Live Music is Dead, Long Live Live-Streamed Music

The arts industry might be in a state of lockdown and the future of live music in limbo, but through the magic of the Internet the community is keeping the flame alive. Scores of events made the transition from physical to virtual over the weekend as a boom in live streaming shines a ray of hope on an otherwise dismal time for the arts locally and worldwide.

Birthed by a bunch of Sydney housemates, Room 2 Radio garnered plenty of media attention for their inaugural stream on Friday night, being picked up by the likes of Concrete Playground and Yahoo Australia. The fledgling collective was one of the most successful Sydney based club music streams last weekend with more than 700 unique devices tuning in at its peak. Unlike some of our contemporaries, we here at SURG believe that its more important to commend bringing people together than to criticise people for poor audio quality and technical mishaps. While there were some connection issues at the start, and the performance of the MC/hype man may have polarised some viewers, Room 2 Radio succeeded far more than any other stream in providing a sense of community between the people that tuned in and participated in the action. The ability to join in by commenting on the Twitch feed or sharing your very own home club setups to Instagram made tangible what the coronavirus shutdown has most acutely deprived us of: interaction between like-minded people over a common cause. 

Club 77 was one of the first nightclubs to transition to cyberspace on Friday with a Livestream of their own, featuring the ever-dependable Sydney legend Kato. The stream was much more recognisable for viewers used to the standard squared-off, front-of-decks setup popularised by Boiler Room and was consistently dependable in visual and audio quality. Irregular Fit and Ante also tested the virtual waters, with a stream that split the difference between the professional yet distant Club 77 stream and the loose and fun Room 2 Radio. Backdropped by an intimate brick courtyard, the roster of local DJs played an attractive mix from chill house to high energy techno. 

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It remains to be seen how many other venues will also enter the streaming space and whether they can make it financially viable in order to continue operating in any way approaching normality. Sponsorships have been floated as one potential avenue for organisations to monetise live streams and bring back paid gigs to Sydney’s hobbled music scene. It’s an admirable aim and one which will hopefully be helped by the government’s recently announced stimulus package to help sole traders, including DJs. 

Toby Debelak, co-founder of Room 2 Radio, hopes that paid sponsorships could eventually make live streams profitable enough to pay for talent. “We’re working on some [sponsorships] at the moment with the sole purpose of paying DJs,” he said. “And if we get any extra, giving it to community and arts organisations or programs that are struggling.” 

They have already received support from Buzz Speaker Hire who are lending equipment to the stream for free. Over 700 devices tuning in at once is a very impressive audience, and certainly more than you’ll get in most Sydney nightclubs, and will hopefully encourage further investment from firms looking to support the scene financially as well.

Even though the Room 2 Radio stream might not have been the best example of social distancing in practice, its DIY house party atmosphere did the best job of making people feel part of a club community since the venues shut down. The arts industry was already in a precarious state before the pandemic, so it’s encouraging to see how the community bands together in a time of trouble. Resources such as I Lost My Gig – which tracks arts workers’ losses and offers them assistance – and live streaming directories are good examples of how a precarious community can do its best to support itself in an existential crisis. 

Image: Room2Radio

Check out these guides from The Guardian, The Social Distancing Festival and Billboard to get your live music fix and help keep the arts alive. If you are an artist and have lost revenue due to the coronavirus, read the Department of Social Services guide to check if you’re eligible to receive assistance. SURG will soon be announcing livestream events of our own and shall continue promoting artists, creators, and producers doing it tough every step of the way.