How to host a successful online concert

Choirs rehearse for weeks on their repertoire, and an important part of that is a memorable performance that engages the audience. After the onset of the covid pandemic, many choirs have moved to perform online, which also allows for audience members to attend from around the world. Read this blog to know more about hosting a successful online concert.

You start with having an idea of who your audience members are, where are they from, and how large they are. If you have audiences coming from different parts of the world, they will be attending the event at different times. So it is entirely probable that they all may not be able to attend the live performance. To overcome this, you can also put up recordings of your event for them to see and enjoy at a convenient time. This could be free or paid, and available for as long as you’d like.

Also important is selecting the right platform to host your choir event. With limited free options available today for live streaming, you should choose a platform that allows you to focus on your choir performance, while it takes care of everything else. Like secure streaming across devices, helping you raise money, and letting you put up recordings of your choir event for audiences who are unable to attend the live event.

Next is ensuring your program schedule is fixed and available to your audience. This not only gives them clarity and lets them plan ahead of time but can also help you streamline the organization of the event by inviting speakers or other guests only around their time slot and avoiding wasting their time. You can also surprise your audience with unannounced songs as a bonus. If you have a digital presence, ensure that you spread the word about your event on social media and email. This includes informing them about the platform, how to buy tickets (free or paid), and other relevant event details. Depending on how engaged they are with your choir, you can also send them reminders along with tips on device compatibility and recommended internet speeds.

You should always do a mock run of your event on the platform you’re hosting your event. This includes video and sound checks of your hardware and the platform, ensuring that your event is streaming, platform features and compatibility, and a run-through of the event from start to finish. Not only will this bring to the front any issues you may face, but also prepare you before the live event.

Your event should always include a moderator or an administrator. A moderator can ensure the performance goes on smoothly without unwanted interruptions from audiences, 

Since a virtual platform is software, always ensure you have troubleshooting help. This could be offered by the platform too and could include support for any technical glitches, audio or video, and backup plans in case of internet interruptions or anything else.

Always have a summary of the event for your audience members. This includes thanking them for their time, a summary of the repertoire (include a highlights video if possible), links for watching the performance again if present, any upcoming events, and how to get in touch with your choir. If you have a very active community, you can also include referral programs here.

A successful event has active audience participation. To know more about tips on how to engage with your audience, read our blog on how to keep your audience captivated. If you have important people like industry leaders or high net worth individuals (HNIs), you can also engage with them 1-1 in private room sessions to give them the importance that they deserve.

One of the biggest drawbacks of hosting events online is connecting with your audience. This can be overcome by choosing a platform that allows you to engage with your audience in multiple ways. This could mean inviting them on the virtual stage, giving them a forum to talk to you and with each other, giving them options to react, and other ways to engage. If you choose a platform that allows this, you can overcome this obstacle and focus on your choir performance. At FeelitLIVE, we have built our platform based on feedback from choirs like you. This means that it answers most of the questions choirs have about conducting online concerts or performances. To check it out, visit our website here.