Covid Changed How We Consume Music
Pre-Covid the electronic music industry in Canada was like a ship sailing on rocky waters with holes in the haul. Now, the DJs and producers who couldn’t be stopped jumped ship and took matters into their own hands. They seized digital music and stepped it up.
We’ve had YouTube for the past 16 years and during this time it was the hub for music videos. However, Covid made it an online dancefloor where DJs could post their sets and/or perform from anywhere in the world. Then a streaming site known as a gaming platform moved into the realm of music.
Twitch (owned by Amazon) is a real-time digital house party. It’s no longer just for gamers. And let’s say it’s kinder than some of the gaming streams. Well, in the electronic music streams it is. however, it’s not like gaming where players are playing each other to win. It’s lovers of electronic music coming together worldwide on one stream. Some streams have moderators to ensure the chat doesn’t get out of hand.
It’s my favourite way to stream my music. DJs and producers have a schedule like a club, the listeners can lurk, or they can like a real club, pay a sub which is like a cover charge, they can also buy bits which is like tipping your bartender when compared to the club, but in this instance, the DJ gets your bit.
When Twitchers (viewers) decide to Raid it encourages Twitchers to jump in on the Raid. Twitch Raids are a part of the streaming platform’s culture — after one creator ends their stream, they can “raid” another stream by sending their viewers over to check out someone else’s channel.
Producers such as David Morales, Louie Vega, Michael Gray, and David Guetta perform their sets out of their home studios. Many Toronto DJs have jumped onto Twitch to gain followers, maintain their fans, gather more, and simply play to have fun. Some of my Canadian subs include Rob Daboom, Manzone & Strong, and DJ Aristotle.
Now, with Covid winding down in Canada and the nightclubs opening back up the DJs who were smart on their socials and streaming their sets during the pandemic are the ones getting gigs, their fans from before are still coming out, and their new followers are stepping onto their real dancefloors.
This wouldn’t have happened pre-covid to those DJs who couldn’t afford the bandwidth or could depend on a reliable network. And more importantly, wouldn’t have had the opportunity to gain worldwide followers and extra profit.
For the steamer it’s free, but it’s not cool to be a cheap jerk and not buy a subscription, or gift a sub, or buy bits. The DJ aftercall is working hard for you. They don’t get paid while playing from their studio as they would at a club or a festival.
Appreciate this musical love.
The other benefit for the DJs and producers is being able to sell merch such as t-shirts, hoodies, and even coffee mugs to their followers worldwide. I own my share of t-shirts which is offered to the DJs via Streamlabs which is a streaming app that offers a simplified version of OBS design. Crafted with streamers in mind, this service packs a host of features aimed at improving the visual appeal of Twitch’s stream and boosting viewer engagement. It works beyond Twitch as well.
The average club-goer life span is five years. When you put Covid in the mix that life span has shortened. Many of those club-goers don’t go out anymore. Those DJs who disappeared during Covid and didn’t maintain their socials, releases, or didn’t stream and still don’t pretty much have lost their pre-covid dance floor fiends and are starting the nightclub circuit all over and building a following again.
Only the courageous DJs and producers who kept their turntable platter spinning with music during the pandemic and have music pumping through their veins will survive the other side of this pandemic.
Check out a live stream set. You don’t need to go anywhere except your living room. No need to worry about sweaty guys trying to dance near you and slide their goo all over you. Have your club at home. Trust me when I say you may very well sub.
*No, I am not affiliated with Twitch, but I do have an upcoming pod What R You Drinking?
