Live Streaming to Your Fans (and Not to Strangers’ Wallets)

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.

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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.

 

Creative Ways to Promote What You’re Creating

By: Bruce Wawrzyniak

You’ve been beaten up by the now nine-month long pandemic.  You feel ignored because everyone is focusing on the homestretch leading up to Christmas in approximately a week-and-a-half.  And you feel lost in a sea (or, more like, ocean) of others doing exactly what you do.

Welcome to the world of being a creator in 2020.

Whether you’re a recording artist or a podcaster, this can feel like a great time to go into hibernation – if you let yourself crumble under the aforementioned molehill that has become a mountain taking the form of the Grinch.

Alas, there is help, however.  And it’s found in the fact that you are a creator, which looks a lot like the word creativity, which is what is required to get some lights flashing around your notice to people that you’re still around and still doing what you do.

I loved seeing exactly that being done by the sister duo REYNA, who I just interviewed last month for Episode 353 of my weekly “Now HearThis Entertainment” podcast.  They have a song called “7’11” and demonstrated their creativity in the way they’ve gotten people engaged with it.  Heck, yours truly fell for it yesterday, I don’t mind admitting.

They simply told people to screenshot their smartphone’s home screen when the time displayed 7:11 and post it as an Instagram story – with their song by the same name playing over it – and to tag them.  In return, they would send you a Christmas card.  Brilliant.  I say, ‘Bravo, ladies,’ because I love this idea.  (And I’ll be anxious to get my Christmas card from them.  Wink.)

Some artists might be saying, “That’s great, but I’m on the clock, here.  I’ve got a Christmas song that I’m trying to push through all the others so that people will purchase and stream mine!”

Here’s my suggestion.

While it would be ideal if your song were called, “(Ugly) Christmas Sweater,” do a spinoff on what REYNA did.  Ask people to post a picture on their story of themselves wearing an ugly Christmas sweater (or drinking something – maybe a hot drink – out of a Christmas mug), put your song in their post, and in exchange you will (insert gratuitous gesture here).

Now more than ever when opportunities are scarce to go out to perform live and hope to get attention and thus sales for your music, you need to get creative as to what you can do from home.

Recording artist Natalie Duque posted over the weekend that if you sign up for her mailing list, starting in 2021 you will get access to her new releases one week before they’re available to the world.

See?  No one is reinventing the wheel here, per se.  Instead, much in the same way that you would challenge yourself to write a new song or give your podcast a refresh, of sorts, it’s a matter of digging deep to pull out something that – again, just like the content you’re creating – will not only get people’s attention, but move them to take some kind of action, whether that’s streaming, purchasing, liking/following, or whatever desired result you want.  If you gain ten streams, okay.  If it’s a hundred, even better.  But I can assure you that if you do nothing and hope that fans will magically interact with what you’ve put out, it will be a long, cold winter.  Have a good nap.

What clever tactics have you employed or seen others doing lately that are great case studies?  Tweet them to me via @NHT_tweets or through Facebook or LinkedIn.  Too long to post about on social media?  Email me about it instead.  Or, if you need help with your challenges and want a one-on-one, confidential video consultation with me, book it here.

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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.

You Can Have Success During the Pandemic

By: Bruce Wawrzyniak

It’s Monday.  Strike one.  And it’s raining, because Hurricane Eta is starting to arrive for an uninvited visit here to the Sunshine State.  Strike two.  And my beloved Tampa Bay Buccaneers suffered a lopsided defeat last night on national television.  Strike three.

It all adds up to a perfect equation to stay in bed and just say, “Forget it.”

Unfortunately, for some people, only one of those three would be enough to decide to just roll over and keep sleeping, and not even set an alarm.

But then there are those who don’t, and those who snooze later end up wondering why they see the other folks having success after success.  They get frustrated looking at social media because they see all the wins that those around them are posting about.

Attitude, my friends, can make or break how far you go.

We are eight months into what I call the Coronavirus era.  That’s an excuse on a silver platter for those who want to gobble it up.  Or it’s an opportunity for the motivated folks that are looking to seize on anything they can conquer.  They view it as a challenge, meaning, a new chance to show success.

I have been so happy to hear artists telling me on “Now HearThis Entertainment” about how they’ve actually flourished during the pandemic, writing, and releasing new music.  You’ll hear that when Episode 353 comes out 48 hours from now.  Heck, last week on Episode 352 RT Valine was talking about the TWENTY-song album he put out on September 2^nd.  One week earlier on Episode 351 Bailey James was promoting her latest single, which was her fifth such release this year.  On Episode 349 Casey Kearney was talking about her album that came out on October 2^nd, which means that one week ago today she could post that, “It was one month ago today that my new album came out,” as opposed to the glass half empty people who say, “Well, I’ve got nothing to post about.  There’s not much that can be done until this darn Coronavirus goes away.”

As far back as April when I was hosting the “Now Hear This Entertainment” Virtual Music Series on Instagram Live, Jessica Meuse was singing a song she had already written about the Coronavirus!  When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade.  You don’t go back to sleep because you don’t have the recipe for it.

Unlike the actual raindrops that I can see hitting the window as I sit here and write this, the metaphorical rainy day is here.  In fact, it’s been here, standing at your front door for more of this year than not.  Have you stayed inside and not opened the door, thinking, “Well, now I’m trapped”?  Or have you flung it wide open, with arms outstretched, a smile on your face, and a warm welcome?  I hope it’s the latter and that instead of the same old tired “’Rona” nickname everyone else has already beaten to death, you’ve affectionately greeted it as Opportunity, and are hard at work as though it was Wednesday afternoon, not Monday morning.

Oh, and speaking of Wednesday, the day after tomorrow is Veteran’s Day.  Don’t use it as another excuse to sleep in.  You just might wake up and find out someone you know wrote a hit song about the men and women that have served our country.

How have you thrived during the pandemic?  Puff your chest out and share your wins with me on Twitter via @NHT_tweets.  Alternatively, post about it on Facebook or LinkedIn, or, instead of social media, write to me with the details.

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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.