Wolfgang's (formerly Wolfgang's Vault) is a private music-focused company established in 2002 dedicated to the restoration and archiving of audio and video concert recordings and the sale of music memorabilia. It began with the collection of the promoter Bill Graham, and added multiple other music and memorabilia archives.

History

Wolfgang's was founded by William E. Sagan, who purchased a warehouse filled with Bill Graham Productions memorabilia in 2003, including taped concert recordings, for about $6 million. These materials had multiple owners after the death of Bill Graham, the concert promoter, in 1991. The name Wolfgang's is inspired by Bill Graham's original name, Wolodia "Wolfgang" Grajonca. The company launched its website in November 2003. Later that year, Wolfgang's released the BG Archive photography collection, and subsequently added collections called "vaults" for: vintage poster art, rock clothing, vintage audio concert recordings. The Video Vault was added in 2011. On August 7, 2012, Wolfgang's announced to its free streaming service users, via email, that later converted to a subscription based model on August 8, 2012. In late 2016, the company changed its name from Wolfgang's Vault to simply Wolfgang's.

Music

Beginning in the late 1960s, Graham recorded thousands of performances, which he stored on tapes in the basement of the Bill Graham Presents headquarters. Bill Sagan acquired these recordings in 2003, and had them restored and digitized for presentation on the Concert Vault of audio recordings. In February 2006, Wolfgang's launched Vault Radio to allow fans of the music to hear some of these recordings. In an article about Vault Radio, ''

The Washington Times ''The Washington Times'' is an American conservative daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., that covers general interest topics with a particular emphasis on national politics. Its broadsheet daily edition is distributed throughout ...

'' noted "lovers of classic rock will not find a better historical source for their favorite music anywhere on the Internet." In October 2006
Wolfgang's Music
became a fully interactive service, with 300 concerts available for streaming. As of May 2020 over 25,000 performances are available in Wolfgang's Music for audio or video streaming. Radio France's "Un Jour Sur La Toile" named Wolfgang's their No. 1 website of the year in 2008. ''

PC Magazine ''PC Magazine'' (shortened as ''PCMag'') is an American computer magazine published by Ziff Davis. A print edition was published from 1982 to January 2009. Publication of online editions started in late 1994 and have continued to the present d ...

'' named it one of the best five undiscovered music sites of the year in 2008. '' MacWorld'' named the free iPhone app the world's best iPhone app of 2009. It was called "the most important collection of rock memorabilia and recordings ever assembled in one business" by ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

''.''The Wall Street Journal'', December 13, 2005.

Other properties

*Wolfgang's bought ''

Crawdaddy! ''Crawdaddy'' was an American rock music magazine launched in 1966. It was created by Paul Williams, a Swarthmore College student at the time, in response to the increasing sophistication and cultural influence of popular music. The magazine w ...

'' in 2006, and relaunched it in 2007, and relocated it in August 2011 to a blog at the newly acquired '' Paste'' magazine. *Wolfgang's bought a majority stake in

Daytrotter Daytrotter is a recording studio, music venue and subscription-based music discovery website located in Atlanta, United States. It hosts recording sessions with indie music acts. The original studio in Rock Island, Illinois, was founded in 2006 ...

in 2008. *Wolfgang's bought the ''

Ash Grove (music club) The Ash Grove was a folk music club located at 8162 Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles, California, United States, founded in 1958 by Ed Pearl and named after the Welsh folk song, "The Ash Grove." In its fifteen years of existence, the Ash Grove altere ...

'' blues archive in 2009. *Wolfgang's bought the ''

Newport Jazz The Newport Jazz Festival is an annual American multi-day jazz music festival held every summer in Newport, Rhode Island. Elaine Lorillard established the festival in 1954, and she and husband Louis Lorillard financed it for many years. They hir ...

'' and ''

Newport Folk Festival Newport Folk Festival is an annual American folk-oriented music festival in Newport, Rhode Island, which began in 1959 as a counterpart to the Newport Jazz Festival. It was one of the first modern music festivals in America, and remains a foca ...

'' archives in 2010. *Wolfgang's bought '' Paste'' magazine in 2011.

Legal issues

In 2006, some bands whose materials were being sold or streamed sued Sagan for infringement of rights, saying that the rights in the materials being brokered by Wolfgang's belong to the artists themselves. Among the groups represented were

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...

The Doors The Doors were an American Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1965, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger, and drummer John Densmore. They were among the most controversial and influential ro ...

Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock music, rock band formed in 1965 in Palo Alto, California. The band is known for its eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, Folk music, folk, country music, country, jazz, bluegrass music, bluegrass, ...

and

Carlos Santana Carlos Humberto Santana Barragán (; born July 20, 1947) is an American guitarist who rose to fame in the late 1960s and early 1970s with his band Santana, which pioneered a fusion of Rock and roll and Latin American jazz. Its sound featured ...

. In 2008, works by artists Lynyrd Skynyrd,

Bob Marley Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981; baptised in 1980 as Berhane Selassie) was a Jamaican singer, musician, and songwriter. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, his musical career was marked by fusing elements o ...

and

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...

that were owned by Wolfgang's became available through an agreement between the company and Universal Music Group.

References

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External links