The big-money vault wants $10/month.
We’re going a different way.
LiveVault is built by Deadheads, for Deadheads. Free streaming from the Internet Archive, with the features a live-music app should have had in 2026 — AI, community, and a little bit of weird.
Why we’re building this
In early 2026, Nugs.net launched Play Dead — a $10/month streaming app for the “official” Grateful Dead catalog. It’s a perfectly fine app. It just isn’t a very Deadhead app.
The Grateful Dead built their entire legacy on letting fans tape and trade shows. The Internet Archive hosts the world’s largest collection of that music — over 2,300 shows spanning 1965–1995 — free to stream, with the band’s blessing. Relisten and Archive.org have kept that tradition alive for years. We’re standing on their shoulders.
But the listening experience hasn’t really moved forward. You still can’t easily compare a soundboard to an audience tape of the same show. You still can’t ask “show me a hot summer ’77 Dark Star” and get an answer. You still can’t talk to the other people listening to the same show you are, right now, around the world. That’s the gap.
Our bet
Most Deadheads aren’t going to pay $10/month for a tape they’ve had since 1995. We think they will pay a few bucks a month for features that make listening better — and those features don’t exist anywhere else yet.
LiveVault will always be free for streaming. If we add something worth paying for, it lives behind a $3.99/month Pro tier. No ads on music. No rent-seeking. No dark patterns.
What “keep it weird” means to us
- Free first. The floor is always free streaming from the Archive. Nobody should have to pay to hear Cornell ’77.
- AI where it helps. Not a chatbot. Tools that understand the music — setlist search, tape cleanup, living liner notes. See the roadmap →
- Community over corporate. Deadhead forums have been the best thing about this scene for 30 years. The app should feel like one.
- Every source. SBD, MTX, AUD — switch between them without leaving the show. The perfect tape is whichever one you think it is.
- Open about everything. What we’re building, what’s shipping, what’s failing. Public roadmap, public issues, public conversation.
Powered by the Archive
LiveVault streams directly from the Internet Archive. We don’t host, rip, or re-encode their files. They’re the reason any of this is possible — please support them.
Who’s behind it
A small team of Deadheads and builders. We’re hiring listeners, not users. If you’ve got thoughts, tape preferences, or feature requests — hello@livevault.app.