Creating Your Online Brand for Bands (Beginners) #2: So You Want to Host a Live Stream
With all of the various shut downs this year, many bands and musicians have turned to live streaming to keep the music alive and play shows for fans. Right now, there’s really no other way to play live “shows” for your followers. However, the art of live streaming successfully is full of nuance and know how. When you show up to a venue to play a show, you automatically have a great backdrop, a sound engineer, and a light display for your show. Online, it’s 100% up to you to create the experience. So where do you even begin when planning to play an online live stream?
Decide What Your Objective Is
Now that you’ve decided to play a live stream, decide what your objective is. Are you playing just to play to fans and keep the music alive or are you looking to make some money? Is getting views and exposure your main priority, or would you rather keep your show exclusive? Deciding what your goals are is the most inportant first step because it informs everything else you’ll do to set up your live stream. For instance, if you’re playing just to provide your fans with some music, you may choose to broadcast on Twitch, Facebook Live, or Instagram. If you’re looking to make some money, you’ll want to choose an external platform that allows you to sell tickets.
Make Sure Your WiFi is Up to the Task
Before you put anything online to the public, make sure your WiFi speeds are fast enough to handle streaming. Live streaming consumes a vast amount of bandwidth, and many of the everyday wireless plans just won’t be fast enough. Though you may have no problem streaming television shows and working on your computer at the same time, you may not have the upload power to broadcast a large amount of content like a live stream. Upload speed is often much, much slower than download speed on standard Internet plans. Check your upload speeds by visiting https://fast.com/ and clicking “show more info.”
According to live streaming software giant Restream, it’s difficult to understand what upload speed you really need to stream and depends on a variety of factors, including the stability of your Internet connection. The best way to know for sure, of course, is to stream on a test page to test your upload speed in real time. Restream says, “Streaming live video can take up a lot of bandwidth. Just how much will depend on a lot of factors. Encoding matters, but so does the type of content you want to stream. Platforms play a part, just like the resolution and the frame rate of your stream.
But let’s start talking about the numbers. Say you want to live stream a video of yourself interviewing someone. You’re choosing between Facebook Live, YouTube Live, and Twitch. Since all the platforms support live streaming of 720p video, we’ll use the bitrate recommendations from each platform:
Facebook Live recommends a max bitrate of 4,000 kbps, plus a max audio bitrate of 128 kbps.
YouTube Live recommends a range between 1,500 and 4,000 kbps for video, plus 128 kbps for audio.
Twitch recommends a range between 2,500 and 4,000 kbps for video, plus up to 160 kbps for audio.
So, if you’re streaming live video at a resolution of 720p, at 30 frames per second, you will upload up to 4,160 kilobits of data per second. So having an upload bandwidth of around 4 Mbps should cover you, right?
Not quite right. You will need to upload up to 4,160 kilobits of data per second constantly. Because these speeds fluctuate, it’s generally a good idea to have a 35% to 40% buffer. That puts us at an upload rate of around 5,700 kilobits per second, or 5.7 Mbps. However, if you are sure your internet connection is stable, such a buffer might not be needed. Remember, a stable connection is as important as an upload speed!”
If your upload speed doesn’t fit the bill, call your Internet provider and let them know what you’re looking for to see if they have any plan recommendations. If you’re going to be doing a lot of live streaming, it may be worth talking to a tech expert at a store like Best Buy to upgrade your equipment for the best-possible in-house WiFi experience.
Understand the Sound You’re Working With
Like I mentioned earlier, many of us haven’t ever had to think about broadcasting our sound as there is usually a team provided at the venue you’rei playing at. With live streaming, you’ll have to be your own sound engineer, or hire one that does sound professionally. If you’re managing your own live stream sound, there are a few things to consider.
Will you be using an interface or PA that routes your sound directly through the computer? If so, make sure you do a test to hear your own levels and make sure they’re what you want. Because there won’t be much, if any, acoustic sound in the room when you use an interface, you’ll likely need a pair of headphones to hear yourself. Be sure to check that the sound is routing to the live video, not only to your headphones, so that viewers aren’t faced with you rocking out with no sound.
If you don’t have an interface, you’ll be playing with acoustic sound - or the sound that your instruments and amps produce in the room that you’re performing in. It’s important to consider how the room affects acoustic sound. Try to pick a medium-sized room with carpet and low cielings. If you have a home studio with the proper sound absorption, even better. Hardwood floors and large, echoing rooms are your enemies when it comes to live streaming with acoustic sound. Again, it’s important to do a test run to make sure everything is coming through cleanly.
Resources like Pyramind have great, in-depth guides for how to create the best sound for your live stream, with step-by-step guidelines for choosing a microphone, using software, and even using Zoom to host guests or broadcast from multiple locations.
Research Your Equipment and Software
Using your equipment and software well relies on you knowing how to use it. Do your research and select the equipment and software that’s best for the specific kind of streaming you’re doing. While you can stream directly through the live interfaces on Instagram and Facebook Live, there is also a plethora of software and online applications that you can use to increase the production value of your stream.
If you want to stream to only one platform and add some cool effects to your performance, you can use Open Broadcaster Software, or OBS. OBS is free to download and use here. Once you’re familiar with the interface, its super easy to add text, add effects, use color correction, animate on-screen elements, or add a title screen with a transition into your performance. OBS can stream directly to Facebook Live, YouTube Live, and other platforms, but on its own, it can only broadcast to a single platform at a time.
If you’re looking to broadcast to multiple platforms at once, you’ll want to use an application like Restream. Restream acts like a switchboard that you can turn on and off to broadcast to 30+ social platforms, including Facebook Live, YouTube Live, Twitch, LinkedIn, Periscope by Twitter, and more. There is a very limited free version of Restream, but you’ll need to upgrade to use the useful features like streaming to public pages and groups on Facebook. Depending on how often you plan to stream and how many platforms you want to stream to, you can upgrade for $19/mo, $49/mo, $99/mo, or $299/mo. Restream integrates seamlessly with OBS, so you can still have all of the bells and whistles while you broadcast to multiple channels.
OBS and Restream are only two of many online applications or software downloads that can up your livestream game. I encourage you to do your research to find the best fit. This is a very high-level overview, and getting really great at streaming requires trial and error on your part.
In terms of understanding your live stream equipment, you don’t need anything fancier than a video-capable phone and a computer. However, even if you’re using this simple method, you’ll need to do a little research. Make sure you’re shooting on your phone using the correct quality. Turn off your notifications so that your live stream isn’t interrupted when you receive a call or text. If you can, have your equipment plugged into a power source while you stream so that you aren’t faced with a black screen on your broadcast when your phone dies.
Social Media vs. Other Platforms
Depending on your goals, you’ll have to choose the appropriate platform to live stream on. Live streaming on social media is the easiest way to reach the largest amount of people if you don’t already have a dedicated following that’s willing to purchase tickets. However, be wary of some of the caveats of broadcasting live on social media platforms. When you broadcast on Facebook Live, for instance, Facebook becomes the owner of your video. Facebook also downgrades the quality of your stream as it only supports up to 720p video. That’s a far cry from 4K. The biggest warning about broadcasting on Facebook is their newest live streaming guidelines released earlier this year. These guidelines crack down on the performance of cover songs or the use of others’ songs in electronic music. If you violate these rules, the consequences are dire. Facebook has the authority to mute your video, or worse, completely pull down your page and all of its content.
If you want to stay away from broadcasting on social media and want more flexibility in terms of selling tickets, there are plenty of other live stream platforms out there. One that many artists use is called StageIt, which allows performers to sell tickets, give away prizes, intereact in the chat with their fans, and put out a virtual tip jar.
Another great, non-social-media platform is Arcivr, which allows for high-quality live streams, virtual meet and greets, and in-show merch sales.
Use Landscape Mode… Please
If you have the option, which you should on every platform except Instagram Live, use landscape mode. This instantly ups the production quality of your stream and provides a consistent experiene for viewers, whether they’re watching on their phone, laptop, tablet, or smart TV. Landscape orientation also gives you much more space in your shot so that you can add addtional performers or show off your performance space. It just feels more professional.
Do a Sound Check
I cannot stress testing your live stream setup enough, and even if you tested it the day before, do a sound check shortly before your performance. It never fails that when artists don’t do a soundcheck, something goes wrong. You don’t have the luxury of a team of people out there correcting your sound while you perform, so it has to be good to go when you begin, or you may not know there’s a problem until it’s too late. You wouldn’t ever step foot on a stage in a venue without at least a line check, so don’t do it online either.
Don’t Forget Your Donation Links
If you are playing a free show or a fundraiser for any cause, make sure to include your donation links in the description or on the video so people know where to send their money. You can also pin a comment in the stream chat with this information. This doens’t have to be fancy either, a Venmo or PayPal link works great.
Treat Your Live Stream Like an Actual Show
Live streaming is the closest thing we’ve got to live shows right now, and you’ll find you’ll be more successful if you treat a live stream like you’d treat an actual show. From promotion to on-screen presence, treating this performance like you would a venue show will make a huge difference in viewership and engagement. Though you don’t have a live audience to feed off the energy of, there are still many things you can do to make the rest of the experience feel special:
Create a stage area for yourself. Yes, you don’t have a big venue stage to stand on, but hanging up a backdrop, decorating with some lights, adding some ambience, and creating a stage-like space has huge benefits. First, it’ll give you a more concrete way to go into show mode. If you’re just in your home, it may be hard to perform like you would at a real show, but creating a separate space can help your brain get in the zone. In addition, it increases your production value when your viewers aren’t watching you play in your bedroom or living room, but instead in a curated space that took some effort to put together.
Promote your live stream like you would promote a show at a venue. Part of getting people excited to watch you play online is to make it feel like its an exciting way to spend an evening! Create a Facebook Event, post promotional materials, and remind your fans when and how to tune in, regardless of what platform you’re using. After the show, be sure to thank attendees with a post.
Watch your stage talk while you’re performing. Something about playing to an empty room and an online audience gets to many artists, who wind up talking too much in between songs or not talking at all. Think of how you’d insert dialogue in your set at a live show, and then do it online. Viewers are tuned in to see you play music, and its much easier for them to navigate away from the page than it would be for them to walk out of the venue. If you talk too much, you run the risk of losing viewers. If you don’t talk at all, you can’t interact with comments in the chat, tell people who you are, or thank people for attending your stream.
Play your heart out… as much as you can. I know, it’s incredibly hard to put on a high-energy show when you don’t have the energy from the audience to build on. The thing is - you do have that energy, you just can’t feel it because you can’t see and hear your attendees. They’re out there and they’re watching, so give them a great show! They need you just as much as you need them.