Live Streaming Options for Musicians
There is no lack of options for live streaming your concerts these days. I’m just going to go over a couple that I recommend and know about. There are a ton more that you can research and I have a couple links that can help narrow down your decision.
Facebook Live
Most people now have used Facebook live and it’s great because you have access to an audience of your fans and friends. The main problem with Facebook Live is that you can get lost in other’s news feed because of the nature of Facebook algorithm. So you may miss a lot of people. The best way to reach the most people is to create an event on when you’re going live and invite or email your fans directly.
Instagram Live
This is a great way to reach your fans if most of your fans are on Instagram. You can’t plan an event, but once you “go live” your fans will be notified that you’re on and can opt in to watch. If you have a computer and phone, you also have the option to go live on both Instagram and Facebook at the same time. The only downside to IG Live is that you can only go live for an hour at a time, so make plans accordingly.
YouTube Live
Similar to Facebook live, but the advantage is that your videos can be found in search engines afterwards. Your Facebook video will be on your Facebook page unless you download it and put it on your YouTube or website later. I would recommend this if you have a large following of your fans on YouTube. If not, don’t over complicate things by trying this.
StageIt
This is the closest to a live experience you can get. Fans have to pay for the concert up front, and it isn’t recorded, so it’s a novel experience for those participating.
Twitch
Everyone seems to know of Twitch as a gaming platform, but it’s been opening up to musicians. It essentially takes your live video and monetizes it. So if your fans want to chat with you, request songs, be notified when you’re going live, or see other videos you’ve done, they have to subscribe to your account. They can get specialty badges at different levels of being a subscriber and they can tip you additionally. Read more on Twitch for musicians in this article.
More options:
This article is a great resource with even more options and how each streaming source works.
This article talks about how to host a live event from your home with info on different streaming sources and how to make sure your sound is good.
What I recommend
I would recommend working with what you got right now and not to over-complicate things.
You don’t need to be on every single social media platform. Go with the platform that you use the most or you have the biggest following right now.
If you’re looking to expand that world, I would recommend trying Twitch and sharing that with your social media followers or email list. You’ll get some people follow you and you’ll get new fans too.