Concert CD service signs Jewel

Clear Channel Communications Inc. said Monday that it has signed singer Jewel as the first major-label music artist to take part in its controversial service for instant concert recordings.

Clear Channel’s Instant Live operation, which makes CDs of concert performances available to attendees within five minutes of the end of a show, has been criticized by smaller competitors for claiming to control a key patent covering the technology for that service.

Besides Jewel, who records for Warner Music Group’s Atlantic Records label, other artists who have signed up for Instant Live this summer include KISS, Peter Frampton and the Cowboy Junkies. In the past, most bands using the service have been either unsigned or with smaller labels.