The Need For Solution Oriented Streaming For Musicians
As live streaming on platforms like Twitch continues to grow in popularity at an alarming rate, artists – big or small – need to pay attention to the market. Here we break down the solution-oriented strategy musicians should pursue.
Guest post by Michael James artist manager at Outerloop.Group
Over the past few years, and more specifically in the past few months, online live streaming has become an extremely popular and necessary outlet for musicians to connect with current and new fans. In February of 2020 one of live streaming’s most popular outlets, Twitch, reported 15 million daily active users and 40 million monthly active users. Between March and April of this year the live-streaming industry grew 45% and year over year is up 99%.
A market that is hard to ignore for any size musician, especially in these times where live performances and touring have come to a halt. Just as important as it is for musicians to have a strategy for entering and sustaining in the touring or recorded music markets, we must define how we are going to exist in the world of live streaming.
Big Nets Catch Less Interested Fish
In OnStars early days as ‘Project Beacon,’ head of project Chet Huber set out to cast a wide net to provide in-vehicle solutions ranging from safety and stolen vehicle recovery, to turn by turn instructions and hands-free phone calls. As it would turn out over time, the vast array of solutions Project Beacon was providing, proved to be relatively ineffective in their abilities to persuade consumers into electing this expensive add on to their new vehicle purchase. It took a long term of patient investments, and eventually, a letter from a mother of a recent car accident survivor, to help Chet and his team realize the most important solution Project Beacon was providing was safety and stolen vehicle recovery.
In comparison to specialized GPS companies and emerging technologies in cell phone capabilities, Project Beacon was ineffectively able to compete with their fast pace tech cycle. However, in the field of accident detection with their ability to communicate directly into the vehicle and with emergency responders, they expanded into an area of nonconsumption. Because of this realization, Chet’s team was able to focus their branding and marketing strategies around one almost uncontested solution. For musicians, we can use Project Beacons’ initial road map to highlight the importance in early stages of keeping strategies modular and using solution-oriented theories to help guide our trajectory into more specific and less contested areas of the market.
Seak ‘Blue Oceans,’ Or At Least Less Bloody Waters.
Professor W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne describe ‘Blue Ocean Strategy’ in a comparison between red and blue oceans. The red oceans being existing markets with large dominant players and constant emergent and disruptive low end players, the competition is fierce, thus creating bloody waters. The blue ocean is areas of non-consumption, new markets with no current competition where new solutions are able to quickly emerge.
“detect where the waters are bloody and focus efforts around specific strengths and solutions we can provide to the fan base”
As musicians enter the ocean of live streaming we must be able to detect where the waters are bloody and focus efforts around specific strengths and solutions we can provide to the fan base. Competing for viewers while live streaming full performances can be overwhelming as established artists and large ‘virtual festivals’ seem to dominate the market.
A recent virtual festival called ‘Dreamworld’ accumulated five million viewers in just three days. In addition to the established players dominating large portions of the live stream performance market, we also have an endless influx of emergent artists disrupting (a lot of) small, low end portions of the market. While live streaming full performances should remain a piece of your streaming puzzle, especially if a large portion of your brand is defined by live performances, due to the bloody and competitive nature and potential momentum and excitement it could eventually take away from in-person live experiences, it is important to find a more specific and sustaining streaming solution to provide to your fan base.
The Solution Is For Them, Not You.
As we can see with the consistent growth of the live streaming industry, having a strategy to sustain in that market, even after we are able to get back to live shows and touring, will be essential. To do this, it is important to develop a strategy for solution oriented streaming. For producers, sound design may be what is important to your fan base, or for a band the nostalgic and emotional escape may be the solution.
Both of these examples don’t necessarily lead us into blue oceans, but production streams or connecting with your fans simply by hanging out with them online while doing a hobby of yours will certainly take us in a direction of less bloody waters.
To determine what solution you can provide, consider who your fan base is and find the purpose of why they choose to listen to you. Just as OnStar’s purpose was not in-vehicle phones and GPS devices but rather to provide a solution to delays in emergency response, your streaming purpose is not to provide music, but rather a solution driven from a reason of why your fans exist.
References:
(Twitch Daily & Monthly Active Users)
https://videogamesstats.com/twitch-stats-facts/
(Streaming Industry Stats) https://www.theverge.com/2020/5/13/21257227/coronavirus-streamelements-arsenalgg-twitch-y outube-livestream-numbers
(OnStar / Project Beacon) https://www.forbes.com/sites/hbsworkingknowledge/2013/03/04/lessons-from-running-gms-onst ar/#17f38b6b3151
(OnStar / Project Beacon) https://www.autonews.com/article/20080914/ANA03/809150441/when-gm-designed-onstar-in-9 5-huber-was-working-without-a-map
(Blue Ocean Strategy) https://hbr.org/2004/10/blue-ocean-strategy?utm_medium=email&utm_source=tgr_newnlsignup &utm_campaign=nlconfirm_bestofissue_actsub_version20181201&deliveryName=DM82272 (Dreamworld Virtual Festival)
http://www.wedreamworlds.com/dreamworld
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