Updated: You’re reading it on paidContent.org first ... according to internal stats, AOL Music’s on-demand library of individual Live 8 performances and entire concerts drew more than 8.5 million unique visitor in the first week and more than 25 million on-demand plays. The live concerts and the loops of the events were played more than 15 million times before it went to on demand.

As we reported late last week, AOL also is announcing an extension of the on-demand package through Sept. 5, an additional three weeks.The most-requested artists: Pink Floyd reuniting after 20-plus years followed by Madonna, U2 and Greenday. Most popular performances include Sir Paul McCartney and U2 doing “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.”
By comparison, AOL Music LIVE concerts have drawn more than a million plays in one week; Coldplay’s AOL Music LIVE streamed 700,000 times in one week. Granted, Live 8 was a unique event but the five million unique viewers who showed up July 2 and the millions tuning in for on demand underscore the potential in entertainment done right online. If Network Live, the new programming company with AOL, AEG and XM as investors, hadn’t been in the works already something like it would be now.

Related: Network Live: AOL-AEG-XM’s Joint Venture: Our Full Coverage