Dave Matthews Offers Downloads For Charity

The Dave Matthews Band, who recently returned to port after completing one of the summer's top-grossing tours, have digitized four live tracks that will be sold exclusively via Internet download in the Liquid Audio format. Proceeds from the sales will go to charity.

The tracks were culled from the band's sold out Sept. 11 concert at Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford, N.J., and will be available for download beginning on Sept. 29. Each of the four songs will be priced at $3.49, and will be bundled together as two separate ''buy one, get one free'' download offers at the Liquid Audio website.

Proceeds will be donated to VH1 Save The Music, a charity that supports music programs for children in public schools.

Also on Sept. 29, PBS will broadcast parts of the same concert as an ''In The Spotlight'' special. The four songs that will be sold via download will not be included in the broadcast.

According to live entertainment trade Amusement Business, the average Matthews Band concert this summer attracted a crowd of nearly 23,000 fans and took in about $750,000 in ticket sales.