Nothing matches seeing your favorite band play live, but that’s rarely the easiest way to enjoy music between the big crowds and rising ticket prices. Veeps (free, with premium options) is an excellent alternative, as it offers live concert energy in an effortless online package. This video streaming service gives free and paid subscribers access to thousands of hours of events, both live and on-demand. The focus on limited-time live entertainment sometimes makes Veeps feel a bit ephemeral, as shows quickly come and go. However, the streaming platform is an affordable, convenient way to watch high-quality concerts without the associated hassles.What Can You Watch on Veeps?Veeps focuses on live concerts. You won’t find movies, TV shows, or even music videos. Instead, you’ll watch big artists take the stage and play in front of adoring audiences. Its library constantly changes, but virtual concertgoers can expect 500 events per year and more than 3,000 hours of overall content. Note that Veeps is a video streaming service; it doesn’t stream online music.
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(Credit: Veeps/PCMag)
As an official Live Nation and Ticketmaster partner, Veeps has a lineup that includes many popular acts. You’ll find Alanis Morisette, Alicia Keys, Coldplay, Imagine Dragons, Run the Jewels, Sleater-Kinney, and other big artists. With some exploration, you may discover an awesome band you’ve never heard of before. Along with concerts for specific musicians, you can watch the Global Citizen Festival and other events featuring multiple musicians.Concerts are the main focus. Like BroadwayHD’s streaming stage shows, concerts set Veep apart from competing services. But there are other live Veeps events. For example, you can watch comedy performances by David Cross or Sasheer Zamata. Likewise, Artist Friendly is a Veeps-exclusive interview show where Good Charlotte’s Joel Madden talks to famous guests such as Dwayne Johnson and Reggie Watts.
Live concerts only exist in the moment, and unfortunately, Veeps somewhat mimics that limited-time nature. Some on-demand content stays on the service indefinitely, while many concerts disappear after only a few days or weeks. Others have no rewatch period; you must catch the performance as it streams. I suspect this is to preserve the value of the live concertgoing experience and make artists more willing to put their shows on the platform. At least Veeps tells you how long each event is available on the platform.
(Credit: Veeps/PCMag)
Veeps: Plans and PricesVeeps has multiple generous options for accessing its library. First, you can sign up for free to watch a decent number of events without spending a cent. There are no commercials besides a brief one at the start that advertises upcoming Veeps events. This free tier means you can technically stream Veeps on unlimited devices.For $5.99 per month (or $60 per year), you can subscribe to Veeps All Access. This unlocks much more of the library. It’s an affordable price, cheaper than most other video streaming services. It’s also cheaper than top streaming music services, such as Amazon Music Unlimited ($10.99 per month), Apple Music ($10.99 per month), SiriusXM Internet Radio ($9.99 per month), Spotify ($10.99 per month), Tidal ($10.99 per month), and YouTube Music ($10.99 per month). However, you must pay more money to watch absolutely everything. Veeps All Access only offers discounts on pay-per-view specials; they’re not included in the monthly subscription. Alternatively, you can rent individual concerts a la carte without subscribing, similar to Amazon Prime Video. Ticket prices range from $10 to $20. That’s cheaper than in-person concert tickets, as we’ve seen with LiveOne, and you can gift them to friends.As for platforms, Veeps is available on the web, mobile (Android and iOS), and streaming media devices (Apple TV, Fire TV, Roku). It doesn’t support video game consoles.
(Credit: Veeps/PCMag)
Mobile and Web AppsVeeps’ striking web interface puts musicians and exciting concert halls front and center. You can browse by visuals alone even if you don’t read the words. The main page also groups concerts into categories, such as Recently Added, Top 10, and genre-based playlists. Digging deeper, you can browse by genres such as Indie, Pop, and Rap. You can also search for artists or venues like House of Blues Chicago and Webster Hall. If you’re interested in a show, add it to your watchlist or calendar for later. You can share listings with friends, too.Veeps lets you read a schedule of upcoming live events. It also lets anyone, even free users, watch a live TV feed of a random concert. I just wish the live feed had more detail about what’s on at the moment. The video quality varies from concert to concert. Most are HD, and some let you adjust the quality to 4K. You’ll see that information, as well as subtitle options, in the show listing. You won’t find many player controls, but you can watch picture-in-picture. Video playback ran smoothly over my home internet connection for both live and on-demand content.The mobile app offers the same experience as a web viewing. A perk like offline mobile downloads wouldn’t work well with the live, limited library. However, you can text chat with other viewers, while watching a concert or in the waiting room. That’s especially nice on mobile; it makes you feel connected to the community, and that connection with fellow fans is what concerts are about. In a nice touch, you can read old messages after the show ends.
(Credit: Veeps/PCMag)
Can You Watch Veeps With a VPN?Veeps transports you to all over the world for your enjoyment. A VPN spoofs your geographic location to different places all over the world for your online safety. You shouldn’t have to choose between entertainment and security, but alas, video streaming services and VPNs rarely get along due to licensing agreements.Considering all the contracts potentially involved with live entertainment, I was convinced Veeps would block me when using a VPN. But to my surprise, I streamed Veeps while using a Windows PC connected to Proton VPN servers. Even better, the service worked in the US and overseas. Granted, some concerts were unavailable in other countries, but Veeps worked well overall. Just note that Veeps could block VPN traffic in the future.
Video Streaming Services: What You Should Know
Verdict: Veeps Is a Fun and Convenient Way to Stream ConcertsMusic can be a visual experience just as much as an aural one, and nothing drives that home like a fantastic concert. Veeps does a great job servicing that large and passionate niche by letting free and paid subscribers stream major concerts. There are some strange, if understandable, limitations regarding how long each show remains on the platform. Still, Veeps bridges the gap between in-person excitement and at-home convenience. For more traditional video streaming entertainment, check out movies and shows on top services like Hulu, Netflix, Peacock, and Tubi.
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About Jordan Minor
Senior Analyst, Software
In 2013, I started my Ziff Davis career as an intern on PCMag’s Software team. Now, I’m an Analyst on the Apps and Gaming team, and I really just want to use my fancy Northwestern University journalism degree to write about video games. I host The Pop-Off, PCMag’s video game show. I was previously the Senior Editor for Geek.com. I’ve also written for The A.V. Club, Kotaku, and Paste Magazine. I’m the author of a video game history book, Video Game of the Year, and the reason why everything you know about Street Sharks is a lie.
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