You work hard to prepare for your upcoming concert performance. Everything is lined up: the set list, venue, concessions and even a list of fan souvenirs and merchandise you plan to sell to the fans who show up. A “sold out” show is a coveted accomplishment in the entertainment industry – especially when you can get them back-to-back on a leg of your tour.

However, when you are just starting out, filling those seats is much easier said than done. Live event webcasting using tools like BlueJeans opens a wide door of opportunity when it comes to increasing your concert attendance – allowing you to transition your performance from traditional to virtual.

What is Online Webcasting?

Webcasting expands the concept of live video streaming and standard video conferences to satisfy the needs of your large event. With a little help from the Internet, even a performance from your bedroom can be internationally broadcasted to tens of thousands (or even millions) of people. Think about what that type of exposure can do for your brand, your music and your current sales. There are several key benefits to explore about online webcasting that makes it a solid option for your next marketing investment.

Fans Do Not Have to Leave Their Homes

Your prospective, new and existing fans will not have to leave their home to hear you perform live if they have access to the online broadcast. Of course, the fans who are closest to the venue or do not mind making the trip to your performance venue to see you face-to-face will still do so. In addition to those concertgoers, you can also unlock a vast new audience of people who do not even live in the same state, country or side of the world as your concert venue.

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Save Money on Overhead Expenses

By catering more to a virtual audience, you can review your financial options with hopes of cutting back on your overhead expenses.

As your fan base grows, you may consider renting larger venues with higher price tags associated with those specific spaces. You may need to invest more money in the security staff to ensure everything stays in line and effectively manage crowd control. Focusing on expanding your concert audience through a virtual platform, such as webcasting, makes it easy for you to look at your profits and losses each month differently – adding more to the profits and less to the losses.

The money that you save on those reduced expenses can be reinvested into your music and other profitable aspects of your brand. For instance, think of how many more studio hours you can purchase for recording and mixing your new songs by not having to spend as much money on venue rentals and other performance-related costs.

Increase Web Merchandising Opportunities

As mentioned earlier, merchandising plays a key role in preparing, planning and pulling off a successful concert. Not having an assortment of brand-related merchandising on hand at your performances means you are leaving a substantial amount of revenue on the table untouched and undetected. Billboard magazine reports that a touring artist can make a lot of money in concert merchandise sales at a per-head rate. The article highlights the example of Taylor Swift and how she averages $17 per head in concert merchandise sales. Even a lower per-head rate can still generate an impressive amount of money to complement ticket sales and album purchases associated with the performance. With live webcasting, you can promote the same type of merchandising opportunities on the Internet instead of in a traditional kiosk at a brick-and-mortar concert venue.

Since they are already viewing your performance online, it is easy to share and encourage them to click various links to your online websites and eCommerce stores to purchase merchandise before, during and after your performance. With the right type exposure and marketing strategy in place, you may very well end up making a lot more money from the merchandise promoted during the concert than from the actual performance itself.

Draw Attention to Your Online Presence

Most start-up businesses, including recording artists and musicians, strive to build a following as quickly as possible. They know that the size and quality of their fan base correlate with the commercial success (or failure) of their entertainment career. Inc magazine makes it clear that start-up businesses can save a lot of money by investing in video conferencing options, such as webcasting. While you are trying to get your music career off the ground, every dollar counts.

This type of exposure will also work wonders for your online presence. You are more likely to build a solid following for your music with virtual concert audiences and live online broadcasts than with small-venue tours in your local area. Over time, you will have a better chance of selling out shows and performances tour leg after tour leg – continuing to build on the foundation established by webcasts and building your online presence.

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