I’ve had several conversations recently looking to the future in which the other person had a default plan of continuing with livestream or digital stream as a standard practice for future concerts and performances.
I sincerely hope that this doesn’t become common practice. There is value in archival recording a concert. There is value in filming a performance for later sharing. But there is a big downside to making livestream a default.
First, I fear it will erode the size of audiences. People are already choosing to do almost anything else rather than attend concerts; making livestreams will give them a perfect rationale to avoid attendance (whether or not they watch the stream!).
Live audiences are an essential part of the musical experience – especially for younger musicians, who do not have a wealth of previous experience to rely on. We learn by how an audience reacts. We grow by sharing with people in the same room.
Second, the livestream viewing experience is undeniably inferior for several reasons. It isn’t immersive. It isn’t visceral. It doesn’t contain human connection. I fear that if we move in that direction, we’ll start optimizing our concerts for the livestream experience rather than for the in-person concert experience.
Third, we all need what concerts offer. We need the focus that it requires to give a concert. We need the focus that it requires to attend a concert!
Certainly there will be times when we’ll want to make digital options available – for far away relatives, for travel challenges, etc. – but let’s make it a rule to take the knowledge we’ve gleaned in the last year and use it to prioritize in-person performances.