because they know now that this is a viable option . Whereas before , it wasn ’ t .”
Fredette concurs , “ I ’ m often asked , ‘ What about after the pandemic ?’ Well , we ’ ll continue to distribute in-person events and the eSpace events because the need we identified will still exist . The shift would not have occurred as quickly without the pandemic , but there will still be the need we identified . COVID just forced us to put all of this on the fast track and our technology can be used anywhere . We have mobile kits because , as I say , it was developed originally to tour with artists and can be added to any stage environment .”
As Fredette pointed out earlier , for artists wanting to throw a big party at the end of a tour and invite fans to join in from wherever they may be , this offers a compelling way to do so . And in a way that , while possible pre-2020 , wasn ’ t as highly evolved . “ When it comes to the equipment and the technology , artists at the beginning of the pandemic were left to themselves – streaming from their kitchen or living room . Now we see companies popping up every week doing streaming . And for an artist alone , streaming can be a difficult proposition , especially when you ’ re playing for a camera lens without any feedback from your audience .”
It ’ s a good point . Emojis and text comments are all right as a stop-gap , but they ’ re a poor substitution for the unpredictable and immediate back and forth of a real live show . “ When we were doing the research , it was pretty clear there was little value for fans in watching a video in the same way they ’ d watch a YouTube clip . People are looking for connection .”
Yoop , Fredette believes , has the potential to provide that now , and also for hybrid scenarios down the line . “ It ’ s three things together . First , we use a real stage environment . With Yoop , artists can perform their whole show on a full stage with the equipment they know . That ’ s why teaming up with Solotech was so important for us to provide the artist the environment they ’ re used to and deserve and need to provide the quality of entertainment they want to .
“ Two is the production value , a high quality , TV broadcast-like product , but with that live component , because all of our shows are live , not pre-recorded .
“ Finally , we bring in this interactive technology of ours , which allows every fan watching the event to have an equal chance to participate and end up , themselves , ‘ on stage .’ The way it works for the user is , as they ’ re watching , they ’ ll receive a notification on their screen . If they accept , they get ‘ teleported ’ to the stage and can view the artist from where they are on stage . There ’ s this notion of perspective and the users can change their view . They can view from the centre , from the back . But our biggest feature is the ability to do all this with zero lag .”
Again , that ’ s the key , Fredette says : “ If a comedian cracks a joke and gets a laugh three seconds after , it ’ s pretty awkward . In music , it ’ s also distracting . Fans want to sing along – it ’ s crazy because they ’ re as far as they ’ ve ever been from the stage versus an in-person event , but they are closer to the artist than they ’ ve ever been ; closer than the first row . And because there ’ s no delay , the artist isn ’ t distracted either , so you have better interaction .
“ We built Yoop to give fans a voice ,” Fredette continues . “ But it also allows performers to scale their events beyond the capacity constraints of a physical venue , without sacrificing production quality .” Whatever the future holds , he adds : “ I ’ m proud that this platform is creating opportunities for people in the entertainment industry to return to work safely .”
Kevin Young is a Toronto-based musician and freelance writer .
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