Like many other industries, music has been gradually making its way online for several years, with more and more people choosing to tune into music events online rather than travelling to a gig in person.
COVID-19’s unexpected appearance in 2020 has further encouraged this pattern, with many bands, artists, musicians and DJ’s successfully offering live performances for both new and existing audiences during the lockdown period.
Although lockdown has (mostly) come to an end, live music streams are set to continue and stay just as important as a way for brands to reach new people, engage with their audiences and generate revenue. Zidivo is here to help artists and musicians understand just how profitable and valuable offering live streams of your music online can be for both your reputation and the money you can make.
With more and more people choosing to listen and watch their favourite artists and bands online as a source of entertainment during the lockdown, it has demonstrated how effective the internet can be in generating a large audience.
The online world offers an incredible amount of opportunity for gaining exposure, with anyone from anywhere being able to tune in at the click of a button either when scrolling through their social media or by visiting a website.
As much as your audience may want to attend a physical venue to watch you play, this simply isn’t an option for many people, either due to location, financial situation or other personal circumstances. By offering your performances online too, you can appeal to these people and reach a much wider audience - all your audience need is a device to watch your streams on.
While it’s important not to charge your audience a fee to tune in to every live stream you offer, there is the option to monetise your live streams and boost revenue. You can broadcast pay-per-view (PPV) live streams, where each viewer must pay a small or large fee before they are allowed access to tune in.
For those just starting out or those new to the world of live streaming, it’s best to start by offering free video content. This way, you can generate an initial audience and avoid alienating any potential fans who may be unable to pay. Once you’ve established a reputation online, PPV videos can be a hugely valuable way to generate revenue and can even be more profitable in the long run than selling tickets to a physical venue.
What’s more, by using live music streams to build and widen your audience, you are sure to see this benefit future ticket sales. The more people enjoy and engage with your live streams, the far more likely they are to fork out for a physical ticket and make the effort to watch you perform in real life.
Most people spend the majority of their time online consuming video content. Simply head to your current social media feed and you are sure to see it jam-packed with short clips, video ads, TikToks, live videos and more. There has simply never been a better time for artists to get on board and benefit from the opportunities that video has to offer. By offering live music streams, you can use your videos as promotional content online both in the run-up and following your events.
Beforehand, make sure to promote your live streams as much as possible. Make sure your audience know when and where to tune in, who will be performing and what you will be offering. This way, there’s nothing left to the imagination, your audience can get your live stream in their calendar and decide whether they want to tune in.
Post-live stream, you can continue to use your video content for promotional purposes, offering your recording on-demand for people to tune in at a later date and even repurposing sections of your video across social media and on your website. Make sure to thank your audience for tuning in and tell them why you value their support.
Unlike physical performances, live music streams allow your viewers to engage with your performances, leaving comments with their thoughts or reactions. While the excitement and energy of a live-streamed performance can’t quite match up to attending a physical gig, you can benefit from the ability to respond to comments and form connections with existing and potential fans online.
Similar to measuring your success using ticket sales and revenue generated from events, live music streams provide you with concrete evidence and statistics to measure how successful an event has been. For example, you can use view count, the number of comments, reactions, view time and more to gauge how well-received and successful your live streams have been and identify areas for improvement.
Finally, live streaming your performances or gigs has never been easier or more accessible to do. You don’t need a significant budget or fancy recording equipment to be able to offer your audience an HD stream, though if you do want to provide a professional and larger scale stream, you can just as easily do so.
On top of the fact that most smartphones now allow users to stream in HD quality, there are many affordable yet professional live streaming platforms out there. Zidivo is one of these, offering users the ability to go live to wide audiences from any type of recording device. You can customise your players to suit your brand and go live to any and as many webpages as required with no ads or restrictions on the quality or duration of your content. If you’re a new or undiscovered artist, you can benefit from Zidivo’s completely affordable prices with the starter package only costing £17 per month.
We have worked with DJ’s and music artists both prior and during lockdown to help them elevate their presence and gain reach online, so don’t hesitate to get in touch with a member of the team via our live chat with any music stream or virtual event queries.
If you’re ready to start building your audience online and offering regular live music streams, you can try out the Zidivo platform completely free for 30 days.
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