Live Stream vs. Live Performance
Remember attending concerts? Huddling amongst thousands of other enthusiastic music lovers and soaking up the energy and emotion being delivered by a passionate performer? It seems like a distant memory ever since COVID-19 hit earlier this year, bringing with it a new age of social distancing, a wave of live music venue closures and a distinct lack of performance opportunities. Musicians had to be creative and figure out new ways to deliver their performances to audiences – without actually having a physical audience, of course. Live streaming became a popular way to stay connected with fans and continue doing what they love most.
At Downtown Creative Studios, we’ve had to adapt to the ever-changing regulations and restrictions and try our best to keep our students motivated to keep performing! This year, we’ll be taking our traditional End Of Year Concert “live performance” format and converting it to a “Live Stream”. With our ‘Summer Streams’ live stream concert coming up on the 5th of December, let’s take a look at some of the pros and cons of performing Live vs performing on a Live Stream.
Performing Live
Performing to a live audience is an experience like no other. The evolution of backstage jitters to onstage adrenalin and finally the euphoria you feel when you finish your performance is a unique emotional journey I’m sure all our students and musician friends can relate to. Musicians are instantly gratified by applause from the audience and getting off stage knowing you performed your best is the best feeling in the world.
On the other hand, stage fright can be a real psychological issue for many talented musicians. The dark sea of faces staring at you from the audience can be incredibly intimidating, especially for inexperienced performers. For some, the pressure can be too much and if you’re not ready yet to conquer those nerves, your performance will suffer.
As creatives, musicians can also be a little too obsessive about getting things perfect. With a live performance, you’ve only got one chance to get it right so it’s a great way to get out of your own head and enjoy your time on stage. The only way to improve on your live performing skills it to keep getting on stage and performing time and time again.
| Pro’s | Con’s |
| Atmosphere and Energy of a Live Audience | Nerves and Stage Fright |
| The Euphoria you feel when you get off stage | You only get one chance to get it right |
| Improve your skills by performing | Pressure |
Live Stream
Technology has been amazing, making live music accessible to everyone. You can perform to friends and family on the other side of the world and reach audiences you never thought you could. Those who logistically cannot attend a set venue for a performance can have access to watch your incredible talents. Various social media platforms allow your audience to communicate with you during your performance and even tip you to show their appreciation and support for you and your music.
It’s almost as good as the real thing, until you look up from your phone and realise you’re alone in your own home. The excitement and energy of live performing can be difficult to find when in reality, you’re the only one in the room. However, for some, the watchful lens of a camera can cause a whole new set of challenges. It can be just as intimidating as performing in front of a live audience. What is scarier, a sea of faces you can see, or a sea of faces you can’t see?
Confidence is everything, and similar to performing live, the more you do it, the less nervous you will be. Performing in a familiar and comfortable setting can actually help to put your mind at ease and subconsciously trick your body to perform in a more relaxed state. Unfortunately, as a Live Stream is filmed and uploaded pretty much instantaneously, you still only get one chance to get your performance right!
While you’re not instantly gratified with applause at the end of your song from an appreciate visible audience, the wave of positive comments and love hearts popping up on your video can still make you feel pretty great about your performance.
| Pro’s | Con’s |
| Perform to more people around the world | Less atmosphere and energy than a live performance |
| Connect via social media | Unknown audience |
| Perform in a comfortable and familiar setting | No applause |
So, whilst we are eagerly awaiting the day we can get back on the stage and show a live audience what we can do, a live stream is not a bad alternative. Performing in any way is an important way to improve as musicians and especially now the world needs more creativity and positivity, so it is particularly important you showcase your wonderful musical talents!
We know the audience will be clapping from the comfort and safety of their homes!
We can’t wait to see you all performing on our live stream on December 5th!
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