Wolfgang's Vault
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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 Conservatism, conservative daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It covers general interest topics with an emphasis on Politics of the United States, national politics. Its broadsheet daily edit ...
'' 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 continues . Overview ''PC Mag ...
'' named it one of the best five undiscovered music sites of the year in 2008. ''
MacWorld ''Macworld'' is a digital magazine and website dedicated to products and software of Apple Inc., published by Foundry, a subsidiary of IDG. History ''Macworld'' was founded by David Bunnell and Cheryl Woodard (publishers) and Andrew Fl ...
'' 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'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...
''.''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 was a recording studio, music venue and subscription-based music discovery website located in Atlanta, United States. It hosted recording sessions with indie music acts. The original studio in Rock Island, Illinois, was founded in 20 ...
in 2008. *Wolfgang's bought the '' Ash Grove (music club)'' blues archive in 2009. *Wolfgang's bought the ''
Newport Jazz The Newport Jazz Festival is an annual American multi-day jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, rag ...
'' and ''
Newport Folk Festival The 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. The festival was founded by music promoter and Jazz Festival founder Geor ...
'' 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 music, rock band formed in London in 1968. The band comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist-keyboardist John Paul Jones (musician), John Paul Jones and drummer John Bonham. With a he ...
,
The Doors The Doors were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1965, comprising vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger and drummer John Densmore. They were among the most influential and controversial rock acts ...
,
Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock music, rock band formed in Palo Alto, California, in 1965. Known for their eclectic style that fused elements of rock, blues, jazz, Folk music, folk, country music, country, bluegrass music, bluegrass, roc ...
and
Carlos Santana Carlos Humberto Santana Barragán (; born July 20, 1947) is an American guitarist, best known as a founding member of the Rock music, rock band Santana (band), Santana. Born and raised in Mexico where he developed his musical background, he r ...
. In 2008, works by artists
Lynyrd Skynyrd Lynyrd Skynyrd (, ) is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida in 1964. The group originally formed as My Backyard and comprised Ronnie Van Zant (vocals), Gary Rossington (guitar), Allen Collins (guitar), Larry Junstrom ...
,
Bob Marley Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981) was a Jamaican singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, he fused elements of reggae, ska and rocksteady and was renowned for his distinctive voca ...
and
Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential guitarists of all time. Inducted ...
that were owned by Wolfgang's became available through an agreement between the company and Universal Music Group.


See also

* '' Bill Graham Archives v. Dorling Kindersley, Ltd.'', 448 F.3d 605 (2d Cir. 2006)


References


External links


Wolfgang's Website
{{Authority control Music archives in the United States American music websites Bootleg recordings