Channeling Live 8 concerts

Organizers of the ever-expanding Live 8 concerts are kicking into a higher gear this week: Watch for announcements from MTV and AOL, which have been working closely with the planners.

The concerts on July 2 in London, Philadelphia, Berlin, Paris, Rome and a growing list of other cities will bring together a battery of music’s top stars to amplify the cause of African debt relief. Instead of raising money, as Live Aid did in the 1980s, the goal is to grab eyes and ears on the eve of the G-8’s conference in Scotland, where the richest nations’ leaders will discuss the economic and social crises in Africa.

How will fans without tickets see the shows? A plan is taking shape, with AOL and MTV poised to announce major coverage commitments.

MTV will likely use all its channels (VH1, MTV2, CMT, VH1 Classic, etc.) in some form of block coverage of the concerts. Details of shows that will be presented are expected to be announced by Tuesday.

The sheer size and scope of the event is no problem for AOL. The online giant will offer free streaming coverage of all the shows, which will also be recorded and posted for perusal by fans who can’t keep track of international time zones and prefer to cherry pick from performances after the fact.

Coverage will be posted for six weeks at music.channel.aol.com; AOL membership is not required.

“You will be able to click around the world and watch history be made,” said Jim Bankoff, executive vice president of AOL programming. “We are treating this as the seminal moment in streaming entertainment.”

There will also be backstage “instant bloggers” posting text throughout the day, as well as correspondents following a few artists who are expected to globe trot and play more than one of the shows, a la Phil Collins at Live Aid.

The list of artists is a deep one, including Paul McCartney, U2, Elton John, Coldplay and Stevie Wonder, as well as reunions of Pink Floyd and possibly the Spice Girls. Speculation is also high about collaborations between artists, such as a teaming of McCartney and U2. For more information on the lineup and the cause, see live8live.com.

Meanwhile, 50 Cent won’t be part of the event. The rap star’s camp was caught off guard when Live 8 organizers announced him as a participant, because he is tied up on the set of “Get Rich or Die Tryin’,” a Paramount Pictures film that is on a tight shooting schedule in Toronto and New York. He is also toiling on the film’s soundtrack.

So why was his name on the list in the first place? The rapper explained that he got caught up in the moment when asked to join: “Bono called me up on my cell and asked me, and it’s hard to say no to Bono, right?”

-- Geoff Boucher