Five Things We’ve Learned About Live Streaming: The Accidentals
This is the second in an ongoing series of artists sharing “Five Things We’ve Learned About Live Streaming.”
The Accidentals have been live streaming at least once a week since the shutdown began in mid-March, and while their online performances are wonderfully spontaneous and casual, the technical planning is not.
The Accidental’s Sav Buist founder herself diving into the details of what it takes to produce a glitch-free live stream so deeply that she wrote the free Musician’s Guide To Running A Livestream Using Free OBS Software which we shared last month here on the Bandsintown For Artist’s blog.
So like their fellow indie musician Marielle Kraft, when The Accidental’s share what they’ve learned about live streaming it’s based on experience.
1. Lighting
Lighting is important for livestreaming. It's good to put the light source in front of you, and NOT behind you. Natural light is best, but if you need to use canned light, an adjustable clamp desk lamp works well.
2. Audio
Having a good microphone is important. A Shure MV51 is a great USB mic (any microphone that can plug directly into your computer), but any USB mic works.
3. Interface
If you don't have a USB mic, you can connect a regular mic, like a Shure SM58, to an interface (a device that allows your mic to talk to your computer). Roland makes a great interface for this - lots of options out there.
4. Audio Processing
Each social media platform processes audio differently. Most have an internal compression that distorts or cuts out background noise. It often sees an instrument as background noise, and tries to compress it. Bypassing each browser's processing allows for clear sound. The best way to do that is to download a free program called OBS and check out the manual that I wrote for best use here (https://bit.ly/39RGNs5). If your computer can't handle downloading OBS, a second choice would be to use an in-browser program like StreamYard and reference the same manual.
5. Crossposting
Pushing your livestream out to multiple social media platforms at one time increases your reach. This can be accomplished through a program like StreamYard. We have found venues and businesses that hire our band appreciate that we can send the feed to their site, their sponsor's sites, and crosspost it to our site for ultimate reach.
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