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The live-performance business has long been a powerful economic engine for many, many kinds of artists.
(Lets set theater aside for this discussion.
Different bag altogether.)
Bands are announcing dates again.
Some venues are starting to hold very small, socially distant performances.
Music festivals are poking their heads back up.
Still, the full bloom of reopening will take some time.
For now, there remains some room for a little more tinkering and experimentation.
Central to the experience is the FRQNCY platform itself.
This is incredibly reductive, but think of it as a glossier cross between Twitch and Zoom.
Several ticket packages are available, some of which will contain the aforementioned backstage experience as well as merch.
Prices range between $20 and $75, and a cheaper presale lot has been sold out.
One noteworthy production aspect of the festival is the way the organizers are approaching revenue splits.
With Pickathon, we usually capped the number of people who could attend, said Schoenborn.
But all that comes later.
Everybodys excited about that, but we havent really addressed the possibility of organizing a full-on tour just yet.
I imagine thats something that will come up after we do this show.
If you havent checked out the show, you should do so.
Distractibleis scheduled to launch on May 17 and will be available on all platforms.
For reference: Markiplier is one of the bigger digital creators to come out of the YouTube ecosystem.
In 2018, Fischbach expanded into apparel, collaborating with fellow creator Jacksepticeye on a clothing brand called Cloak.
Wood Elf is considered a podcast label under QCODE, interestingly enough.
In other words, Apple TV+ is producing its first standalone original podcast.
Spotify competes with Apple by directly integrating its publisher role into its platform distributor role.
Indeed, it seems quite the opposite.
Happy fifty years, NPR.Another dozen more, and you get to draw sweet, sweet social security.
That didnt happen, and recapturing the lost revenue will not happen in one fiscal year.
Also noted: The organization had a strong year for memberships, aided by a particularly heavy news cycle.
A $8.9 million PPP loan also factors into the equation.
Because if the pandemic hadnt happened, Balsham still wouldve up and left.
It just wouldve been out of exhaustion, and she wouldnt be going back.
Before the quarantine, I was so close to quitting, says Balsham.
I was crying before sets, crying after sets, regardless of how they went.
I just wanted to collapse.
When the world began to shut down, it gave her a break she wouldnt have given herself.
I needed that to just go away.
I really enjoyed getting support on things that I didnt realize I even said.
Balsham has always mined her personal life for content.
Anybody going through it deserves to laugh, because its so heavy.
Lockdown brought pensive, independent time, in which she really thought through what comedy meant for her.
My friend Bradley, we write really well together, Balsham says.
Whenever we do, were very creative.
He helped me with my other one-woman show.
She says other because shes currently working on one, for her piecemeal return to the stage.
Details are forthcoming, and podcasting, she says, was the catalyst.
On arecent episodeofShady Shit, Balsham opens by saying, I could be, fuckin, completely naked!
Or I could be wearing every piece of clothes I have, like Joey inFriends.
In fact, it might even be how she does her best work.
It feels like it hasnt felt in a long time, she says.
I feel like a new comic.
But our podcast work is pretty simply focused, and I have a go at keep it that way.
HP: How do the creators you work with generally view podcasting?
Our job is to support them however we can.
HP: Tell me more about that relationship with algorithms.
Do they view podcasting as not being similarly tied to the whims of platforms?
I cant speak for every creator, but Ive definitely heard rumblings along those ideas.
Thats not always the case with podcasts.
To some extent, youre pulling the lever with every video or clip and hoping things work out.
Am I off base?
Has there been a gradual increase, or has interest exploded within the past year in particular?
Perlstein: I do think theres been an acceleration, particularly since the beginning of COVID.
In some ways, it can be easy, but its also fraught in other ways.
HP: Can you tell me a little more about those social strategies?
What does that mean?
They get lost in that journey, and thats a real friction point.
So we give a shot to do a number of things to mitigate that friction.
Whats working on it, and how do we do this more and better?
Perlstein: I dont worry about our creators treating podcasts like a side project.
And some of those stories result in massive failures.
We try not to follow that approach.
And of course, sometimes, podcasts dont work.
But not all of them do.
We just take a stab at be a good partner, both for the successes and those less successful.
HP: How do you think about advertising?
Overall, theyve been really receptive.
We also play around with simultaneous releases for some of our podcasts on YouTube.
Not all of them, maybe 60% or 70%.
I think I kind of knew that to a certain point.
HP: Lets look forward a little bit.
What do you think were going to see in the years to come?
Perlstein: So, I dont make a run at prognosticate very much, because I just dont know.
Podcasting has changed a lot, and it keeps on changing.
