36 Interview April 2021 perspective , the platform ’ s sound will be unrivalled ,” Sutcliffe says .
Even before the pandemic outbreak , Coldplay announced that they were putting plans to tour their new album on hold until they could figure out how to tour more sustainably . Whilst other artists such as The 1975 have been strong exponents of being more environmentally conscious and making positive changes for good .
Sutcliffe believes that the biggest percentage of carbon output is from music fans travelling to gigs , so live streaming ’ s role in the fight against climate change will be a pivotal one .
“ Live streaming won ’ t ever replace the live experience and we ’ d want to encourage fans to still see their favourite bands live in their local area . But we ’ d also encourage them to think twice about jumping on a plane to travel half way around the world when there ’ s a more sustainable way to watch a premium live streamed performance from their living room ,” he says .
Staying in as the new going out is also cheaper , as the £ 7.50 Dua Lipa ticket price proved .
Sutcliffe says that live stream ticket pricing is an ‘ evolving model ’ but there ’ s certainly a level that people aren ’ t prepared to go above for a stay-at-home live experience .
He says : “ Billie Eilish
“ WITH STAY-AT-HOME AUDIENCES HUNGRY FOR A TASTE OF LIVE THROUGH THEIR CONNECTED TVS , IT ’ S NO SURPRISE THAT STREAMING PLATFORM COMPETITION IS STARTING TO HEAT-UP .”
charged $ 30 for her ‘ Where Do We Go ? The Livestream ’ concert and sales were apparently sluggish . There ’ s definitely an ongoing eduction to get audiences comfortable with what they receive for their ticket price . That will come from consistency of production and high-quality streaming .
“ We currently have a sliding scale model for buying tickets - the earlier the purchase , the cheaper the price . They go up in price right up until the week before the event but even then , we ’ d never set a price above $ 25 . There needs to be some incentive for people to buy their tickets early . It ’ s not like they ’ ll sell-out , so we always see a spike in demand on the actual day of the event as people realise they don ’ t have any plans for that evening so they decide to attend .”
With stay-at-home audiences hungry for a taste of live through their connected TVs and music tours not realistically returning until the end of the year at the earliest , it ’ s no surprise that streaming platform competition is starting to heat-up .
Sutcliffe is buoyed by LIVENow ’ s pedigree in the market but isn ’ t complacent , especially since the news of Live Nation buying a majority stake in rival platform Veeps back in January , plus the launch of new music streaming solutions such as Multiview Media in February .
“ The more players who jump into this space , the more mainstream live event streaming will become ,” says Sutcliffe . “ If there ’ s only a few of us , you ’ re either considered a pioneer or a fool . Increased competition will popularise the medium and breed confidence among brand owners , promoters and record labels that live streaming is here to stay .
“ I can ’ t deny that it also helps elevate our position when rival platforms are found to not be very good but what we really need is the reputation for high-quality live streaming to continue rising so that we can take our place alongside in-person live events as a value add-on , providing more reasons to engage with live .”