In this post, I am going to show you some websites for how to hold a virtual concert from the comfort of your own home. This will include the pros, the cons and also some great aha moments where I hope to share some exciting opportunities with you that you may not have considered in the past.
Why Hold a Virtual Concert?
There are plenty of reasons why this is such a great option for today’s musician and why this way of working is going to be big in the future.
- No travel
- No lumbering heavy equipment around
- There is no time wasted in setting up our gear at the venue
- No health risks. There is a big health scare with Coronavirus on everyone’s minds. Gigging from home removes those health risks. You can’t contract any illness through playing at home.
- Hold the concerts when you want. You can hold them on the days and times that suit you and your fans.
- People can watch your concert from anywhere in the world. All that is required is an internet connection.
- You don’t have to split your takings with the venue.
- There is also no risk of being invaded by gatecrashers. Who hasn’t gatecrashed a physical party. I know I have. We invaded a wedding party once and had a beer on the wedding party tab.
What are the Advantages of Going to a Live Concert in Person?
By its very nature, music is a social attraction. Therefore, the electric atmosphere that is present at a concert is removed. Furthermore, there is no excitement and happy vibes in watching a gig online. A live band or artist always delivers an excellent atmosphere.
I have been to many concerts in my time. Some of them were to see bands that I wasn’t necessarily interested in. However, they always delivered a great night’s entertainment. The atmosphere is always amazing.
Therefore, taking away the live concert that you attend in person, also takes away the atmosphere.
How to Hold a Virtual Concert: Ideas
There are various things to consider when you plan your virtual concert. These include the time and date of the show. It will also include aspects such as what you will wear and what songs you will play? Another thing to consider is what gear will you use. Here I am going to answer each of these points in turn.
When Will You Hold Your Concert?
Do you know where your fans live? If you have more fans in New York and you live in London, you should put a show on at 5pm. Your fans can then watch the show in their lunch break.
Most of our fans are in southern Asia. Therefore, it would be good to play our gigs at lunch time. Our fans can then watch the show in the evenings.
You will find that you have more energy to put shows on more often as you don’t have to travel the globe. Many artists find that globetrotting is a drain on their mental health. Therefore, taking travel out of the equation also takes away the mental health issue.
What Will You Wear at Your Concert?
Bands like Kraftwerk and The Beatles were big on their fashion sense. They had to look alike and this meant wearing a uniform which went for the entire band. You can see Kraftwerk all wearing the same uniform in the video below…
What Songs Will You Perform?
Many fans will want to hear your trademark songs at your concert. However, there will also be time for you to play new songs that you have only just, or are about to release.
For instance, I went to a Roxette concert in 1994. They played the songs that they are known for. These included songs such as Fading Like a Flower, Joyride and Spending My Time. However, they also played songs that were on their latest album such as Crash Boom Bang.
Roxette were a joy to see in concert. They had all the right props and knew how to drive their fans crazy. That was one of the happiest nights of my life.
How to Hold a Virtual Concert: The Gear
There is a difference between gigging at home and gigging in a concert venue. If it is just you and an acoustic guitar, you don’t even need to mic yourself up. You can quite comfortably and happily play a gig completely unplugged and have all the right volume levels.
Some EDM artists such as Jean Michel Jarre hold concerts from one central location. During Lockdown in early 2020, Jean Michel Jarre did a show called Live In Your Living Room. This was watched by a lot of people and Jarre was still able to awe people with the sound quality of the set up.
Armin Van Buuren is another example of an EDM artist who does an incredible job of putting on shows from his home studio in Amsterdam. At the time of writing this blog post, he has put on 988 shows called A State of Trance. You can see Armin’s video for Episode 988 below…
The difference between Jean Michel and Armin is that Armin is a DJ. He puts on a show with completely different gear. Whereas, Jean Michel is an artist. With Jean Michel’s show you will see people playing keyboards and twiddling knobs on big modular synthesizers.
Virtual Concert Platforms
Let us now look at the platform you can use for your virtual concert. As you will see with Armin Van Buuren and Jean Michel Jarre, they have both used YouTube for their shows. However, there is a platform that I prefer because it is completely geared towards musicians putting on concerts for their fans. Let us look at three platforms. These are Stageit.com, YouTube and Facebook.
How to Hold a Virtual Concert on StageIt.com
Obviously YouTube and Facebook will have the most traffic for your show. After all, they are owned by the biggest companies on the planet. However, if you want to put on a show and generate some income for your shows, Stageit.com is a good option. Amongst other features, Stageit will allow you to set the prices for tickets at anything you choose. The more popular you are, the more you can charge. However, if you want to let fans choose how much to pay for their entrance to the gig, you can do that. This means that people in poorer countries, or in poorer areas of your country, will be able to attend by paying what they can afford.
Stageit use their own currency which is known all over the world. Therefore, there is no bias to any country. Other websites consider the US dollar to be the international currency, but a site with its own currency can work equally well without a US bias.
How to Hold a Virtual Concert on Facebook
Facebook has deadly accuracy in their marketing campaigns. It also has some of the lowest cost-per-action, but on the negative side Facebook has very poor reach. For instance, with my own page, I have just under 14,000 real likes from real people. However, I am lucky to reach more than ten people with one post. It is actually quite pathetic as far as reach goes.
How to Hold a Virtual Concert on YouTube
Google owns YouTube. Google are the biggest company on the planet. They have the biggest standalone search engine in Google.com. However, they also have the second biggest search engine on the planet in YouTube.
You can request that fans pay you through Patreon with YouTube. If you also want to charge people to see your gig, you have to have a certain number of subscribers. Once you hit something like 100,000 subs, you can have a members only feature to your channel. This will allow you to offer extra perks for a payment. You can also sell merchandise and grow your channel through your own brand of merchandise.
Virtual Concerts in the Future
For the artist, there are many more benefits to virtual gigging than there is to the traditional “be there, or be square” touring. The electric atmosphere that bands put on will be sorely missed. However, the benefits outweigh the negative aspects.
For the fans, they will probably pay less than they would have to have paid in the past. They will also not have to pay travel costs and sometimes hotel costs. Another aspect of why this is beneficial for the fan is because they can stay safe, dry, warm. They can choose their company.
What are your thoughts on holding a virtual gig on a site such as Stageit.com? Are you for or against them? Please voice your opinion in the comments section below. Thank you.
