The Show Must Go On

Live Streaming in the age of COVID-19, written by Scott Dougherty

March 23, 2020

The concept of the starving artist is no illusion – most musicians are struggling, dependent on touring and merchandise sales as their main source of income. In lieu of the coronavirus canceling all tours and festivals, musicians take to live streaming services to perform directly for fans and stay afloat through support and donations. These live-streamed, intimate performances benefit both the artists and the fans by bridging the gap and creating a direct line of communication between the two. Twitch, Instagram, and YouTube all have chat options that allow the fans to submit song requests, donate money, or just tell the artist how much their work is appreciated. Though someone’s favorite concert might be canceled, these streams give more people the opportunity to ‘see’ their favorite artists perform than ever before. Financial and spatial boundaries fall apart, allowing viewers from across the world to see an artist perform intimately from their home.

On March 14th, hardcore band Code Orange performed for an empty venue due to coronavirus concerns and though the venue was empty, their Twitch live stream peaked at 13,000 viewers, over ten times the venue’s capacity. Boston based Celtic rock legends The Dropkick Murphys canceled their annual St. Patrick’s Day concerts and instead live-streamed their performances on Facebook and YouTube, attracting an audience of over 114,000 people, an exponentially larger crowd than the Boston House of Blues, the original venue, could hold (2,500). Circa Survive frontman Anthony Green’s intimate solo performance on Twitch also attracted a sizable audience, reaching over 3,500 viewers. While the paycheck may not be comparable to a proper concert, one thing is certain – listeners are willing to tune in.

Whitney, an indie rock band I’ve been longing to see, performed on Instagram live Saturday evening. Third Man Records is streaming live performances daily at 12 p.m. CT on their Youtube channel, featuring their "favorite artists sharing whatever is inspiring them during this impossibly dystopian moment in time," and fans can use Venmo or Paypal to tip and show support.

R&B legend Erykah Badu is launching Apocalypse One, an interactive Instagram live performance with a $1 entrance fee in which she will perform songs voted on by the virtual audience. Performing artists and DJs may be smart to take note of how Badu has created an exclusive means for paid live streaming.

Twitch and YT provide a means for donations, however, if an artist’s team can provide a way to loop in live streaming with a fee it can cut losses from touring. Merchandise, physical or most likely digital recording sales could fit into a similar entrance fee for live streaming.

Australian artists came together for Isol-Aid!, an Instagram live music festival created to combat the massive blow of COVID-19 to their community, encouraging viewers to donate, stream or buy whatever they can as artists struggle to recoup. Leon Bridges, James Blake, Clairo, The War on Drugs and Swae Lee, have also live-streamed performances this week, showing the trend is catching on as even more artists plan future performances. Not every artist is struggling, many are and they desperately need fans’ support. Every canceled show is one less paycheck, which in some cases could mean one less meal and more stress as the instability of living paycheck to paycheck only worsens. 

Interestingly, this increase in live streaming on platforms like Instagram, YouTube and Twitch have led to a decline in overall streaming on Spotify. Music Business Week cited a decline of 11% week over week.

Performing DJs have taken to live streaming to make up for the loss of venues as well. DJ D-Nice has also taken has fan base virtual, providing a consistent live stream of dance music for his listeners at home. You can read more about his “Club Quarantine” and epic virtual dance party here. In some cases, they’ve teamed up with artists for virtual series of performances. DJ and Producer Diplo has created a new platform keeping his audience engaged. Secular Sabbath features intimate sets, most recently with the singer-songwriter Rhye on both March 14th and 21st.

In addition to artists live streaming themselves, some publications, events, and labels are streaming live and past performances for free on their respective sites. On March 20th, Tidal streamed 12 hours of past performances from artists on, or affiliated with, their roster including Jay-Z, Beyoncé, Travis Scott, Alicia Keys, and J. Cole, chart-topping artists most fans would never have the opportunity to see live.

Dead & Company streamed a past performance on March 21st, allowing a younger generation of deadheads the opportunity to see the legends perform live from the comfort of their homes.

We may be witnessing a rise of completely virtual, live-streamed festivals and concerts for all genres. Ultra Music Festival is transitioning to Ultra Virtual Audio festival, streaming live performances by Major Lazer, Afrojack, and Martin Garrix and replaying past sets from Kygo, The Chainsmokers, and Marshmello on SiriusXM’s UMF Radio channel from March 20th to the 23rd. Beatport is already creating a 24-hour live-streamed show with the biggest names in electronic music. Check out the set-list below for this upcoming Friday, March 27th.

Global Citizen Festival launched #TogetherAtHome, a virtual concert series in partnership with the World Health Organization “to help us all practice social distancing and promote global health.”  They have already uploaded performances from Coldplay’s Chris Martin and John Legend on their YouTube channel and website. DJ Joshua Lang, who works alongside Room Service International, is also performing for the virtual series. You can learn more about how Room Service is giving back here.

Rolling Stone is hosting the In My Room virtual concert series every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday on their Instagram account, kicking the series off last Friday with musical legend Brian Wilson. 

While your favorite artist may not reschedule their show as a live stream, (sorry Jimmy, no word from Snoh yet), there are more opportunities to see artists perform than ever and to interact with them directly is a privilege never before seen on a scale like this. We may as well embrace live streaming concerts because we may be stuck with it for the foreseeable future and for the starving artist, the show must go on. Stay safe, stay healthy, and always keep an ear open for the next show, even if it is live-streamed. If you’re like me and you live for live music, there are plenty of opportunities to see your favorite artist, albeit not in person. Only time will tell what impact this trend will have on the music industry, live performances and artist to fan relationships, but for now, I’ll be content watching these live performances and binging Tiny Desk and Boiler Room concerts.

Thanks for reading! I would love to hear your questions, comments or general thoughts on the advent of live streaming and its impact on the music industry.

You can reach me at [email protected] or @ten7_scott on Instagram.

- Scott Doughtery

Below you can find a few links to other helpful sites.