The Show Must Go Online: The Cozy Connection Of Artist Livestreams

Earlier this week, Cristal Ramirez sat down in front of her phone, grabbed a Epiphone acoustic guitar, and sang a Paramore cover. The vocalist for indie-pop musical group The Aces had gone live on Instagram in a comfy hoodie for a portion of their 77,000 followers who'd tuned in to hang out with her. "Staying inside however staying positive," she mentioned. "Let's have fun!"


For the next hour, she answered fan questions, worked out the chords to that cover ("26") as her fans watched and cheered her on, then performed Aces fan preference "Volcanic Love." Any time whenever she wasn't strumming, she gave supportive tricks on how to manage stress throughout self-isolation throughout the coronavirus pandemic. "I feel really lucky that we get to stay in an era where we have social media because if the quarantine was back in 19-fucking-01, I think it could be a lot lonelier," she told MTV News. "Staying hopeful is what is going to get us out of this dark time."


This week, amid the countless cancellations of large-scale festivals and tours and the general uncertainty of concert feasibility in the coming months, artist-broadcasted livestreams have remained a tangible way to own that hope. Coachella won't happen up until October, yet in the meantime, Chris Martin and John Legend are jamming at home; you're working from your couch, however a virtual session from Lauv can soundtrack your lunch break. Electronic duo Sofi Tukker host pumped-up day-to-day DJ sets on Instagram and Facebook to remind you to get up and dance while you could. The list goes on.


Massachusetts Celtic punk musical group Dropkick Murphys celebrated St. Patrick's Day by livestreaming their annual Boston show on Twitch, and Pittsburgh punks Code Orange pointed cameras at the stage throughout an otherwise canceled album-release show to prepare the most of their recommended efficiency and reach a much wider audience than what the venue could hold.


The Aces, meanwhile, are alternating Instagram takeovers — one for each member — with Ramirez also sharing a physical activity regimen, guitarist Katie Henderson touring her home-recording setup, and bassist McKenna Petty giving hints for healthy consuming food. "People are really seeking that connection," Petty mentioned. "It feels really like this is our role now as entertainers, to be there for our fans and create that environment digitally."


That connection is shared by Death Cab for Cutie frontman Ben Gibbard, whose day-to-day YouTube dispatches from his Seattle residence have garnered tens of thousands of viewers. He readily takes deep-cut requests pitched in the video chat ("405") and trots out his preference covers, like Radiohead's "Fake Plastic Trees." The virtual distance is fitting for a male who once created a beloved album with a musical partner 1,100 miles away, mailing recordings back and forth. Gibbard's humble webcam rig feels like a cozy relic, especially as other artists have gotten more elaborate.


On March 16, Yungblud streamed a high production-value talk show format video on YouTube, performing and playing a drinking game with visitors Machine Gun Kelly and Bella Thorne. Miley Cyrus talked to Demi Lovato through the a livestreamed video call about the coronavirus in her newly launched Bright Minded Instagram show, and this week, Charli XCX streamed a conversation with Christine and the Queens and work out with Diplo in a similar-talk show format. The creativity doesn't end just as the shows have been put on hold.


This sort of social media-aided exposure also ensures artists are retaining the spotlight at a critical time any time fans, couch-bound and residence in isolation, are glued to their devices more than ever. Even in the digital realm, though, independent artists don't have the sort of social reach that mainstream pop artists wield. Alternatively, they're sticking to tried and true DIY methods.


Last week, Erica Freas, a singer-songwriter who works PR for Specialist Subject Records (a label and store out of Bristol, England), was scheduled to play an album-release show at a little shop in Anacortes, Washington, a hour from the Canadian border. "It was going to probably be like 20 people," she told MTV News. As a substitute, the gig was canceled for reasons both logistical (to prevent unnecessary travel) and health-conscious (to promote social distancing).


However Freas wanted to harness that energy that only a live show can bring, so she went panoramic with an alternate, virtual idea. Freas speedily assembled a lineup of Specialist Subject artists — including herself, folk-punkers AJJ, and loud Long Island icon Jeff Rosenstock — and built a website to promote the gig, which consisted of remote performances on Instagram Live. The show, billed as Distant With each other, went live on March 17. At its peak, it attracted 5,000 streamers.


"It seemed like a virtual gig was a good way to be like, 'I know we're all losing so much now, nevertheless we can still get with each other you know?" Freas mentioned. "I had one friend in Australia who mentioned that she saw her friend who's in Indonesia show up in the stream, and she was like, 'I just felt I wasn't alone.'"


Plucking guitar strings and singing in front of a floral backdrop in Seattle, Freas played her set right after two hours of other artists going live across continents, performing right in front of their phones. The show's contradictions from a usual onstage gig were superficial: no residence music, amateur lighting, plus a lack of applause. "It's so awkward to play and then have it be silent at the end, and then you're just like, 'Hope you fancied it!'" Freas mentioned. However it added to the charm of the experience; even the logistical hiccups of switching from performer to performer on the app felt homey and intimate.


As shows remain canceled and record shops stay closed, independent organizers have mobilized in full force. Today (March 20), online music retailer Bandcamp is waiving its income shares to let all sales to go directly to the artists who use the platform; more than 20 labels have participated. Over the weekend, four dozen Australian musicians are throwing a virtual, live-streamed bash on Instagram they've named Isol-Aid!: An Instagram Live Music Festival.


The Distant With each other gig doubled Specialist Subject's Instagram follower count and helped boost its online sales, and Freas mentioned she's enjoyed how musicians have been ready to digitally connect with fans. However she underscores how this entire moment in time goes well behind just the music industry, or any one specific industry overall. "The whole system is damaged, and we need to be thinking about ourselves as a whole that needs to rise with each other rather than as a bunch of hustling individuals," she mentioned. "How are 'we' going to survive this and change to system? Rather than how am 'I' or how is 'my family member 'my musical group 'my firm going to survive this?"


Just a number of weeks back, The Aces were in full promotional mode for their glossy new single "Daydream." They're also currently sitting on a completed second album they're eager to start ramping up for. That offered rollout hasn't necessarily stopped because of the pandemic, though the scope of how they'll proceed with it has changed. Alisa Ramirez, who plays drums in The Aces and sat just out of frame while in her sister Cristal's livestream, stressed that, so far, they're attempting to be as candid and real with their fans as possible.


"If it wasn't already the time for it, I feel like right now it's certainly the time to not pretend to be brilliant and not pretend that everything's OK, 'cause it's pretty fucking clear that everything's going nuts now she mentioned. "Allowing yourself to be weak on camera with fans just makes you feel more real and comforted."