Words by Matt Bacon
So, even as we emerge from the pandemic live streams are going to remain valuable.
People are now more used to watching them and getting value out of them. They’ve become a part of the music infrastructure and something we need to lean on. But what to stream?
I wanted to outline for you some of my favourite live streaming ideas, stuff that has worked consistently for me in the past and will probably see results for you. This includes things like doing rig rundowns, letting people be a fly on the wall during your rehearsal/personal practice and then just interviewing other people in the scene.
Rig Run Downs
This is an easy one – literally just show people your rig, the gear you use, the guitars you use, why you like them etc. every musician has some set of gear they could showcase. Let people see what you are working with and let them understand exactly what goes into all that you are conjuring up. It’s a cool way to be.
The reason this works so well is that frequently you are marketing to early adopters. Early adopters in music are generally other musicians. This is a great way to ensure that you get super fans who are excited to find out more about what you are doing and to have content catered to them.
Fly On The Wall
Another thing that works a lot better than you might expect is ‘fly on the wall’ type content. But after all – who doesn’t want to see what it looks like when your favourite band is in the van or in the rehearsal space or whatever? Give people that access and they will reward you.
The added bonus of this tactic is that it is one of the easiest to implement, you just turn your phone on and go. One of the kings of this is Trevor from Haunt. He does a phenomenal job live-streaming his warm-ups. It’s simple – but people love to watch it.
Interviewing Others
This is a really fun one. Why not just hit up other artists, creators and people in your scene to do a live stream chat with you? You guys just shoot the shit and talk about what you’ve been working on and see what happens. It’s a lot of fun.
I like this type of live stream too because it’s a great networking hack. If you hit someone up in your scene to stream with you odds are they will say yes and then suddenly boom – you’re creating cool stuff together!
So yeah – live streams can still be cool, even if it’s not a super produced live show. Instead, you’re just celebrating the magic of the moment, digging into rig rundowns, letting people be a fly on the wall of your studio or just interviewing the good folks around you.
Give it a shot!
