Happy New Year! We are talking about live streaming on our PODCAST today. 

A few things that have happened since last November when I last posted here:

- Facebook created a way to sell tickets to live events on their platforms. Integrates pretty well.

- Facebook created a way to link the live video to an event you can create. Great way to post an event for your show, invite people and if they click going, they will be notified when you are live.

- TikTok has really become more and more popular! If you have 1,000 followers on there, you can go live. We are trying to figure out the best way to go live on our Cliff & Susan TikTok.  Follow us: @cliffandsusan

- Twitch still seems to be going well for those who jumped in and dedicated time to growing their community and tribe there.

 - We just recently moved out to a more rural area of Central Arkansas. Our wifi and cell phone service is sketchy. We are going to attempt to go live very soon from here. Fingers crossed we can do this from home.  Otherwise, we will be headed to the Willy D's club Prost Lounge where we've been hosting our monthly Yadaloo artists showcases. Check out that set up - CLICK HERE. 

It's been a crazy year!  I am revisiting this site we created right after we all decided we had to go virtual.

The latest?  TWITCH!

I think we've all kind of figured out where to go by now, but our latest is Facebook & Twitch. There is a whole culture on Twitch. We've also purchased the ATEM Mini Pro for multi camera angles and use OBS. 

We are digging into Twitch. For a GREAT video on Twitch watch these:

LAURA WILEY TALKS TWITCH

ARI HERSTAND AND CLARE MEANS

Stream where your audience is!   Facebook, Instagram, Twitch, Youtube... all great places.

We use Facebook and are integrating Switcher Studio to have multiple camera angles and guests join us.

Instagram is hot right now, but shows are limited to an hour and only stay up for 24 hours. You can bring someone into your feed to ask you questions or share the performance with another musician.

Youtube is great, but keep in mind only your subscribers will see your videos.

Stageit.com and Patreon enable fans to support artists financially. Stageit artists actually get paid for their time. Patreon allows you set up levels.  Both take a % of your income.  If you already have a fan base, this can be good.  If you are building a fan base Stageit and Patreon aren't recommended.

Bandzoogle has a subscription feature now, and they don't take a %!!  Again, do this if you already have a strong fan base.  If you are building your base, use free platforms (Facebook/IG) to get as many eyeballs on your music to build a relationship with new fans!  

We hear that Sling Studio is a great platform.  It's pricey!  $999 and up to do what we would like,

March 30, 2020 Update:  We are trying Switcher Studio tonight!  We think we have figured out this solution to have multiple camera angles, invite guests to join us and add amazing graphics and features.  Stay tuned... In theory, we think this will amazing and for only $40/month.

WATCH THIS VIDEO ON SWITCHER - CLICK HERE

BANDZOOGLE ARTIST BLOG:   CLICK HERE   (Great resources to navigate today's climate.)

SONGKICK:  Add your live stream show to this form - CLICK HERE

YouTube Live 

The complete Facebook Live toolkit for musicians 

Instagram Live for musicians 

How musicians can use Twitch to build an audience 

Twitch for musicians 

How Musician's Can Thrive and Survive with Live Streams with Rick Barker and Bandzoogle

The tip jar is just a URL and info that you are putting the post of the video copy.

Paypal has a www.paypal.me link you need to set up if you haven't already!  Just go to www.Paypal.me and it will guide you to set it up. Venmo and Cashapp are also other great ways to accept tips. Just add your "Virtual Tip Jar" to your post for the live feed.  Another tip - comment with your Virtual Tip Jar in a comment and pin it to the top of the comments while you are live.

EXAMPLE POST COPY:

LIVE 6-9pm with Cliff & Susan. Request songs in comments or by texting 501-456-4114. Kid friendly!
Virtual Tip Jar:  
www.paypal.me/cliffandsusan
Venmo/Cashapp: cliffandsusan

We work with an awesome guy out of Vegas - Richie Nuzz.  The platform is Blossom.im.  He will set up a trial for you if you contact him via email and tell him I sent you!  Email: richie@blossom.im

How do we do it?  You pick a number as your number.  You then set up your backend communication.  This is how you can notify and communicate with your fans from a number directly to their phones.  It's organized by demographics, locations and tons of more valuable data.

We will be taking requests during our shows through texts.  One of the challenges currently is seeing the requests come up in our comments of the live feed.  If people create watch parties, they comment on the watch party but we don't see those comments!  This is a way to make sure we get the request and capture there info to notify them later when we go live.

Try it out!  Text "hello" or anything to 501-456-4114.

- Susan

Susan Erwin Prowse explains how she utilizes the Alesis SR-18 in her shows.  

To download the beats spreadsheet she mentions in the video, go to: http://www.susanerwin.com/drum-machine

Cliff Prowse discusses his guitar pedal setup.

Fender Telecaster Guitar
Greg Koch Fishman Fluence Grissle Tone Pickups
Keeley Compressor
OCD Overdrive Version 1
Tech 21 RK5 FlyRig Version 1
Polytune Chromatic Tuner
MXR Analog Chorus

Note: No amp was used in the video. This was straight through from my studio monitor. I hardly ever use an amp. Great for traveling.

This is probably something you’ve been thinking about for awhile. I highlighted in How to Make It in the New Music Business how Dawn Beyer made $100,000 in a year live streaming on Facebook, Clare Means similarly cleans up on Periscope and Brent Morgan and Emma McGann on YouNow. But right now, you can pick the platform you’re most comfortable on and go live. Setup a PayPal.me link (make sure it’s clickable) and pop that into the description (or your bio if you’re using IG). 

StageIt is also a platform which allows you to live stream concerts behind a paywall and charge tickets for these. People can also tip you during the concert. StageIt is currently upping their revenue split in honor of this trying time and giving artists 80% of their earned revenue (as opposed to the normal sliding scale of 63% - 70% for concerts earning less than $3,000). 

But remember, when you perform a live streamed concert, you must interact with your audience in a way that makes them feel welcomed. A live streamed concert experience is very different from a physical concert experience. You can see a chat box, for one. So engage acknowledge their comments. Say hi to people popping in. Answer questions. Take requests. Make it super personal. Make it feel like they are getting a glimpse into your life, studio, process and world. 

The reason they’re tuning in to watch this versus just a YouTube video is because they want to feel connected to you. 

So connect with them!

Here is the super easy way to flip Facebook Live video on iPhone, iPad, and iOS! No more backwards text in your Facebook Live videos. No more mirrored images! Flip Facebook Live videos so that text can be read on your books, t-shirts, posters, etc.

This feature is built into facebook, so there is nothing extra to download, install, buy, etc. It's free and super simple. Use this tip to fix your flipped Facebook Live vids to properly show text to your viewers!

Okay, update on March 23.  We are going to be using the Belive platform this week.  We are connecting our Canon 6D camera as our webcam.  We will then be using the sound from our board as the sound source.  Belive will allow us to add logos, text to screen, use slides to throw up before we come on the screen...

Most importantly, we are going to invite guests to join us during our shows.  We will have dancers dance to our songs while we play.  They will be on the right side of the screen and we will be on the left split screened.  We want to bring in kiddos to do the baby shark with us. Invite other performers to our show to play for our audience!  Lots of creative ideas can come from having guests on!  

SIGN UP FOR BELIVE HERE (free version available with upgradable paid plans.)

We posted a funny little post about "10 Reasons Why...".  People liked it and it was just a way to grab our friends and follower's attention with a light hearted message to encourage them to join us.  Feel free to use this and I encourage you to make it you own with your own "reason".  :) 

1) You can dance and no one is watching. 
2) You don't have to wear pants. 
3) Any age can watch, kiddos included. (We're kid friendly.) 
4) That crazy lady that gets in your way on the dance floor isn't there. 
5) You can sing as loud as you want and only your family and dog have to hear it. 
6) You are corona free, unless you are drinking one. 
7) Non smoking or smoking... you pick. 
8) Pets are allowed. (Our Booker might be there.) 
9) You don't need a designated driver. 
10) Save on travel and gas and watch from anywhere in the world.