Live Nation and iTunes launch exclusive live music program

iTunes continues to move toward presenting us with immediate musical experiences, this morning announcing a deal with Live Nation under which live gig recordings from venues across the USA will be offered exclusively for sale through the Apple music service.

Distorted Loop reports the scheme will see Live Nation Studios offering exclusive recorded and filmed concerts from its network of "wired" venues for purchase and download only on iTunes.

Exclusive live recordings from OK Go, Jesse McCartney, Saving Abel, A Fine Frenzy, Duffy, Plain White T's and Ziggy Marley, have been released this week, with many more to follow.

"We are thrilled to offer artists a new high-quality platform to share the magic of their live shows with their fans," said Michael Rapino, President and Chief Executive Officer of Live Nation.

Live Nation, through its Studios division, regularly records concerts in more than 80 of its venues, which have been transformed into next-generation "wired" live recording studios, and will now offer a variety of them for purchase and download exclusively on iTunes.

To coincide with the program's launch, iTunes has added a new area dedicated exclusively to live recordings, the report adds (link leads to sample recording).