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Live stream rehearsal

Medicine Man

Medicine Man

Apr 10, 2015
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#1
So my co bandleader (frontman) and I are having a rare disagreement, because he wants to live stream all of our rehearsals on social media in their entirety in the name of publicity. I'm cool with a couple songs, and the few songs we have streamed for rehearsal have gotten a ton of positive feedback. Way more people watch the stream than show up for gigs. But I feel that it is counterproductive to actually working on the small details such as what rehearsals are for, and he feels like it is better practice for actual performances. Please weigh in.
 
#2
I'm of the old school mentality so I believe in working in a semi somewhat private rehearsal setting to produce a decent product to display rather than show the bumps and bruises to get there on social media. Like I said, I maybe bias and there could be a new way of doing things these days but I do look back sometimes and laugh at how terrible we were at some of the first rehearsals we did on a VHS camcorder-gawd awful...I won't show those to nobody except close friends for humor. I agree with you to show the good ones you got down tight.
 
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#3
Medicine Man said:
So my co bandleader (frontman) and I are having a rare disagreement, because he wants to live stream all of our rehearsals on social media in their entirety in the name of publicity. I'm cool with a couple songs, and the few songs we have streamed for rehearsal have gotten a ton of positive feedback. Way more people watch the stream than show up for gigs. But I feel that it is counterproductive to actually working on the small details such as what rehearsals are for, and he feels like it is better practice for actual performances. Please weigh in.
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I tend to agree with you. Rehearsals are for working, not entertaining. If it benefits your exposure to broadcast a few tunes or if you're working out stage stuff in a public dress rehearsal, then sure, but in general you're right IMO. Rehearsals are for working out kinks. Record stuff for the band's benefit, but not for release.
 
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#4
I had floated the idea of doing a live webcast because my small local band lacked the funds to play in all the places we had fans. I thought something like that would be a way to reach out to those fans.
It turned out that none of us had the technical know-how to make the web part work, and we didn't really have the audio equipment to make a decent live recording.
Given how strapped everyone is and how wide a band's appeal can be, something like this seems like a good bridge that leverages modern technology. I personally would think that one would be enough, or do them every once in while. If you do it too much, you will lose people's interest.
 
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#7
zjanderson said:
It's a social media age we live in now, and frankly I think not doing it can be a detriment. I am not of the opinion to broadcast an entire rehearsal...that's overkill. It is however prudent to broadcast a few tunes...perfect or not. People love getting a peek behind the curtain and eat that stuff up.
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Right. I'm cool with streaming a few teasers, just not us hitting the bridge 3 times cuz it has some weird chord progression or rhythm we don't have right enough.
 
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#12
That’s a tough call. I wouldn’t be comfortable with a whole live rehearsal but that’s me and I’m pretty conservative and not that active in Social Media. My wife manages my FB page. She will usually surprises me with a a few videos from gigs live ones included. If she asked I would say no but once they’re up I go with it.
 
#13
zjanderson said:
It's a social media age we live in now, and frankly I think not doing it can be a detriment. I am not of the opinion to broadcast an entire rehearsal...that's overkill. It is however prudent to broadcast a few tunes...perfect or not. People love getting a peek behind the curtain and eat that stuff up.
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+1 - there's the middle ground. Frankly, the stuff that gets batted around in rehearsals I've been part of is in no way meant for public consumption.
 
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#14
me, i'd rather put up a mini-show of the songs we play best if i was going to stream and do it as a real show, albeit a small one. i'd also be sure to include chat between each song. and i'd ask for requests in advance of the live show and cherry pick my personal favorites or the ones that got the most requests.

btw, i don't subscribe to the cow/free milk analogy. if your fans are satisfied with watching/listening on a small screen with smaller speakers alone at their desks or smart TVs, without any interaction with fellow fans or the band, they probably aren't that interested in going out to see the band live anyway.

sometimes people don't play their best at rehearsals - otherwise they wouldn't need rehearsals.
 
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#15
I do think it's a good idea to post some songs from practice. For me, I get bored pretty quickly and wouldn't be able to watch the full rehearsal and I'm older. The new generation isn't able to watch the practice due to lack of attention span. Show your best stuff!!

If you have the storage ability on a server to host a several hundred gigabyte video/audio file and have the technical know how of editing the video, I say do it. But breaking down the video and showing only your best stuff will help you more verses the full practice. Show you audience your best to get gigs and expand you listening base. Just my 2 cents. :thumbsup:
 
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#16
I've thought of that but never done it. The idea (my idea, at least) was to show some of what goes on behind the scenes, sort of like a live documentary, not to try to be a true performance. There are some people who might find it interesting to watch how the sausage is made & see what it takes to create the live show that they (hopefully) will attend, enjoy, & appreciate just a little more for having some insight into what it takes to get there.
 
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#17
One of my bands live streamed a "performance rehearsal" where we ran through the whole set about a month before a CD release show, and played a few new songs. We had a nice number of viewers, and it also allowed us to discover some kinks to work out of the show before we played it "live". You also have to expect, and accept, that not all of your social media fans can make it or will ever make it to the venue. This is just how it works now, and by offering another way for people to see you, you can allow fans across the country and world a chance to see you "live" when they might otherwise not be able to.
 
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#18
Medicine Man said:
So my co bandleader (frontman) and I are having a rare disagreement, because he wants to live stream all of our rehearsals on social media in their entirety in the name of publicity. I'm cool with a couple songs, and the few songs we have streamed for rehearsal have gotten a ton of positive feedback. Way more people watch the stream than show up for gigs. But I feel that it is counterproductive to actually working on the small details such as what rehearsals are for, and he feels like it is better practice for actual performances. Please weigh in.
Click to expand...
Wow! A Band Rehearsal Reality Show! I hate most of those type of productions. But I would probably watch that. You might make more money off that than playing in a bar. Lol. That said I prefer Private Rehearsal!
 
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#19
A few songs or even just portions of a few songs, okay. Maybe even set it up like a live mini-gig.

But, a rehearsal is just that. There is no point in broadcasting yourselves scuffing up or tweaking the material. If you want to create something for your fans, you could record the rehearsals and then edit a video from it and have control over what is put out.
 
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#20
If you want to livestream a few tunes that you've actually played in front of audiences, sure thing. Otherwise: Never, never, never. We serve up the delicious sausage; we don't show how it is made. We may someday get a pro video of a live club performance; we want even the stay-at-homes to get a taste of what they're missing.
 
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