Originally posted on June 19th 2020 here is a Q&A with Jason Broder who is the founder of Lockdown Music TV. Lockdown Music TV is an online music venue that streams gigs from different artist.
Where did it all start for you getting into music?
Growing up there was always music around me. My dad plays guitar and was in bands and listened to a lot of blues and 70s rock. My mum was more into pop stuff and musicals which I watched a lot of too. I distinctly remember listening to the Beatles ‘One’ album over and over again from a pretty young age. Drive My Car was my favourite at the time. Where did the idea for Lockdown Music TV come from? Lockdown Music TV is just my solution to the problems that the lockdown has posed to live music. I knew musicians would all start doing livestreams, that was the obvious thing to do, and it’s a great way for artists to connect with their audience. From an audiences point of view though, it’s pain! You’ll probably only find music from artists you already follow. If you want to discover new bands it’s hard because everyone is streaming from their own page. Lockdown Music TV is an online venue where bands can come to play to a new audience and audiences can come to discover great new bands, every week! After all, that’s why physical venues exist isn’t it? How have you found the process of putting it all together? It has been a fun and time consuming process filled with learning experiences. Seriously, I’ve learned SO MUCH! I’ve had to because I wear many hats: I’m producer, director, promoter, graphic designer, moderator and more. It has been particularly fun working with the artists, they’re so passionate about what they do and genuinely excited to play for us. It’s the closest feeling to playing a physical gig and they really appreciate the opportunity! What are your thoughts on the future & growth of virtual concerts once the entertainment industry is fully back? I honestly think online venues and online gigs could grow into a giant industry. Online gigs will never be able to replace or replicate the awesome feeling of a real, physical, sweaty and loud gig, but they shouldn’t try to! I know I’d love to watch my favourite bands play live online gigs if they’re well produced. They’d be especially special if they include a Q&A sessions or at least read and reply to the chat comments while they’re playing. It’s a new way for bands and audiences to connect, it’s more than TV, it’s more than a recording. Live-streaming is already huge in the gaming community; there are gamers who easily pull audiences of 50 thousand consecutive viewers. Every. Day. Musicians are always looking for new routes to get in front of fans. Just this month Weezer debuted their new single on an episode of The Simpsons, They’ve also had their black album on a playable island on Fortnite. Travis Scott even played a concert in Fortnite and pulled 12 million viewers. 12 million viewers is a lot, here’s a comparison: from 2017 to 2019 Ed Sheehan went on his “÷ Tour” which was the most attended tour in history. He played 260 shows and had a total attendance of 8.8 million. The online audience is worldwide, free to watch right now, and eager for online entertainment! Yes, I think virtual concerts are going to grow rapidly.
Finally, what advice would you give to artists playing Lockdown Music TV & also streaming their own concerts?
The first bit of advice I give to everyone who plays on Lockdown music TV isn’t really advice, it’s more of a warning: “this is going to be weird”. And it IS weird! There’s no cheers or clapping, no atmosphere to bounce off, no “FREEEEBIIIRD” being yelled from the back of the venue. It’s just you, your instrument and your camera. But the audience is there, in fact, they’re closer than they’ve ever been before, and you can use that.
Here’s 3 pieces of advice
1. Prepare.
2. Engage.
3. Create segments.
Prepare
Just because you haven’t left your house doesn’t mean that this isn’t a perfect opportunity to gain new fans and keep old ones. Remove all distractions, you don’t want your phone to ring halfway through or your house mate to offer you a cup of tea halfway through your set. Also, frame yourself properly. Create an interesting background, make sure your who head is in the frame (don’t cut off the top of their head) and work on your lighting as much as you can (don’t put a bright window behind you!). Get yourself in a good mood, do vocal warmups, check your tech.
Engage
It is so easy for people to turn off a stream and scroll down the feed, you want to keep them engaged and keep them coming back. Let your personality shine through, people want to answer your questions, they want to tell you what they think, they want to feel like a part of the show. You can’t do Freddie style “eeey ooh”’s with a virtual audience, but you can get them involved, here are a few simple questions/requests to get the audience engaged:
“Let me know where in the world you are”
“I can’t hear you so show me your clapping hands emojis if you like my songs”
“Should I do a cover or an original next?”
Easy questions to ask and even easier to answer. Beyond that, keep your eye on the comments, answer as many questions as you can, use peoples names, say thank you after you get compliments. Talk to the camera like it’s your oldest friend and the audience will treat you the same.
Create ‘segments’
This is advice directed more to those creators who are building an audience on their own channels. Viewers love segments! Whether it’s “Tuesday Bluesday” where you play a a couple of blues songs, or “the 7 o’clock ballad” where you play a ballad… at 7 o’clock. Or maybe once a week you work with your audience to write a new song, they give you a key and some lyrics, maybe a time signature and you spend a few hours writing a song with them. These sorts of segments give people a reason to come back, to get engaged and to generally be more invested in you as an entertainer.
I hope this advice will help a few people who are wanting to grow. I’ve done copious amounts of stream-watching, in fact, I researched streamers for my Advertising and Marketing MSc dissertation. Hopefully I picked up a thing or two along the way!
To find out more about Lockdown Music Tv go to lockdownmusictv.mailchimpsites.com
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