Independent artists ask me every day, “Are my live streams and virtual concerts something my fans should pay for? Or should I give away my live stream shows for free?” I talk to thousands of independent bands, rappers, and musicians each week who are members of our MyAfton booking and live stream platform. So I think about this question a lot.

Should You Charge Fans for Your Live Streams?

Do you live stream on Facebook Live or Twitch for free? Or, are you missing out on huge revenue potential, in-stream tips, and in-stream merch sales by not charging $5.00 or $7.00 to watch your official live stream performance?

When I was asked to be a guest on The Business Side of Music Podcast, I was stoked for the chance to talk about this topic. I’m a big fan of this podcast that Bob Bender brings to musicians each week. So when he asked me to join him to talk about virtual concerts and live streaming I said – “hell yes Bob.”

As a musician myself, I experienced firsthand that the Music Industry as a whole just doesn’t give a ton of support to the unsigned indie musician. There doesn’t seem to be many resources for artists to learn how to better market, propel their career, or how to overcome obstacles and roadblocks that they’re facing. Trying to “make it” in our Industry is not just hard to do, but sometimes it’s hard to know where to even start!

What Was the Key Takeaway?

Bob and I talk on the podcast about many aspects to live streaming. But the key takeaway from our conversation was this:

Your music and content for your live stream virtual shows is not necessarily something you should give away for free.

There is a time and place for doing the free Facebook Live session for your fans. But don’t give away all of your streaming content for free. Your fans LOVE you and want to support you, after all, they are YOUR fans. So don’t underestimate their willingness to support you.

But is There Any Money in Live Streaming?

We’ve seen smaller indie artists using our MyAfton LiveStream platform who are making $130+ per live stream, and they’re only selling 10 tickets. Most of their income comes from in-stream tips from fans and fans tipping during ticket checkout. Artists that market their stream a bit better are seeing $250 to $500 per stream with just 30 tickets sold. More established artists selling 200 tickets per live stream are walking away with $5,000 per stream.

So don’t miss out on learning how to produce fun live streams and how to market them well – especially now during the COVID-19 pandemic and the live events ban. Fans are dying for that live music connection.

Listen to the Full Podcast Episode

Bob and I covered a lot of ground during our episode, and I believe it can help a lot of artists out there who have the capability and drive to succeed with live streams but may not know where to start.

So plug-in those headphones, go for a run, walk the dog, or just chill out on the couch and take a listen to some of the ideas we came up with. I hope this helps you as much as it’s helped the other artists I’ve talked to that have listened. They’re already putting these tips to use to make their next live stream concert the highest payout yet. You can do the same.

LISTEN NOW: EP #137 – In the Virtual World, You’re Worth Watching & Getting Paid For It

Leave a comment below!

The post In the Virtual World, You’re Worth Watching & Getting Paid For It. appeared first on Afton.

Afton has been producing live concerts since 2004. Founded by Musicians, for Musicians – Afton’s passion has always been to support and empower independent bands, rappers, and musicians. Today, we are the largest booker of independent artists in the country with shows in 70+ U.S. and Canadian cities, over 250+ music venue partners, and millions of fans who have attended an Afton Shows event.

But 15,000+ shows later, COVID-19 suddenly and without warning brought live events to a dead stop. Live events cannot happen anytime soon, and the uncertainty of what the “new normal” will look like for live events has many music venues, artists, promoters, and booking agents wondering where to go from here.

As soon as our first show was canceled due to COVID-19 in March 2020, co-founders Ryan Kintz and Amy Kintz began the pursuit of finding a solution for the 240,000 bands and rap groups on our MyAfton.com booking platform.

Luckily, it’s always been hard to make money in the music industry. So we’re no stranger to overcoming obstacles and creatively solving problems. With a lean staff (we’ve been able to keep all full-time staff onboard) and an expert in-house team of software developers that have been with us since the beginning – we have been able to pivot quickly and build the MyAfton LiveStream platform.

Our vast experience in booking live concerts, dedication to music artists, our knowledge in promotion and marketing, and our ability to build enterprise level software are the core reasons we are able to so quickly provide this essential new MyAfton LiveStream platform to every musician, no matter where they live or what level of their career they’re at.

We will continue to focus on helping musicians and innovating new features, solutions, and tools to ensure that MyAfton LiveStream shows are some of the most rewarding and profitable shows our musicians have ever played.

The post Why Afton Shows is Primed to Lead the Industry in LiveStreams for Music Artists. appeared first on Afton.

Recently, artists of all sizes have ramped up their free livestream performances on Facebook for donations only. But what if you could design a unique, special, and interactive LiveStream performance that you could sell virtual pay-per-view tickets for? How much more money could artists be making to help support their music career if they used their marketing skills and existing fan base for a pay-per-view LiveStream plus tips/donations?

This is the big question the Afton Shows and MyAfton founders, Ryan Kintz and Amy Kintz, asked themselves when COVID-19 hit in mid-march.

“Suddenly, within 3 days, all of the 250+ music venues we work with started contacting us to say, “our state is forcing our venue to cancel all live concerts for 2 months or longer due to COVID-19. We had to reschedule almost 200 shows,” recounts Amy Kintz.

In addition, there are serious ongoing talks that live events could NOT come back until December of 2020. With major concerts/tours postponed into 2021. Or even worse, a 2nd or 3rd wave of COVID-19 outbreaks when concerts resume that forces live event industry to shut down again.

So how can independent bands and rappers support themselves financially while staying connected with fans? How can artists satisfy the innate desire to perform live and share their music with the world?

We believe the MyAfton LiveStream platform is the answer.

The MyAfton LiveStream Platform launches soon, and artists can join the rapidly growing waitlist below for the chance to be some of the first performers.

MyAfton LiveStream Offers the Highest Artist Payout.

We made the decision to give a lion’s share of the revenues back to the artist for LiveStream.

MyAfton LiveStream offers artists 70% to 90% of LiveStream revenues, plus artists keep tips and donations after the card processing fee. It is our goal that the higher payout tiers are easily reached by the local acts we book.

With the starting MyAfton LiveStream payout tier at 70% (a majority of the revenue to artist), it only takes 20-34 virtual tickets sold for a 75% payout, 35-49 virtual tickets sold for an 80% payout, 50-74 virtual tickets sold for 85%, and the top tier of 90% comes in at 75+ sold. This means the average local artist’s fan base can easily make that artist 75% to 85% of revenues (the artist picks the ticket price).

This is great news for independent musicians, considering that other platforms such as Twitch are taking 50% of revenues, and the starting payout tier for Stageit is only 63%.

However, to reach even the next payout tier on Stageit of 70%, an artist has to sell $1,000 worth of tickets, breaking down to either 100 tickets at $10, or 200 tickets at $5 – which is out of reach for many local musicians.

Wait, So What’s the “Catch?”

There is no catch. Sign up to the MyAfton.com platform is completely free, membership is free, and it’s free for artists to setup and create their LiveStream performances.

For LiveStream, there are no ticket requirements. An artist can choose to reschedule their LiveStream at anytime if needed. We even provide 1-on-1 support with a Booking Rep, promo tips and strategies, and marketing advice to help our artists succeed.

How Does it Work?

Once you have a free MyAfton account and have setup your Artist Profile, you simply click the Create LiveStream Gig link from inside your account.

You set the date and time for the LiveStream and you set the virtual ticket price.

We handle all encoding, bandwidth, the technology, the virtual ticket sales platform, your sound check portal, and provide you with a dashboard to track your sales.

When it’s time to LiveStream, you login for the final sound check and go live. During your performance you can live chat with fans.

How Much Money Can I Make?

Let’s use a few examples. Remember, the more virtual tickets you sell, the more Fan Tips you’re going to get. Historically, we see that Fans tip generously during online checkout for our live shows. Plus, with LiveStream Fans can tip/donate during your performance.

Local act sells 21 virtual tickets at $7.99
Artist takes home $88.20 + Tips

Local act sells 50 virtual tickets at $6.99
Artist takes home $297.07 + Tips

Local act markets their LiveStream like crazy and sells 110 virtual tickets at $5.99 each.
Artist takes home $593.01

The possibilities are endless. Established local/regional acts with a large fan base could be making $1,500 or $2,000+ per LiveStream with 200-400 virtual tickets sold depending on the ticket price they set.

How Do I Get Started?

Head over to www.myafton.com/livestream and create an account or login to your existing account. Setup your account and start creating your LiveStream gigs.

We can’t wait to put you virtually “onstage!”

Other Resources:

Are Shows Still Being Booked?

So Shows Aren’t Happening… What Now?

Local Events

The post MyAfton Live Stream Virtual Performances Can Help Artists Make Money During COVID-19. appeared first on Afton.