What if I told you live streaming was the new way of gigging, instead of just acting as a temporary fix? We’d argue that online performances are the new and improved way of gigging and bring a completely new range of new benefits. Want to know how? You’ve come to just the right place.
Movement Towards Live Streaming Through COVID-19
There’s no hiding that the live music industry was tanked through the pandemic, with all venues of all capacity closed without warning. However, nothing is enough to stop the passion and diligence of many musicians, who turned to live-streaming as a way to put on gigs for their audiences. This movement is one that has definitely continued, even after venues began to reopen because, in truth, they’re actually a really great resource.
The Benefits of Virtual Gigs
Live streaming a show is a highly useful way of targeting new audiences that potentially wouldn’t have access to your in-person gigs. They may have geographic barriers, other commitments or obstacles that prevent them from physically coming to your show, yet 80.76% of the world’s population own a smartphone, making your new way of gigging increasingly more accessible. How cool is it that you can put on a live stream gig that, in theory, 6.37 billion people could actually attend?!
Another huge factor to consider is the decrease in carbon emissions when opting for a virtual show over a physical one. You have no vehicles involved, no venues to set up, and no hotels to stay in. V-Ex reported that making an event virtual actually decreases carbon emissions by 99%, meaning online live-gigs are a huge win for our environment.
Finding somewhere to go and play a gig is notoriously hard if it doesn’t take the form of an open mic night and the beauty of live-stream gigs is that they’re super inclusive and absolutely anyone can set one up. However, I’m not saying you should spontaneously hit the live stream button on your Instagram account, you should be treating it as you would if it were a normal performance. I’m sure if you had been asked to play at a venue in the city centre, you’d be putting a lot of time and thought into the preparation to make sure it was a seamless show for your audience… so apply the same principles for a live stream!
So… are you sold? Keep reading.
Getting Your Online Gig Set Up Right
Now, as we’ve just said it’s important that you take your performance seriously, but don’t let this scare you, you can get started with just yourself and your smartphone. Obviously, if you do find yourself in a position to invest in a microphone and camera, then great, but this isn’t a necessity.
Ideal Lighting For Your Virtual Performance
As we all know in 2021, lighting is key! If your audience is watching a dimly-light live stream and is struggling to see you, then chances are they’re going to tune out. Not only this, but lighting has a huge effect on camera quality, so if the lighting is poor, the video will appear grainy and let’s face it, no one wants to watch a grainy live stream. We came up with a few pointers to keep in mind:
- Don’t sit with a window behind you
- Use natural daylight if possible, sit with a window in front of you
- Have the light source slightly higher than you, shining down
- Use a ring light (£20-£30) – We haven’t tested this specific one, but any ring light will do the trick
Making Your Live Stream Look Good
Just like the lighting, the way the shot looks is extremely important. We want things to be aesthetically pleasing, as it makes watching a much more enjoyable experience. Again, don’t panic… we’re not expecting a full studio set-up, but something as simple as sitting against a plain wall or ensuring there’s no clutter in the shot will make for a better viewing experience. After all, you want people to be focussing on you, not what’s in your washing pile. If you don’t feel you have a suitable space, many people invest in a backdrop, which can be bought from amazon for under £20. This is a very cheap hack for getting that professional studio look.
Planning Your Online Live Set
Check, check and check again! Whilst it’s very normal to have technical difficulties, and everyone is very understanding of it, ideally, we want to avoid it. There are ways of testing your live stream without actually going live, which can leave you more confident and prepared for when you’re ready to hit that button. The way in which you do this will depend on the platform, so below is a list of a few key sites you may be using and the links to how to test your live stream beforehand.
- Facebook – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=affF12ecqOs
There doesn’t appear to be a method to test on Instagram, however one way around this would be to go into your settings and temporarily hide your live stream from all of your followers, and then reverse this setting if you’re happy with everything.
Another critical thing to plan is what you’re going to be performing. Make sure that you know the order of your set and also that you know each piece very well. It isn’t the end of the world if you forget lyrics, but it’s much better for everyone if you are comfortable and confident in your performance.
How to Market Your Online Gig
Whilst everyone loves a surprise, this isn’t the time or place. Make sure you’re promoting your gig in the run-up to it, just as you would with a standard performance. Some ways in which you could do this are:
- Story/main posts on social media sites
- Countdown on Instagram stories
- Create an event to invite people to on Facebook
- Tell family/friends/colleagues etc
- Mailing list
- Paid adverts on Instagram, Facebook etc
Making Money From Streaming
There are ways of charging a fixed fee, such as taking a charge through Paypal, then sending each person a private link. However, if we’re staying on the route of free live streaming, then there is an alternative method of asking people to make a donation of whatever they deem fit by adding a link to your PayPal or any other method of payment.
We’ve done some research to find a few ways for you to charge or take donations for your online gig:
- PayPal
- Buy Me a Coffee
- Facebook paid online events
- Facebook Stars – a tipping service
Facebook have their own platform for charging for a live stream, which you can read more on via the link above. It enables you to charge for entry, which acts as a door fee, rather than asking your audience for donations. Alternatively, they have the stars system, which allows your audience to tip ‘stars’, and each ‘star’ equates to $0.01. Facebook also allows you to track your stars, which is a super useful tool for keeping on top of your live streaming profits.
We hope you’ve found this useful, and have some new ideas on how to make your live gig the best it can be. If you do a live performance of your own, send it our way and we might be able to cover it on the site!
