trendspotter | 4.15 - 5.15

Written By Nicholas Papa

We’ve had incredible conversations with artists in philly to try and find ways to continue to support music in the city we love during this time. These discussions are fun and we hope provide some additional exposure for musicians. but we want to take this as a learning opporutnity. You’ve offered the input. we owe you the output.

“Whatever happens, we'll need to adapt. Without art and without music we will not survive. Humans need culture, to connect, to be inspired and necessity is the mother of invention.” - La Palma

4 Key trends from our Q&A discussion over the last 4 weeks:

  1. There’s always power in the collective

    • Bands are connecting with other artists in different cities for live-stream tours - offering bands the ability to get exposure and make connections in new places to help supplement for a tour. 

    • Artists are turning towards those who have experience with making music in isolation prior to the quarantine. The correspondence approach to songwriting isn’t ideal but its been done.

  2. Live streaming is weird af…

    • But its not going anywhere and there are a couple of realities to face:

      • You’re always going to be held to promoting yourself where the people are. Right now, live streaming on social platforms is one of the few ways to continue to promote yourself. But it will get better - and people are finding ways to make it fun (BXBW, Collaborations, etc.)

      • Digital concerts may be opening up opportunity to reach people who can’t physically get to a concert or those who are just uncomfortable with being in live venues/house shows.

  3. Limitations inspire creativity

    • We are all on a level playing field right now. lo-fi audio has been a widely adored genre - while lo-fi zoom videos aren’t quite as cool yet. Think about the ability to create when so little has been done in the space up until this point.

    • It’s relatively a bit easier for a singer/songwriter to pump out tracks on live stream, But certain genres or formats can prohibit artists from engaging as frequently. Find new ways to share your art. think: Genius’ “check the rhyme”

  4. Venues should be taking note

    • There’s not going to be a flip of the switch where things go back to normal. if the “yellow” period allows for gatherings of <10 people, this could provide an opportunity for venues to bring in bands (only) to create live-stream concerts at a higher production value (benefit for the venue and the artist)

    • This may even be an opportunity in the “green” period, for venues to have these live stream concerts during days they aren’t typically open. Keeping overhead costs low, but bringing in revenue they wouldn’t have otherwise seen on those days.

Nicholas Papa