue and cultural center in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.-History:It is housed in a converted former church building that dates from the nineteenth century and that was used until 1965 as the meeting hall for a liberal Dutch religious group known as the "Vrije...
, Melkweg
Melkweg
The Melkweg is a popular music venue and cultural center in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. It is located on the Lijnbaansgracht, near the Leidseplein, a prime nightlife center of Amsterdam. It is housed in a former warehouse and is divided into a number of spaces of varying sizes...
venues in Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
, the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
and The Roxy Theatre
The Roxy Theatre
The Roxy Theatre is a famous nightclub, on the Sunset Strip, in West Hollywood, California. The Roxy is owned by Lou Adler and Adler's son, Nic, who operates the club.- History :...
venue in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
.
With more than 900 live concerts, festivals, performances, debates and lectures, Fabchannel.com built a substantial concert video
Video on demand
Video on Demand or Audio and Video On Demand are systems which allow users to select and watch/listen to video or audio content on demand...
archive, their claim of being 'the largest concert video archive in the world' however being an exaggeration, given the far larger archives developed by major broadcasters such as BBC.
In April 2007 Fabchannel announced that it has launched its own channel on Joost
Joost
Joost is an Internet TV service, created by Niklas Zennström and Janus Friis . During 2007-8 Joost used peer-to-peer TV technology to distribute content to their Mozilla-based desktop player; in late 2008 this was migrated to use a Flash-based Web player instead.Joost began development in 2006...
, an online TV distribution platform. This channel, The Best Of Fab, shows a selection of the archive.
In November 2007, the city of Amsterdam and Foreman Capital each took a 25% share in Fabchannel. The city of Amsterdam paid 1.25 million euro for the share.
In February 2008 Fabchannel and Universal Music Netherlands announced a recording and multi-territory digital exploitation partnership for concert videos. This was a breakthrough for Fabchannel as this meant Fabchannel was able to record and stream concerts of artists signed by Universal. Despite this deal, the business model underlying Fabchannel proved difficult to maintain, with no clear source of direct revenue from the end users (viewers), and with copyright holders (artists and/or record labels) being reluctant to allow premium value content to be streamed for free. Moreover, notwithstanding tight security measures, Fabchannel content got pirated on places like Youtube and Peer-to-Peer filesharing networks.
On March 6, 2009, Kniest announced that the site would be shutting down the following Friday, March 13. In an email to subscribers titled "Fabchannel Stops." Kniest wrote: "After nine passionate and beautiful years of sharing the most amazing concert recordings with you, Fabchannel is stopping. ... With a bleeding heart we're pulling the plug of our online archive Friday 13th of March. Until that time, enjoy your favorite concerts and who knows - we'll meet again."
Awards
- Spin Award: Winner Best Dutch Website Concept of 2003
- EuroPrixEuroprixAwardThe EUROPRIX Multimedia Awards are Europe’s contest for young professionals and students who work on innovative projects in the field of e-contents and design - using whichever multimedia channel or platform...
.nl: Overall Winner Best Dutch E-Content Production 2005 - Prix Europa: Winner Best European Website 2005
- Webby AwardsWebby AwardsA Webby Award is an international award presented annually by The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences for excellence on the Internet with categories in websites, interactive advertising, online film and video, and mobile....
: Winner Best Music Website 2006 - Musikexpress Style Award: Winner Best Media 2007
- W3 Silver Award: Winner 2007
- Best Dutch entertainment website of the year 2008
External links
- Fabchannel.com
- http://blog.wired.com/music/2008/02/fabchannel-scor.html (article on wired.com covering the Universal/Fabchannel partnership)
- http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/content_display/industry/e3ibebff426749f11d65aa2871d35c276b2 (article on Billboard.biz covering the Universal/Fabchannel partnership)
- I want my Fabchannel (interview with founder Justin Kniest)