INNOVATIONSDISCOVERIES
The 50th Glastonbury Festival, the
EurovisionSongContestandTheRolling
Stones’tourdatesarejusta fewmusical
casualtiestothecoronaviruspandemic.
Largegatheringshavebeenpostponed
orcancelledentirelytotrytostopthe
spread,butsomemusiciansaren’tletting
thelackofa physical audience prevent a
performance.
SingerJamesBlunt– ofYou’r eB e aut if u l
fame,thatonesongweallhatebutcan’t
helpsingingalongto– wasbookedto
performinHamburginMarch,to a crowd
ofmorethan2,000people.Insteadof
cancelling, Bluntand the organiser,
MagentaMusik360, decided to record
theshowintheemptyElbphilharmonie
concerthouseandthen livestreamit to
viewersfromallaroundtheworld.
Othermusiciansareoptingtostream
insteadofsuspend,suchasNewYork’s
MetropolitanOpera.Unfortunatelyfor
performers,livestreaming usually means
makingcontentfree.
Tocombatthis,someperformersare
turningto digitalvideostreamingplatform
Twitch.Createdwithgamersinmind,
Twitchallowsusersto uploadlivecontent
andencouragesviewersto respondinreal
timetowhatthey’rewatching.Musicians
suchasMarcRebilletandDuckyare
making use of Twitch’s subscription model,
“INSTEAD OF
CANCELLING, JAMES
BLUNT AND THE
ORGANISER DECIDED
TO RECORD THE
SHOW IN THE EMPTY
CONCERT HOUSE AND
LIVESTREAM ITTO
VIEWERS”
sofanscansetupsmallmonthlypayments
orone-offdonationstosupportartists.
It seemsmostofthebignames,though,
areheadingtowheretheGenZsreside:
InstagramandTikTok.A campaigncalled
Together, AtHome,launched by the
WorldHealthOrganizationandactivism
movementGlobalCitizen,hasprompted
30-minuteInstagramLivesessionsfrom
artistssuchasJohnLegend,NiallHoran
andColdplay’sChrisMartin.Martin,
whofoundedGlobalCitizen’sannual
musicfestival,startedofftheseriesby
tellingfans:“Therightthingtobedoing
is stayinghome... and not buying too much
toilet paper.”
Encore!
Artists turn to streamin platforms to make up
for cancelled concerts