Getting Back to Basics

With so much changing in today's "Music Industry" and the negativity surrounding it's future many may think recording artists could be deterred from moving forward.  For some, piracy is a deterrence, however there are road blocks in all aspect of life and you can either sit around and do nothing, OR you can find another way around it.

I have previously written a post about Dave Melillo and his "Melillo Mondays"stream where he connects with fans, not for profit, but rather just to maintain relationships.  However I feel there is more opportunity for many people, not just recording artists to use live stream sites such as Justin.tv Twitch.tv and UStream.tv as an addition source of income.

Live streaming is very much the same as regular television, you stream from home to your viewers and run commercials just like you would see on regular TV. The streamer then receives payment based on not only the amount of viewers that see each commercial, but also the amount of clicks from their stream. For some people, this can turn into a full time job and a source of revenue that can even support them.

In addition to the live stream, they can have a YouTube page set up to "archive" their past episodes or highlights from their stream.  This allows even more income if the individual has partnered with YouTube, and can result in huge income with high subscribers/viewers. On average YouTube partners can receive between $0.50 and $6.00 per 1000 views on their videos, with a lot of views that income can really add up.

So what does this mean for today's recording artists?

In a time of low album sales and piracy, it is often difficult for an artist to make ends meet. I have often told bands that I have worked with to "give your music away for free," if people like it, they will not only buy it, but also spend money to see you play. With that in mind artists need another way to make money when not on the road, streaming is the next step.

Think about the amount of people that would log in to see behind the scenes of their favorite bands practice, or the number of people that would jump at the chance to get a sneak peek of a new album with "In Studio" stream updates.  As a music fan myself I know the more I feel connected to a band the more likely I am to pay for a show or an album.

Is this the way artists will start making more in the next few years? No one knows for sure, however I defiantly think this a huge opportunity just waiting to be taken advantage of.