Digital Innovations and Adaptations in “Live” Music
By Thania Garcia | March 15, 2021
As we slowly and dreadfully cross one-year of lockdown, a collective groan can be heard coming from all over the world. Innovation has become more imperative than ever, and as more and more time seems to pass, there now exists a genuine need to cater in reimagined ways. For live music, this challenge is not only about obtaining attention, but also managing to keep it for an hour long live stream.
Creative operations for live entertainment have needed to catch up to their losses of audience and venues. There is a level of desperation but also excitement to combine production values in a way that feels new.
Almost immediately, the first solution in terms of bringing revenue to the artist and their team, is the livestream concert. Initially, it was just musicians in their bedrooms but we are seeing how successful ticket sales have been for pre-recorded concerts in halls and venues which are being turned into makeshift TV studios.
In September of 2020, indie pop band, The Wallows performed and recorded four live sets at the Roxy Theatre in LA, with tickets being sold for $15 dollars each. Everyone who bought a ticket could watch their show when it premiered and had access to the recording for a month after. They found that a lot of fans were choosing to buy tickets for all the shows because they advertised that certain songs would be played only at certain shows. “All the sets are totally different from each other and are set to air at reasonable times for different time zones (but in case you can’t make the scheduled time...we had a blast playing even to an empty room, so we’d love for all of you to pop some popcorn, kick back, and mosh like maniacs from the comfort of your homes. Tickets are $15 per show or $55 for all four. ON SALE NOW,” read the show details. Additionally, their team further incentivized the $55 ticket by throwing in a free tour poster.
In November, Niall Horan was able to put together a concert “born out of necessity,” said Ric Salmon, a partner at the music management and ticketing agency in charge of Horan’s show. In total, the show was able to sell out 125,000 tickets across 151 countries.
Although live music is far from gone forever, the feverish need for viewer enjoyment via creative formatting has introduced a variety of fresh ideas which I personally think are here to stay, with or without the lockdown.
Author Bio: Thania Garcia is a senior at Cal State Northridge with a passion for music and storytelling. She has hopes of pursuing a career that allows her to support musicians and ensure the representation of diverse voices in media. As of now, she is an intern working publicity with Epic Records in Culver City, CA.
Photo thumbnail credit: Joeseth Carter