Live music tentatively returned in 2021 following Covid lockdowns. More artists went on tour again in 2022, but they still saw problems. But 2023 has been a blockbuster for the business: Taylor Swift and Beyoncé went around the world with great shows. Bruce Springsteen, Metallica, Drake, Travis Scott, Ed Sheeran, Morgan Wallen, Maluma and Madonna filled arenas and stadiums.
However, buying concert tickets has become increasingly complex as companies like Ticketmaster and SeatGeek battle bots and resellers. Fans endured pre-sale registrations and hours-long lines. Those who managed to make the purchase paid high prices. But those who stayed home were not completely excluded: smartphones, Instagram and TikTok have allowed intermediaries to bring the show to fans who could not attend.
While in 2020 many artists turned to professional live streaming via official channels, that was largely abandoned when in-person concerts returned. Three years later, a different type of live streamer came to the fore: fans with phones.
Some streamers spend a few minutes on their phones focused on the show, giving viewers a taste. But others act with the seriousness of a live correspondent.
Matthew Serafin, 28, from Chicago, livestreamed the kickoff of Beyoncé’s Renaissance world tour in Stockholm. He watched in awe as Lizzo, SZA, and tens of thousands of other viewers tuned in. He fell in love with being the conduit between the artist he loved most and the rest of the world.
“My Instagram was flooded with messages from people thanking me for sharing the show,” he said. “People from Sudan, Kenya, Norway, Peru, places where Beyoncé has never toured and probably never will.” Since then, Serafín has attended eight Renaissance World Tour concerts and two Swift Eras Tour concerts in four countries — livestreaming each of them.
Morgan Lee stood under the hot desert sun for 12 hours to ensure a near-perfect view of Frank Ocean’s headlining performance at Coachella 2023. The artist arrived an hour late and YouTube canceled the livestream of the set — the only option viewing for fans who couldn’t afford the $549 tickets.
When Ocean finally came out on stage, Lee, 18, pulled out his phone. By the end of the night, hundreds of thousands of people had watched her live stream. Her Instagram account grew from 6,000 to 60,000 followers. In June, he took advantage of his new audience to release a debut music video and, a few weeks later, got off the waiting list at New York University’s Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music (“the closest thing to going to star school.” of pop,” he said).
Lee, now a freshman at New York University, described the event as a happy accident.
By: NELL GALLOGLY
BBC-NEWS-SRC: http://www.nytsyn.com/subscribed/stories/6995051, IMPORTING DATE: 2023-11-21 20:10:07
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