As artists, we thrive on live performances. Live performances allow us to connect with our fans on a much more intimate level. Live performances also allow us to sell our merch and increase in revenue. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, live performances have had to take a back burner. This doesn’t mean we don’t have to cease altogether though. Throughout the past year, live-streaming has become the new normal. If you aren’t live-streaming your performances, you’re missing out. Here are 6 reasons why you should be live-streaming.
#1: Engage With Your Audience Through Live-Streaming
Although live performances allow an intimate setting for artists to speak to their audience, there’s hardly a chance for fans to interact with you. With livestreams, fans will be given that new opportunity. Fans are able to comment while your performance is broadcasted live. Fans can also send out emojis throughout the performance to show their support. In order to really make it worthwhile for your fans, it is important to respond to them in between your performances. This allows for you to develop a special bond with the fans that only attend the livestream as you share memorable interactions.
#2: You Can Get A Higher Attendance Rate
It can be a lot more difficult to get fans to go when your budget for a tour only hits major cities. This can be a problem especially when a majority of your fan base reside in rural areas with no venues within your budget. Live-streaming your performance can remove many barriers that cause a low attendance rate. Livestreams are much more cost effective for both you and your fans. You can save the money you’d be spending touring and put that towards recording a new album, for example. Your fans will also not have to spend money on travel, tickets, dining, hotel, and many more. Instead, they can use that money towards buying some of your merch. Live-streaming gives you the chance to share more than just your music, to an audience far greater than your super-fans.
#3: Live-Streaming Is More Affordable For You
As we mentioned in the section above, live-streaming is much more cost effective for you. Although it’s still nice to be able to play live, that atmosphere is entirely different than live-streaming, it does cost an arm and a leg to tour. You have to take into account renting equipment, paying your staff, paying the venue, and many other small expenses. With live-streaming, once you have your stage setup, performing comes free. You can livestream multiple times a week, a month, or a year without having to spend thousands of dollars AND you’ll still make a profit!
#4: Attract New Fans
If your social media account is public, anyone can view your profile. So, if you go live, anyone can join. You can also advertise and publicize your livestream performance through Instagram Stories Ads, TikTok Ads, and others. This can help extend your audience to include many others who haven’t listened to your music. Anyone who sees your ad may want to tune in. In addition, if you actively interact with you viewers, they are more likely to convert to your fanbase. Another great way to attract new fans is to collaborate with other artists. Instagram has Live Rooms where you and 3 others can put together a livestream. This will not only bring in your fanbase, but also the fanbase of your 3 other guests where fans can crossover and interact. There are so many tools available to you that will help bring your music to an abundance of new audience members.
#5: Earn Revenue With Live-Streaming
There are many major artists that charge admission to attend their livestream. Now, you may not be a major artist, but you can still charge admission. This can be especially useful if you’re offering something more than just your music. For example, admission to your show may also include a piece of merch, a chance to appear as a guest to your livestream, or many other interactive and engaging offers. Many artists today will take advantage of Patreon or Bandcamp pages as a donation landing page before, during, or after the livestream. These sites have taken place of the physical tip jar at concerts. Instead of charging for admission, you might just let your audience know that if they enjoy your music and would like to continue supporting you, they can donate on your Patreon or Bandcamp page.
The best part about this income is how you get it. If you choose to go by admission, you can have hundreds of people paying to come. There’s no limit to how many people can attend, unlike a venue that has a limited capacity. You also won’t have to pay all who help put on your shows, which means all the money you earn you keep. If you choose to accept donations, anyone can donate however much they want. Although most people may not donate in the hundreds, there are the occasional few who might. This means you might come out of this livestream with much more than you anticipate.
#6: Boost Your Social Media Presence
As we mentioned earlier, your livestreams can attract new fans and engage your audience. If you consistently livestream you can also boost your presence. Instagram favors the use of their features, so live-streaming directly on their platform can help boost your presence with the help of their algorithm. In addition, if you get more people to watch your streams, you can get more people to visit your creations. You can increase your click-through rate for your website, merch purchases, and music streams. This in turn will give you more revenue, and will also help your social media presence.
We know live-streaming is not the same as live shows and it will never be. There are, however, some really great outcomes from live-streaming and there’s no bad reason why you shouldn’t be doing both. Livestreams will expose you and your music to another audience you wouldn’t otherwise be able to reach and interact with.
Not sure how to introduce live-streaming to your fanbase? Download our free Live-Streaming Marketing and Promo Checksheet to learn where to start, what to start with, and how to make money from it!
