Online concerts became a thing in pandemic times and are not so unlikely to go away even after the global vaccination succeeds. They may lack sweat, booze, and smoke, but they still have that feeling of presence that musicians can boost. On platforms like show4me, online concerts are much easier to organize and monetize.
What’s an Online Concert?
If your band decides to play your songs in the studio booth (or in a garage) and stream it on YouTube, it’s not an online concert yet: it’s just a stream. The online concert is different in some aspects, and it shares more with offline concerts than one might think.
- It’s scheduled, announced, and advertised. Like an offline gig, an online one is anticipated by fans and potential guests.
- It’s sort of interactive. At least, guests can use the chat to talk to each other or to the musicians themselves. And yes, they can reply and react; they don’t have to, but neither do they from a real stage.
- It’s only available once. The recorded version may become available later, but the feeling of connection and interactivity
- Tickets are available. The platform only lets viewers connect if they have special access codes. They can be sold or redeemed in other ways (for example, given as a prize in some online quiz or so).
- The event is really played live and not prerecorded. That provides interactivity – for example, the band can play an encore song if asked by the audience.
- In fact, it can be a real-life concert streamed online. For some payment, anyone from around the world can join and watch it in real time.
How to Sell Tickets to an Online Concert
What you need to conduct an online concert is a platform that supports streaming and paywall to make sure it can only be accessed with a ticket. If the platform can sell the tickets, it’s better. And if on it you can schedule and advertise your event, that’s the perfect combination.
If you find such a platform, of course, you will discover that some of your fans are unaware of it. To introduce them, you may use other platforms, like video hosting sites (YouTube, TikTok) or established social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.) This platform should be easy to master, even for those completely new to it.
How to Make an Online Concert a Better Experience
You may need no such reminder, but make sure everything works smoothly before the start. Check your Internet connection. Make sure cameras work properly. In the perfect world, your crew needs a cameraman (one or more) that moves around the place to make it live and an operator that switches cameras to make the concert more dynamic. Formally, even one still camera in front of the stage will do. But try to be more inventive in making your online performance the real thing.
As for the real palpable things, some physical merch will work wonders if coming with the ticket. You can also add digital bonuses downloadable with promo codes. Invent something to make the online show more than just staring at the screen. And then the attendees will come again.
