The Ultimate Answer To Credit Crunch Clubbing…
‘The best thing about Be At TV is that you will always be one step ahead with the music you are listening to. Be At gives fans the music we are playing, unedited, uninterrupted and with all the interaction between the clubbers and the DJ on the night’ – Pete Tong
Be At TV (www.be-at.tv) is the world’s first website to cover clubland live 100%. A company that arose from a conversation between a media, music mogul and a complete tech geek who also loved his music over a beer in Ibiza, that has suddenly changed the way we view clubland for ever. Silicone Valley whizz kid Ray Smith spills the beans about his new company ripping up clubland alongside media numero uno Damian Mould…
Ray, for people who have had their heads buried in the sand recently, describe in your own words what Be At TV is all about.
“Basically, we are bringing the best music and visual action from the world’s dancefloors into the comfort of your home. In today’s day and age, there is such a limitation concerning money and spare time. Gone are the days when we can all go out four or five times a week, and when we can afford to go out, any helping hand that we can give them giving an insight to perhaps a club they haven’t been to before, surely must be of great help. As long as people have internet connection they can log on to Be At.”
You graduated from the University of Southern California with honours and worked on technology financing and strategy engagements in Los Angeles’ Silicon Valley before becoming a Principal at the Unlisted Group, a highly specialized marketing finance consultancy that focused on monetizing underutilized entertainment assets, you developed relationships with such brands as Vogue, GQ, Reebok, Levis and BBC Worldwide. So how on earth did the whole meeting with Damian Mould and the be@tv relationship begin?
“I was introduced to him by ex-Radio 1 DJ Gary Davis over in Ibiza. Damian got me some business back in the UK and over time we started to bounce ideas back and forth about web TV, where there niches unexplored, what would work well. Damian had the same ideas as me really, his company Slice for instance was putting on events like The Chemical Brothers in Trafalgar Square – well why shouldn’t a million people around the world be seeing this whole spectacle.
So how does it work?
“We have four webcams present in each of our selected venues giving members unrestricted access to the DJ box itself as well as a bird’s eye view of the dancers and dance floor. On top of this, the site boasts a multitude of impressive social networking capabilities featuring live chat, user generated content and striking video tagging technology allowing you to create or extend your Ibiza experience for example, by connecting with like-minded clubbers whilst viewing the footage from Space or past on demand content from your favourite DJ or electronic artist – for free. As the Internet becomes more fragmented, what we’re aiming to do is take all of the best aspects of social networking sites, web-based radio and music TV and roll it into one easy to navigate web site. All users have to do is create their own profile and enter a world of clubbing on demand.”
In years gone by the likes of Pacha in Ibiza were very difficult to break down and allow cameras roaming around the club and DJs certainly didn’t want their entire sets filmed – what has been the response like from clubs and DJs?
“Phenomenal Dan. DJs we have filmed include Nic Fanciulli, Sasha, James Lavelle, James Zabiela, Sander Kleinenberg, Josh Wink, Tom Novy, Paul Harris, the Swedish House Mafia, Yousef, Wally Lopez, Deepgroove, Audio Bullys, Paul Woolford, Smokin Jo and Steve Lawler. As for the clubs, we’ve already been to Koko, Cargo, The Elegante Club in Dubai, Pacha in Buenos Aires Pacha in Ibiza, Anzu, Itu in Brazil, Eden in Ibiza, Space in Ibiza, Gatecrasher, Global Gathering, The Extrema Outdoor Festival in Holland, Love Parade, Panama in Amsterdam, The Street Parade in Zurich, Nikki Beach and WMC in Miami and The Blue Marlin, Café Mambo and Savanah in Ibiza. We have over 500 hours of exclusive video footage already available online and new content added daily. Be At users can tag themselves, share the link with friends and embed the clip into other sites such as Facebook, MySpace and blogs.
How many members can you have on the site?
“It’s infinite, there is no limit at all.”
Isn’t it illegal to film people without their consent and what about the argument that it’s an invasion of privacy?
“We post disclaimers everywhere, it’s not as if we are hiding in corners sneakily filming. As for the privacy, well I look at it the opposite way. There are certain areas of the clubs that we will not go to, we like to concentrate on the dancefloor and if people don’t want to be filmed then standing in front of cameras and huge lights, well they shouldn’t be there. All we want is footage of people having a good time, at the end of the day what we’re doing is opening up a private world to the public.”
Can users download the music onto an MP3 player?
“No, the website www.be-at.tv is the only platform where you can listen to the music; the content is exclusive to Be At.”
What made you want to get into this new media world in the first place?
“The world has been waiting such a long time for a high quality online platform like Be At TV. In the past I used to see like three minutes of footage from The Ministry of Sound or Creamfields and that was it. I couldn’t understand it at all – why wasn’t there more footage – why wasn’t it non-stop? Something had to give. I was living thousands of miles away and wanted to see what The Cafe Del Mar looked and sounded like, what Global Gathering was like – and it wasn’t just us in The States, there’s millions of people in Europe who haven’t been to these places as well.”
So what music were/are you into?
“Well obviously the whole Trance phenomenon hit America so I was sucked into that. But I like all areas of dance music really, I lived for Friday mornings when I would wake up in San Francisco with the sun shining and switch on Pete Tong’s Essential Selection show. When he would say “get ready for the weekend” I would be jumping around my place. I love Sasha, he is just on a different level. For entertainment I love the Swedish Mafia guys, Deadmou5, David Guetta and Morillo whilst for the music, James Zabiella and Jeff Mills and for production, Eric Prydz.”
What is your favourite club in the world?
“Easy. Pacha in Ibiza by miles and miles. They are so on it.”
How many people are working full time day to day at the offices?
“We have eleven people here every day. A great team.”
How long have you been working on the project?
“The idea came about three years ago, it took us two years to raise the money.”
From Venture Capitalists?
“Nope, friends and family who simply believed in the idea and knew it was a winner. Rachel Birchwood at IMD has helped so much, she obviously has so much respect in the industry and she has opened so many doors for us. We did our homework and we all locked down the deals with the DJs and clubs before we went live.”
Have you heard any of romance stories that have blossomed thanks to you, I mean, here is a site that you can watch a dancefloor, see somebody you fancy and start talking to them…?
“Just check our message board, it’s amazing. You can see the early days of relationships starting and see how it gets heavier and heavier with each conversation. The likes of Facebook and MySpace are open to anyone, you could have your grandmother or school teacher on there. With Be At we are very specific at who we are aiming at, it is a very sexy site, aimed solely to the music world. No crusties!
What’s so special about video tagging?
“In the same way that users can tag themselves or others in Facebook images, b@ allows users to tag themselves in footage, email a five minute clip or link to friends or embed these into a website, blog site or a social networking profile. Video content is much more compelling for obvious reasons: you get a real sense of the atmosphere (the music, lighting, the dancers etc.) in the venue.”
What is the technology behind the site?
“Unique content capturing processes allow attendees at the performance to address and engage directly with viewers at home, and a complete suite of connectivity and communication tools allows those viewers to interact with each other both during the performance and offline. Interestingly as well, the b@ platform provides personal expression pages and the ability to upload user-generated content equally for fans, venues, performers, and sponsors – all of which mixes together to create the same attractively chaotic atmosphere of being at the club in person. The back end of the platform allows for new ways to monetize the content – even unreleased tracks – for both the venues and the performers by bringing sponsors and advertisers into the broadcasting process in a subtle but targeted way.”
Who is the site aimed at, is it just for the young Ibiza crowd?
“Be At is aimed at anyone who loves electronic music. The website features clubs, events and festivals from all over the world from Australia to Paris to New York so it will appeal to a global audience. Be At TV is not just about tracking where you were in Ibiza this summer but gaining access to the best electronic music from the world’s best clubs without physically having to go there. You could have Be At playing at a party or in your bar.”
What do you think is the killer feature on Be At?
“We are in a very unique position. Because of modern technology that DJs use in the DJ booth, these sets are once in a lifetime sets. DJs are re-working, re-editing, playing their own unreleased material – these two hour sets will never ever be repeated by the DJ because it is all off the cuff. What an amazing opportunity for our members to relive the night.”
Why do yourself and Damian work so well together?
“We make a good team. I run the day to day business side of things and all of the technology, Damian sees to the money side of things and the whole brand marketing and media.”
I hear you have a big club party coming up?
“Yup, ‘Level 31’ on August 1st when Be At brings the best of Ibiza to London at Paramount, what an incredible venue at the top of Centre Point. It will feature the cream of today’s electronic music talent with exclusive DJ sets by the likes of Matt Tolfrey, Luciano Esse and live performances from Dan Berkson & James providing a much needed alternative to London’s mainstream Saturday night offering. We have audio-visual content streamed from four camera angles and a clubbers confessional booth at the event which will be broadcast globally via the web. Just £20 gets you in. Tickets from www.ticketweb.co.uk
