Playing the World From a Basement

Albanach writes "Singer songwriter Sandi Thom is one of a growing band of new musicians using the internet to circumvent the traditional and traditionally expensive tour circuit. Thom described her free online concerts as a Web Tour, saying 'A web tour is basically what you do when you have a lack of money and no car.' Services such as The Streaming Tank have grown to satisfy the need for broadcast services and the figures are impressive. Just 74 people watched Thom's first concert on February 24th. The concert on March 2nd drew 62,138 viewers."

Comments

how

[dotpavan]

.. different is it (live webcast) from a recorded viewing? Live concerts have the euphoria that is multiplied by the crowd unlike in thsi case (making no difference). But yes, it does give them some publicity and help them test waters before actually launching a tour.

Re:how

[BlueStrat]

Actually apparently these are not even live. They are recorded daily and rebroadcast. From TFA:
Thom uses a webcam to record a nightly performance before broadcasting it on the net later in the evening. (Emphasis added.)

So actually this is just drumming up support by webcasting performances you do in your basement. Still a good idea, but as you say this is no substitute for going to a live show. Sure you save the costs of going on tour, but real music lovers will be much more willing to spend money on a live show, as compared to a low-resolution webcast.

A more interesting concept would be an actual live webcast with some measure of user-feedback. Maybe pre or post online chats/interviews with the band members? Maybe the band could take live requests? Maybe the band could adjust their performance based on the number of viewers and the demographics? ("I see alot of people logging in from London... welcome! This one is for you...").

I'm looking at doing something like that right now for the band I'm in. I'm the "computer guy" in the band (run linux, a couple *BSDs, OpenSolaris, etc) so, I'm the one they ask about things like this.

The biggest obstacle I've encountered so far to doing a "live" webconcert from a venue like a club, festival, and even many larger theatres and auditoriums is lack of high speed connectivity.

I'm currently talking with the local blues association and one of the local clubs that is a heavy blues/live music supporter and advocate about getting something like this to happen.

The only option for anything other than dialup is cable broadband (too far from a CO for DSL/ADSL).

One of the concerns the club owner has is if this will make him liable for anything related to playing of cover tunes of copyrighted material, or possibly legal concerns if, for instance, a female patron has a "wardrobe malfunction" after imbibing a little too much.

Having the connection in someone other than the properties' leasees' or owners' name is also verboten by the local cable monopoly, so having it in the blues associations' name is out.

Also, because it's a commercial-zoned property and a buisiness, a commercial connection must be purchased.

Municipal/community wifi/wimax would sure help, but no chance of that here anytime soon. They're more worried at the moment with trying to raise enough money to keep a functioning fire and police dept.

So, for now, it looks like the most practical way is to broadcast/upload a show recorded earlier live. Too bad, as I'd love to play live to such a diverse audience, especially if there were an interactive component.

What a thrill as a musician to get "applause" from across the globe, while playing your favorite local venue!

Strat

Ironically enough...

[kotj.mf]

Touring is about the only way an indie artist can make any money these days, at least in the US.

Your margins on the merch are way better, and the beer is free.

As a musician . . .

[galonso]

As a musician, I think this is very exciting. The 'alternative' conventional wisdom of late has been that marketing your band/music online is the wave of the future, but I'm not aware of a concerted (heh) streaming approach that includes performances. Most articles I've read push distribution and marketing in the traditional mp3 sort of sense.

This reminds me of the time when bands were experimenting with slide shows (pre-automation) run by a 'stealth' band member alla early Human League to give a multimedia edge to their presentation. With current technology, why not have a web presence with streaming concert video 'events' as the center piece to the normal mp3 / wallpaper / avant design elements.

Heck, why not have interative art featuring music and graphics based on the old quaint notion of a 'concept album' . . .

Limitations

[jd]

Bandwidth on the Internet is a major problem. Well, unless it's sent out over multicast with reflectors serving those still using unicast-only ISPs. Good compression helps, of course, but good compression reduces quality and is expensive on CPUs.

The problems are all solvable - don't get me wrong - but it takes either a lot of money or someone with a lot of skill to get something like that set up, and the skill option is the only scalable one.

Live Music already quite popular in Second Life

[johnthorensen]

I'm a resident of Second Life, an online virtual world. Very different than a MMORPG, it's basically an open-ended place for people to socialize, build, et cetera. Second Life is also unique in that you own the copyright of any content you create in-world. This has lead to some really creative and clever objects.

More to the point though, the phenomenon of live music has really taken hold within Second Life. There are several artist residents (Astrin Few and Flaming Moe are two I can think of) who hold regular concerts, play in virtual taverns, and overall take advantage of the relatively cultured community that exists within the world (the client supports streaming audio via ShoutCast servers). I also know of a Live Music Festival (organized by a resident named Nethermind Bliss) that will be happening this year, with both a true live venue on the east cost and a virtual venue in-world. This hybrid event will be a great opportunity to expose residents to some talented artists.

-JT

Re:Live Music already quite popular in Second Life

[klept]

ok. I live in Hawaii. How in the real world am I going to communicate and be amused with girls in Paris if I dont do it online? I know, there are plenty of beautiful and sexy girls in Hawaii. And I have beautiful, sexy times with them. But Paris girls are different. Vive la difference. They are cultured and fun in other ways, and I dont mean we spend all night talking about Sartes in French. Actually isnt a lot of social interaction really conversation and just talking? The physical stuff is not that big a deal, at least not if you are having enough of it in life. IMO the one big thing girls and guys miss is not having someone of the opposite sex to talk to. And the virtual world can fill this need very nicely. Just look at what goes on in City of Heroes. That said, I thought your comment was hilarious. Snakes on a Plane.

Not exactly a new idea...

[TheLongshot]

Ozric Tentacles did a live broadcast over the internet back in 98. It was later released on CD as "Spice Doubt". Course, it was audio only back in those days.

I'm sure others have done it as well.

The mouse that roared

[Bucc5062]

From tfa..."In the past eight days she has entertained more than 250,000 fans worldwide"

From 70, to 62000, to 250,000 listeners. What an incredible way to build a base before she (and the band) go out and do tours. This is also just what RIAA *does not want to happen*. Young unkown band gets found not by some way over paid agent of musical darkness, but by the people themselves. A great example of what the interent *can* do for the masses and the individual.

Next step for this band and others to follow; produce and deliver an Album (as in collection of songs, not vinyl) that can be offered to those 250,000+ fans and growing without ever burning one CD. TCO to the band, nada for RIAA. The biggest obstacle I would see is they (and any band) would have problems booking gigs in larger venues without greasing the wheels of the venue promoters who are most likely in the pockets of the music industry.

IAOASD (I am only a software developer) so I may only see the rose through my glasses, but this could be the mouse that roared.

Music is not bad either.