Usually, to increase the reach of in-person concerts, one may do several performances of the programme, and may tour the concert.
However, in the case of participatory online concerts, there is no real possibility of touring.
How can we then take an online concert further?
There are some projects which feature a series of live-streamed concerts - a practice that was particularly widespread during the Coronavirus pandemic, especially through the feature of Instagram Live. However, recurrent livestreaming performances of one specific programme are lesser-known, in our experience.
As for recorded concerts - being either the documentation of a livestream or a pre-recorded concert all-together - repetition is more feasible because the material can be made available to watch on demand. Such access can take place either freely, as in platforms such as YouTube or Instagram, or via subscriptions to paid services such as the Berliner Philharmoniker Digital Concert Hall.[1]
In the case of on-demand recorded concerts, there is the potential to attract the attention of new or recurrent spectators in a type of passive way, just by the concert being available online. However, this potential can be increased by some more active strategies. For example, in our experience, engagement through social media has been a good strategy to call the attention of online audiences. In addition, reviews in specialised magazines and blogs can also help bring visibility to a project.
If the concert is inserted in a research context, there are means of dissemination such as communications at conferences and publication of journal articles.[2] Similarly, lectures and workshops can be good opportunities to amplify the visibility of the concert among academic and non-academic audiences.
Additionally, there is the possibility of submitting the video of the online concert to film festivals and competitions - one can apply to festivals and competitions that are focused on music, or general events which have a ‘music video’ category or similar. Also, we can look for thematic events that are related to the topic of the concert, for example: film festivals with a gender thematic, or competitions that are aimed at practitioners from certain geographical locations, and so on.
Depending on the requirements of the call for submissions of the desired festival or competition, the online concert can be submitted either in its original form or in an edited version. Incidentally, the possibility of producing an edited version of the online concert for further dissemination can be a stimulating opportunity for further creative development of the work.
However, when disseminating a participatory/collaborative work, it may be interesting to consider whether questions might emerge, relating to ethics and copyright, concerning the participants.
[2] see Williamon et. al. chapter on Communication and dissemination of research projects in music. In WILLIAMON, A., Ginsborg, J., Perkins, R., & Waddell, G. 2021. Performing music research: Methods in music education, psychology, and performance science. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198714545.001.0001
Case study 1: music as an invitation (year 1: 2023-2024)
The main strategy for the dissemination of the online concert of the first year of the music as an invitation project was indeed posts on social media.
Following the online premiere, I posted about it on the projects’ and my personal social media pages, sharing the YouTube link where the recording could be accessed. The concert was also embedded on the project’s website.
Since this online concert was part of a research project, conference presentations helped to communicate it to my academic peers. Similarly, I have shared the concert in online lectures to students and teachers of music programmes in Higher Education institutions.
Additionally, there are plans to submit this online concert to film festivals in order to further amplify its reach.
The actions for dissemination, besides being part of the research process, have also been opportunities where learnings keep emerging each time the online concert is shown, revealing insights, provoking reflections, and bringing up ideas for new projects.
Case study 2: Hecate writes / rsvp: piano, toy piano, electronics, and actions
Since the recording of the livestream of the rsvp: piano, toy piano, electronics, and actions concert has remained available on YouTube, the strategies to bring attention to it include: sending the link to specific people via email, sharing it on social media, and embedding it on the project’s website.
Similarly to the year 1 concert, communications in conferences and in lectures have also been increasing the reach of the year 2 concert among audiences in research and educational environments.
Due to it being a recording of a live-streamed concert, this concert does not appear, to me, as suitable to be submitted to film festivals and competitions.
However, the participatory piece which was central to this concert - Hecate writes - has indeed received recurrent performances since its premiere in the livestreamed concert.
These recurrent performances of Hecate writes have been opportunities for me to become more and more intimate with the piece. Also, the varied feedback coming from diverse audiences has been offering varied perspectives and insights to reflect upon.
Thus, on one hand, the dissemination of the recording of the livestream has been an interesting tool to show my research and interests, and to build opportunities for further performances. On the other hand, recurrent performances of the key participatory piece - Hecate writes - have been opportunities to amplify the impact of the idea behind the online concert: processes of participation and collaboration in online contexts and empowerment of the voices of teenage girls through an online collaborative music project.