The pandemic impeded live performances due to quarantine and social isolation, which means artists and live performers won't be making money from live concerts for a while. With this vital revenue stream cut off, how can performers stay connected with fans and still give them the live performance experience without the risk? Fret no more! The ability to play music and communicate with fans from the comfort of your living room is achievable by live-streaming concerts. And hosting an online concert helps you avoid deserted fragments and can save you both cash and time.
In the past, actual live concerts are grueling work. You can find yourself going for extended periods without shows if you're not continually calling to secure bookings and establish your value. Let's also consider how pricey it may be to get to a gig and how time-consuming it is to set up and break down. Another thing about live concerts, you only get to play in one location at a time, and this causes restrictions on the audience growth you can reach.
Image taken from Zaping
Why Shift to Online Concerts?
Playing in one location restricts the audience growth you can reach. But, by hosting concerts online, you can catch a vast audience across the globe because online concert streaming eliminates the requirement to travel. Therefore, your audience will find it more economical to watch your virtual concert.
Additionally, you can sell more tickets online than at an actual music venue by allowing online attendance for your event. More ticket sales equate to happier patrons and more profit for you.
How to Organize an Online Concert
Building a website with Strikingly can help you create an effective platform to stream your online concert, as well as promote and sell tickets. Read more to know how!
1. Know your audience
The success of your online concert lies in your audience. Understanding your target audience can help you determine what music you will play, how to attract them, and what methods you will execute to make them watch your online concert. Most of the decisions you'll make in launching a successful online concert revolve around the viewers that you have.
To know who your audience will be, run a survey using your Strikingly website. Embed a google form to run a survey before you start your online concert streaming.
Image taken from Strikingly
2. Choose your platform
You must first choose the platform you want to broadcast your online concert. Creating a website where you air your virtual concert is important, and there are a ton of possibilities, from more official streaming options to live streaming on social media.
In today's world, where websites invade all facets of our daily lives, specific events frequently have sites devoted to them. You are operating in the dark ages and losing business without a website for your online concert. Making a website is way easier now than it once was; therefore, online event planning has become more accessible than ever. Thanks to one-stop-shop platforms like Strikingly, you can create stylish and stunning websites without knowing anything about codes. Strikingly's HTML feature enables you to embed online concert streams. You can simply copy the embed codes from Facebook or Youtube to add to your website. Remember, you can only stream to one platform at a time without paid additional software or services; of course, you do not want to overspend without making sure you're gig will generate profit.
When promoting and planning an event, pay attention to where your audience often spends their time watching online shows. This will give you a concept of what platform you should use to stream your online concerts.
3. Make Solid Plans for Your Online Concert
The trick is to understand your audience. To capture your audience's attention, it is vital to take into account where they are and what they might be doing. If other artists are participating, arrange a time and date in advance.
Plan your presentation and anticipate any conflicts your audience might have. Additionally, consider where, when, and how frequently you want to hold concerts online. Ask yourself, "Is this a one-time thing?" or "Will I do it on a regular basis?".
4. Establish a budget
You might be seduced to calculate your budget by estimating how many people will attend your concert, multiplying that number by the estimated ticket price, and adding the results together. But that's an unfounded truth, so do not be tempted.
You must first devise a comprehensive budget plan to have sufficient funds for expenditures and eventualities and generate a profit if this is what you're aiming for. Strikingly has different plans that cater to your budget depending on your website's requirements.
If your online concert has a website, you want to increase traffic to attract new clients. Most digital marketers worth their salt will advise you that improving your site's internet visibility is the key to hosting an online concert.
5. Booking events for your online concert
Your event website can be made visually appealing and educational with the help of Strikingly. And, of course, it won't hurt to add original background photos, galleries, maps, and agendas to glamorize your website.
Incorporating a booking event into your website and embedding your preferred ticketing avenue is a good idea. Strikingly has recently added a booking section to cater to businesses and events requiring this feature. This is the perfect partner to sell tickets for online concert streaming. But if you want to take your ticket sales up a notch, use the Simple Store section to get online concert tickets moving.
6. Decide if your online concert is broadcasted live or previously recorded
It's time to pick whether your performance will be live or recorded before you begin. These methods are swift and efficient for organizing online performances and gigs.
Lives broadcast or live streaming takes great commitment because you are tied to perform at a certain time, that is, if you're considering a regular virtual concert, such as once per week or every two weeks. With pre-recording, you can record when it's most convenient for you and post afterward.
With live streaming, you have more opportunities to interact and build relationships with your viewers. Engaging with your crowd will enable you to establish a fanbase and later market your performance. The simplicity of performing a live online concert can be greater because you can easily set up your live performance without the requirement for post-production editing.
Pre-recording lets you edit as much as you want and make as many tries as necessary until you are satisfied with the result. Although this also means you can get caught up with editing and might steer away from your deadline.
Although there are minor distinctions between pre-recording and live broadcasting, generally, it depends on your choice.
7. Think about the performers
Another thing to consider is the performers. Will you be the star of your own show, or will you invite other performers to grace your online concert?
If you're planning to invite performers, look for talent that matches the theme and goals of your event. Make sure that their followers and your target audience for the online concert have a lot in common. A band that plays for teenagers and then performs for a room full of seniors, for instance, is the absolute last thing you want.
The vibe of your event will be heavily influenced by the musical talent you invite. Depending on the type of online concert performer you are looking to include in the virtual show, this can also be one of your principal budget lines.
If you are the star of your online concert, know who your audience is. You have to attract the right crowd in order to build a good number of followers, which will result in more income for you. Starring in your own online concert also means fewer expenses on your side.
8. Decide on a time and date
Your target audience and the nature of your event will determine the best day and time for it. Hosting an online concert at night, where you can utilize lighting and backdrops to build the vibe you're going for, works better for some themes and shows. But if you want to be practical and save money on lighting, you can do your online concert performance in broad daylight.
Remember that your audience will have times that are most convenient for them. To choose the best schedule for your concert, consider factors like school, work, and holiday calendars.
When you have decided on the time and date, create teasers on your website. It will help attract more people if you build anticipation with your upcoming online concert. Use Pop-ups to boost your site's engagement with your prospective audience. Strikingly's pop-up feature is an excellent tool for creating teasers, announcements, advertising tickets for your online concert, and announcing news.
Image taken from Strikingly
9. Consider the acoustics, lighting, and other types of equipment
Determine what equipment you'll need for the performance and whether the performers will bring their own or you need to provide it. The types of equipment for online concerts may include but are not limited to a stage, speakers, microphones, a sound system, lighting, and other audio/visual gear.
Since you will stream the concert online, you will also need a camera, microphone, and a strong internet connection. You don't want to run into technical issues during the live stream of your show; therefore, make sure that these are taken care of before you start your show.
Although having a high-quality entertainment system might improve your presentation, setting up the needed equipment can be expensive. Know that you don't have to succumb to these expenses if you are just starting. Utilize everything you have at your disposal, whether it be a computer, a phone, or a digital camera.
10. Online concert promotion
Your online concert will only be possible with a considerable amount of crowd. Hence, you must spend time on promotions to ensure you sufficiently hype your online concert event beforehand to get the most extensive viewership possible. After all, a concert isn't a concert without an audience.
Image taken from Batman versus Superman
Create an attention-grabbing landing page with Strikingly to captivate your target market's attention when sharing it on social media platforms. Check out this article to learn more about building stunning landing pages for your online concert streaming.
In the world of social media, live streaming is quickly increasing in popularity, and for a reasonable cause. You can now effortlessly communicate with essentially anyone. Hosting online concerts is a fantastic opportunity for musicians to interact with their audience. With Strikingly as your partner, building an online website is as easy as 1, 2, 3!
