How the Concert Industry has Transitioned Online

How the Concert Industry has Transitioned Online

Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, concerts, festivals and other musical events have been cancelled. To protect the livelihoods of those invested and involved in the industry, the move to online viewing of live events is helping many to survive. The move to livestreaming has been a successful transition and could prove to be an ancillary income stream even after live events are reinstated. Here we look at how the music is offering live shows online, through streaming, video on demand and pay-per-view.

Livestreaming

Most people have used livestreaming to remotely connect with friends and family, but this has grown since the enforcement of movement restrictions to include religious services, college courses, fitness classes, concerts, virtual events and government organisation press conferences now being broadcast over the internet, to fill the void of in-person experiences. The use of live streaming in the music industry has been accelerated by the coronavirus pandemic, offering artists, promoters and other rightsholders to cover lost revenue from live concerts.

Before the pandemic, livestreaming was used to expand audience reach, improve engagement with fans and to maximise audience numbers. Livestreaming has already been used by sportsbooks and casinos to provide round-the-clock action to bet upon, with trusted operators like Miami club casino offering generous bonuses. The high-quality live content on offer has filled gaps around domestic sports schedules and closed brick-and-mortar casinos, increasing not only pre-match betting but also off-season in-play betting which has turned many sportsbooks and casinos into more complete entertainment providers.

Video on demand

With concert venues having to close their doors, production companies in the music industry have altered their strategy and recorded concerts to be released to VOD (Video on demand) far sooner than at any other time, shifting distribution costs towards providing at-home access. Even whilst some concerts and festivals have gone ahead, and factoring in social distancing, VOD has been released immediately which has meant that the usually sacrosanct “live concert experience” is no longer in effect, which may have repercussions once the pandemic ends.

As people have acclimatised to the new normal of the pandemic, the demand for escapism content via video on demand has increased, with people shifting from news content to music, film and gaming in particular, and spending much more time watching and listening than at the same time last year. On average, individuals are spending about three hours each day through subscription services like Amazon, Netflix, ESPN and Disney+ as well as YouTube, TikTok and Twitch among others. Videos on demand including adverts have also seen increased viewings of around 30 per cent, with individuals looking for a broader range of entertainment from companies including Samsung TV, Roku, Rakuten and Pluto TV.

Pay-per-view

Pay-per-view has been around for years. In 2015, the Grateful Dead aired concerts from their Fare Thee Well tour on pay per view (PPV) and this option is open to any musician or group of musicians who want to offer their material to a wider audience. Like sports events, gaming, gambling and breaking news, streaming a concert on PPV not only improves revenue opportunities but has opened up music to a much wider audience above those who usually attend concerts or gigs.

With PPV, the concert industry will provide high-quality content to maintain audience numbers, using the expertise of sound and visuals to ensure this is possible. You can check out PPV concerts for bands like Backstreet Boys, New Kids On The Block, the electronic duo Basement JXX as well as popular orchestras.