Ultra Music Festival 2015 has ditched its own native website for hosting live streams and is going with live streaming giant Twitch to webcast this weekend in a new partnership announced this week. The new deal creates a specific channel for Ultra on Twitch, twitch.tv/ultra, which is normally reserved for gaming. The channel will broadcast the 17th annual UMF this weekend during Miami Music Week March 27 to 29, and the stream will be powered by 7UP, which has invested heavily in EDM festivals and live streams, including last year's Ultra. The schedule has also been announced for this weekend.
"We are always pushing the envelope, working with the most innovative companies to stay ahead of the curve and offer our fans as much value as possible," commented Adam Russakoff, executive producer/director of business affairs/talent buyer Ultra Music Festival and Ultra Worldwide, via Billboard. "We don't tolerate mediocrity and our switch to Twitch is yet another step in the continuum."
Announced by Martin Garrix yesterday, March 23, during the 2015 YouTube Music Awards, the live stream schedule will be as follows: 4 p.m. to 12 a.m. Friday, March 27; 3 p.m. to 12 a.m. Saturday, March 28; and 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday, March 29.
The stream is offline now, but you can watch it below.
Ultra Music Festival will feature some of the biggest DJs in the world in its 2015 lineup, with acts like Skrillex, Avicii, Hardwell, Axwell /\ Ingrosso, Carl Cox, Armin van Buuren, Maceo Plex, Tiësto, Alesso, Garrix and more.
Twitch is starting to expand beyond its traditional base in the gaming community into the music space. This new partnership joins others it has with labels like Mad Decent, Dim Mak and Monstercat, to name a few. It has live streamed a few events, like Jack Ü's attempted 24-hour album release party and boasts a growing library of music for gamers to use without having to worry about copyright.
"Our community has illustrated a strong affinity for live music, making Twitch a compelling new way for artists to connect with their fans," said Colin Carrier, CSO and head of music for Twitch. "Being able to host the Ultra Music Festival on our platform with sponsorship from a brand like 7UP is testament to the power of live social video."
