AUSTIN (October 11, 2012)—An alternative to paying rising ticket prices to attend music festivals in Texas and elsewhere is to watch the performances online for free.

At the Austin City Limits Music Festival, about a third of the nearly 130 bands on a lineup that includes the Red Hot Chili Peppers, the Black Keys and Jack White will have their sets streamed on YouTube.

It's a record for the three-day festival, which starts Friday.

Just six years ago organizers began webcasting with a single feed and struggled to persuade artists to even participate.

Austin City Limits marks the unofficial end of the big-festival calendar in the U.S. for 2012.