As a musician, performing in concerts is a part of building up one’s brand recognition and a fanbase. However, the past couple of years have seen a massive shift in the meaning of a live concert performance. With most in-person shows being canceled, live performance has shifted to finding virtual audiences rather than in-person ones. Hosting live performance streams has its ups and downs.
For one, the necessity of booking and paying for a space to accommodate an audience has become unnecessary. Audiences have to log in to their devices and join web links to enjoy live music. Or, they may find concert links dropping down their social media feeds, especially if they are actively following performing artists and concert organizers on these platforms. For another, musicians now have to navigate the relatively new terrain of serving on a digital space live and concentrate on growing a natural follower base on social media.
The dynamics of planning and marketing a concert have changed what defines a triumphant live show. If you are looking to execute a successful live concert stream, you must have 2 essential things:
- The perfect online platform to host your concert on. Facebook, Instagram, Clubhouse are popular live streaming social media platforms. However, if the network you consider has an invite-only audience, as was the case of Clubhouse until very recently, your reach of a target audience may be minimal.
- A good audience count attending during the live streaming (and an organic audience is tuning in to watch the stream later if the platform of your choice allows you to save and upload the live stream).
In addition, you must have:
- A stable internet connection for uninterrupted streaming of your concert.
- Proper technology for ensuring the excellent sound quality of your streaming.
- Great music content and presentation skills to ensure your audience is captivated enough to stick with you till the end of your streaming time.
Now that you have the checklist of must-haves in place, it is time to concentrate on tips that will ensure your streaming is an undoubted success.
7 Ways You Can Ensure You Have a Successful Live Concert Streaming
Know Your Micro Goals
Artists organize concerts for several reasons. The same is true of virtual events – live or recorded. Knowing the reasons behind your concert can help you finetune your planning and execution process. It can also help you finalize how you want to promote and advertise the streaming session besides narrowing down your target audience demographic for the presentation. Most importantly, it will help you determine what success means to you about the concert hosted. So, ask yourself: What is the immediate goal for holding your live concert stream?
- To showcase new music in your oeuvre? You may have come up with a new album that you want your followers to hear first or have a sneak peek of before you sell your music officially on the market. Or perhaps, you are experimenting with something new and want to check what audience response might be to this kind of music before you make a considerable investment of your time, creative energy, and finances in this.
- To have a fundraiser for a cause? If your country allows social media use for such goals, you may be supporting some social cause or raising money for someone in need? Or you may be asking for tips and donations for continuing your work as an artist. Success in such a situation would be directly proportionate to the amount you manage to raise.
- To elevate tension and worry? Perhaps issues like being quarantined or staying at home for a prolonged time are getting to the mental health of your fan base. Hosting live concert streams is your way of helping everyone stay sane and enjoy a few moments of happiness.
- To continue a tradition? Perhaps you are used to hosting concerts annually or on a routine. However, the new global guidelines for crowd control make it impossible for you to continue doing so in person. You may have decided to go virtual with your live concert, but you want to keep your regular show’s other parameters unchanged.
- To be part of a trend? Social media platforms thrive on trends. Perhaps you are trying to build and humanize your brand in a particular way by participating in the popular trends of the day and are hosting a live concert as part of this?
- To get exposure and be noticed by the big names in the music industry? Labels, music houses, and producers are constantly discovering fresh talent on audio-only platforms like Clubhouse. In such a situation, having a huge crowd listening in may not be as right a measure for success as getting scouted would be! You may be using the live streaming pathway as a means of self-auditioning.
Know Your Presentation Format
Delivering a quality concert has as much to do with the music you create as it does with your way of presenting it to your audience. You must choose a presentation format that you can be comfortable using. For instance, live streaming on Instagram or Facebook can be a highly uncomfortable experience if you are not used to being interrupted or distracted by audience comments, waves, and view count tickers.
You may choose to set yourself up in a more formal manner and collaborate with someone from your industry to handle audience engagement signals in such a case. Or, you may be able to adapt and open up to conversing and performing simultaneously. A platform like Clubhouse, on the other hand, only uses audio.
In addition, the audio content cannot be saved on Clubhouse. However, you can choose between spatial audio and regular audio experiences. Live-streaming on such a platform, thus, would require you to focus more on audio quality and noise control than issues like lighting arrangements in your performance space. The secret to successfully streaming your concert will lie in how best you can use your virtual platform to add to your overall performance.
If you notice other musicians, you will see how different performers have adapted and used the same live feature of the same social platform to blend into their way of performing. From performing in empty garages and studios with the best lighting and acoustic technologies to performing in bathrobes with makeshift instruments, live concerts can have any definition and scope for imagination. Understand what your presentation format is and how to best work with it.
Get Familiar with the Equipment You Are Using before You Go Live
Whether using a microphone, noise reduction device, or just your phone to go live, get familiar with the technological equipment you will be using well in advance of your broadcast.
You can lose an audience during the concert if you are unsure of your broadcasting equipment. Go live using high-quality, stable internet connectivity. Keep an eye out for transmission quality-related comments during your performance streaming to ensure the quality of your concert remains consistent throughout.
Promote Your Concert Well Ahead of its Schedule
To have the right audience present during your live concert streaming, spread the word well In advance of your broadcast. Create stories, paid posts, and readers with details like the time of the concert, and the name of the social platform you will be streaming on, clearly mentioned. If you are soliciting donations or payments, be sure to include information about this as well.
Create Opportunities for Emotional Connections
When you create a virtual event, you need to work harder on building a human connection. Performing with your audience in person allows you to feel the vibe in the room.
It is easy to act spontaneously and forge audience connections. However, creating a similar empathetic environment can get more difficult when you are behind your screen, and your audience is behind their own. You may have a receptive audience, an invite-only audience, audiences who can see you, or listen-in-only audiences depending on the platform you use and the kind of settings you put in place for the event. Plan on how best to connect with your audience based on the audience type and demographic. Some ways to make this a success include:
- Allowing for audience requests, responses, and feedback during and post the concert.
- Using features like polls and opinion votes.
- Personalizing your presentation by humanizing your brand of music.
- Creating opportunities for memorable moments.
- Building a program flow that is in keeping with your target audience’s attention span and anticipations.
Find Ways to Monetize Your Concert
If you are an artist looking to make money out of the concert, consider what would work best for you depending on the reach you have, the platform you have chosen to go live on, and your country’s rules for monetizing social media content. Some methods that may work well for you:
- Selling tickets for exclusive live streams.
- Creating virtual tours with geo-blocked streaming schedules so audiences in particular regions can listen in at convenient timings.
- Constructing a tip jar or donation button for your concert.
Be Authentic
The best performances streamed or otherwise, are authentic performances. You may not have the perfect presentation space and get interrupted by children or pets during your streaming. Despite your best efforts at noise reduction, you may face connectivity issues. Do not let real moments unsettle you.
Take them in your stride as you would during an in-person live concert and genuinely continue your broadcast. Likewise, adapt to the audience who have tuned in if there is a disconnect between your real-time audience and the anticipated audience. Remember, virtual or not, you are performing live, and take it from there.
To Sum Up
Organizing and delivering a triumphant live concert stream is all about proper planning and execution strategies. Of course, as with any performance, content, and presentation skills are of utmost importance. In addition to this, attracting the attention of the right target audience and further keeping this attention sustained throughout the streaming session is imperative.
Managing one’s social media presence well can play a prominent role in contributing to your live broadcast’s success.
Virtual concerts are a popular means of showcasing talent and brand building in the present times. Although a relatively new trend, it is fast becoming a familiar way for enjoying fans’ performances. Use the above tips to get your target crowd to notice your music. Give your concert the edge it deserves to stand out as a successful feather in your cap as a musician. concert the edge it deserves to stand out as a successful feather in your cap as a musician.
