By: Bruce Wawrzyniak
It’s a sobering thought. This year has forced performers to put on live shows from home, streaming through Facebook or Instagram or YouTube or some other platform. All with the hope of viewers tipping them electronically or streaming their music – or both.
The problem is that neither of those have a high percentage
of likelihood.
When the world isn’t in a pandemic, you go out on a
given night and you pick one place to go to where you’re going to just see and
hear one artist performing. There is a
strong chance that you will support and engage with that person in some way,
shape, or form, whether it’s walking up to the stage and dropping cash in their
tip jar or buying a CD and/or other merchandise of theirs or writing your name
and email address down on their newsletter sign-up sheet or seeing their sign
that notes their social media handles and following them on one of those. The latter might even include Spotify, where
you’ll then stream their music from.
However, with restrictions getting tighter and tighter in
places like California and New York as the Coronavirus numbers reach scary
heights, the scene instead is those guys and gals performing from home, hoping
you’ll land on their live stream. The
problem, though, is how crowded that gets.
Can or will someone actually stop by one guy’s live stream and Venmo him
five bucks and then tap over to a different girl who is singing her heart out
and would appreciate five dollars through PayPal, but then switch 15 minutes
later to a third performer and send five more dollars via CashApp, only
to then get notified that someone they genuinely know and like has just gone
live and would love for viewers to join their Patreon for, you guessed it, just
five dollars? Oh, and did I mention that
one hour and 20 dollars later, it’s only Monday night?
Now let’s look at the other side of it. The, “Yeah, tips are definitely
welcome. I can’t pay my bills with 47
thumbs-up comments. BUT, if these people
watching would stream my music, I might get some traction on Spotify” side of
it.
I don’t want to be a Negative Nancy, but late last week I
read a report from Billboard that said that music streaming is stalling. In fact, while it mentioned the obscene
number of tracks being uploaded every day (and you thought the live streaming
space was crowded), music streaming hasn’t grown since mid-July.
It all boils down to this.
I’m not telling you to never do a live stream again. What I do recommend, however, is that rather
than waiting and hoping for a stranger to find you – someone they’ve never
heard of – in a live stream and watch long enough to like you, tip you, and
maybe engage more with your music, you need to focus on nurturing your loyal
fan base. Are THEY watching your live
stream? Have you appealed to THEM for opportunities
that you’re not getting? Who do they
know that can offer you something more rewarding than setting up and tearing
down in your house just to play on Instagram for 30 minutes and no tips?
Do you want and should you be trying to attract new fans? Of course.
But in an attempt to find coins under the couch cushions in the form of
people who are just getting exposed to you for the first time, don’t forget
about the loyal supporters who’ve stayed with you and then just expect them to show
up when you are back at that popular venue where they so faithfully came
and saw you perform so many times before.
Otherwise, you just might be staring at the same empty chairs being seen
today by those performers who are fortunate enough to be getting bookings for
live shows.
What have you done successfully to stay connected with your
devoted fans? Tweet those wins to me via
@NHT_tweets. Or, post them for me and
others to read on Facebook or LinkedIn.
Alternatively, you can send me the details via email. And if you are worried about these and other challenges
in your music career, book a private, one-on-one, video consultation with me to
get you moving in the right direction.
• • •
I am a manager and publicist, running Now Hear This, Inc., an agency that has served clients across the U.S. ranging from music artists to authors to small businesses and even an Olympic athlete. Since February 2014 I have also hosted a weekly podcast (“Now Hear This Entertainment”), which has gotten listeners from 153 countries around the world. Find more about the company and the podcast at www.NowHearThis.biz. I am also a national speaker. Visit www.SpeakerBruceW.com for more information.
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