Now that clubs are closed and concerts cancelled, Instagram Live is the place to be, packed with Q&As, live talent shows, prize give-aways at ‘twerkathons’, and, last but not least, ‘quarantine radio’ with Tory Lanez.
With more than 170,000 hits each night on his Insta live, Tory from Toronto is largely responsible for a new wave of audio-led content. But whenever musicians find new ways of connecting with audiences, the music business is sure to follow.
What began as a way for Tory to reach out to fans with his new album, looks like becoming the new business model: stream stuff live and put it behind a paywall. Now that traditional revenue streams are drying up, you can bet the music biz is keen to exploit this commercially.
Right on cue, Facebook announced last week that account holders will be allowed to charge for access to live streams. Introducing “more ways to connect when you’re apart”, will serve to “support creators and small businesses”, Facebook insists.
With music and tech corporations poised to commercialise the kind of interaction we’d hoped to enjoy for free, there is much to be learned from the experience of the gaming community, which has been captivated by live streaming for years.
Live streaming video games is synonymous with Twitch, which started out as Justin.tv in 2011, and has since grown to be one of the most popular platforms on the internet. It attracts many people to create, view, or both. In 2018, even Drake joined in with popular Fortnite streamer Ninja. All of this content is available to users for free, and unless you want to support a certain streamer for added benefits, you don’t have to pay a penny. Twitch is also used as a viewing platform for many eSports tournaments, hosting League of Legends competitions and the DOTA International, for example.
Both music fans and music business people would do well to look at Twitch and how it’s developed in concert with online gamers over the last decade, to see how the industry can still make (some) money without alienating either creators or their followers.
