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Live Version: The Reason You Should Record Videos Of Live Performances.

  • edbrown2879
  • Oct 29, 2024
  • 5 min read

Updated: Nov 11, 2024

Hello and welcome back everyone!


So I was in another YouTube Autoplay music - esque black hole and I noticed that alot of the suggestions coming up for me were recorded videos of bands and artists performing live. These videos weren't the shaky audience POV from a sweaty mosh pit or from the heavens in an arena. Instead these are well produced, well polished and well rehearsed performances.


Now these aren't a new thing at all but for some reason they seem to be cropping up more and more. My first instinct was that the dreaded lockdowns that we all suffered were behind this but that being said...this might be one of the better things to come out of covid, especially for the music industry.


So from this point on I'm going to focus on original music as cover songs is a whole other discussion...


Lets look at this from multiple perspectives, first the professional:


As a musician/band/artist etc... the content from a live performance that you put online is a great opportunity for you to promote yourself as a competent live performer. The content can also be cut down into clips and spread across tiktok, reels and shorts on youtube. This is then allowing you to attract the eyes of people who both know and don't know who you and your band are.

There are also multiple festivals in the uk that look for live videos of bands and artists to veto their ability and see what they're like in a live setting. So this is a really useful thing to have an up to date version of your latest song performed and recorded to the highest quality available. Once it's put online then you can either share it for free and encourage people towards your back catalogue of songs or you can put money behind it on google or social media to push it into a new space.

In some instances you have to look at where something like this could lead, lets use the family band Lawrence as an example here.


Despite the recent trend of hate surrounding a viral clip on tiktok of one of their live performances (Which is insane by the way) They have had something of an incredible career. Around 3 years ago they released a live version of their song "Don't Lose Sight" which was nothing short of fantastic and has amounted approx 4 million plays as of today.

Now this video and it's popularity allowed them to further reach out to perspective grammy voters for their consideration which is an avenue I hadn't ever imagined could be explored in this way (I know, you learn something new everyday).

I would definitely recommend taking a deep dive into their "acoustic-ish" series as it is really the perfect example of how to do live videos and how to do them well.


With this in mind you now need to look at the other side of the spectrum, The Fan:


Now you have (to be crude) two groups of fans within this side of the spectrum to consider.

First is the avid gig attendee/fan who loves to talk and share all things their favourite band do. There is nothing more incredible than going to watch a live show and hearing the band play there latest songs along with their classic hits.

Sometimes the event is so memorable for you that the idea of capturing the moment forever flickers through your head and you get your phone out to record every moment. After the show whilst still on the buzz you find yourself in bed for the night going through the videos only to see a shaky screen and hear yourself screaming along to the words. Whilst this can be a great momento for the fan after a while having the distorted shaky video of them singing the song doesn't quite scratch the itch that seeing the band live does.

Now of the three groups (without sounding mean), this group is the most likely to immediately embrace the live performance videos as it allows them to relive their favourite songs in a live capacity without having to endure the mosh pits, queues, expensive beer and hangover the next day. It also becomes the most friendly way for them to share their experience of a live show with much better video and audio quality.


The second group of fan is often overlooked but incredibly important. There are many people who may not be able to attend the live shows for reasons beyond their control. This could be accessibility reasons, financial reasons, age restrictions or even geographical restriction.

These are the fans that want to experience the live music in a capacity that is available for them for free on YouTube or Vimeo.

Having these videos allows you to show off your ability in a live setting as well as your music. Those fans who are just as passionate as the gig goers but aren't as able to leave their homes or attend large social events are so so important. As a musician myself from a family of creatives I know that the most important this for a creative is for your art to reach as many eyes and ears as possible especially if you want to evolve it into a career.


You have no idea how important your music and creativity can be for people who feel see and have access to experience your live music on their terms.


Now the scale from indie artist to middle of the road to arena artist is huge. But I have seen so many people with a small budget create great versions of their songs. As long as you have a camera and a microphone you can get started, From there the quality can only improve, so why not start at the bottom and work up? or, even better, collaborate with other people like a producer or videographer and try to build something together.


Now I want to give a special mention to the platforms out there that do well promoting this kind of creative medium. These are some go-to's to see how it should be done by different artists across the spectrum of genres.



I would whole heartedly emplore any bands, artists or industry professionals to delve further into this medium. Do the research and create something incredible. There are even bands that record their own rehearsals and use the rehearsal space as a place to create the recorded live videos. I know of one local to me that will record the audio and video from a band or artists rehearsal and send it to them so they can listen back to it and make improvements. Somewhere that offers a service like this could be massively beneficial to a band on a budget.


If you made it this far thank you so so much for reading and please let me know what you think of the live video medium and whether they can be a step in the right direction for indie artists.

Would love to hear your thoughts! Stay Safe

Stay Happy

Stay Louder Than Most


Ed







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