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Deliver a Hit Performance – The Guide

Posted on March 1, 2016

How to deliver a hit performance on an online stage. This is your StreetJelly Guide to getting started and enjoying the creation of memorable e-concerts.

Special guest blog by StreetJelly’s co-founder, Martina.
“Here are helpful tips for live streaming musical performances based on feedback and suggestions from StreetJelly musicians, viewers, and staff.”

Music is a beautiful addition to the lives of millions of people around the world. Modern technology allows us to reach audiences we were never able to reach several years ago. An online streaming music service is a venue much like any conventional venue which unites musical performers and viewers in one place. Just like traditional performances, an online show should be considered that, a real show. Let me explain in detail why viewers prefer certain performances over others.

Positive headline
It all starts with a positive headline. A positive headline will attract viewers to your show. It does not have to be super witty and the catch-all phrase of the century. Keep it simple with uplifting words, and let it explain the type of performance and music genre. Negative headlines, like “I’m bored,” are not appealing! They will instantly result in turning viewers away from your performance.

Inviting and clean performance space
Regardless where your webcam is pointing, your are setting a stage for your show. Depending on your performance style, it can be anything from a casual corner in your home to a professionally decorated stage in a concert hall. Individual musicians and fans enjoy different types of shows. No matter the style of your stage, make it appealing to the viewers. Remove trash, clutter, dirty laundry, or anything from the camera that is a distraction. Double-check your image in the broadcast window. Your performance is greatly enhanced by a pleasant, neat surrounding. Many viewers truly appreciate the effort put into a well crafted stage. It will be the center of their attention and often result in increased tips or loyal followers.

Fill out your profile
Once you caught the viewers’ attention, your audience will be interested in finding out more about you. Make it easy for them to get that information by filling out your StreetJelly profile. Don’t forget to add links to your website, Facebook fan page, YouTube videos, and so on. Viewers will look you up at their convenience. Add your full name to your Bio, as well. This will help in Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and let viewers find you from Google and Bing.

No dead space during the performance
Prepare a show. Viewers appreciate the fact that some musicians can fulfill random requests. But generally, viewers enjoy a well prepared performance more. If you unexpectedly walk away from your show for extended periods of time and all your audience sees is an empty chair, it will result in losing viewers. Do not pause for more than a few minutes. If you have to take a longer break, end your show and tell the viewers you will return at a later time.

Put on a show, not a practice session
StreetJelly is a music performance site. Although we welcome performers with various skill levels, please do not use StreetJelly as a practicing platform. If your practice session is essentially identical to a performance and you consider it suitable for broadcasting, don’t label it as “only practicing.” (See “Positive headline” above.) This directs viewers to other performers who put on a well planned show.

“Flies” are Ok
StreetJelly gives viewers the option to chat during a performance, or to watch silently without logging in by name. We welcome both kinds of listeners. We call the viewers who don’t interact “Flies,” like a fly listening on the wall. Many regular viewers alternate between those two modes depending on where they are watching from, or their momentary listening preference. Some viewers prefer to remain anonymous all the time, some occasionally. We offer a guest tipping option for them, too, in case they wish to tip a musician and stay anonymous.

No official time limit on shows
Generally, a performance from 1 to 1½ hours appears to be very popular with viewers. We have several performers who put on longer shows with great success. It is up to each performer to choose how long and when they want to play. Any musician can pick a time and length of show convenient for him or her. StreetJelly has a wonderful community of supportive and respectful members. But every now and then, an individual musician will try to force his or her personal view (and time-slot) unto others about performance times, show durations, and so on. If you have any questions about this, please contact us at support@streetjelly.com.

No recordings
We do not allow playing full recorded music as karaoke or background accompaniment. This is a licensing issue and we ask you to follow this rule. In case we detect a violation of this policy, we reserve the right to shut down any performance. We do allow “backtracks.” Consider a backtrack recording as adding an extra instrument or two to your performance. Many musicians create their own original backtracks ahead of time.

Fill out your playlist
StreetJelly pays the licensing cover fees to various songwriter associations (BMI, ASCAP, etc.). Please fill out your playlist to ensure an accurate distribution of royalties. Maintaining your playlist repertoire will help you plan out your next show, too.

Don’t steal viewers from another performer’s show
Many musicians work hard to build their audience. Please do not go into an ongoing show and ask viewers to watch you instead. Committing this social faux-pas will instantly raise the eye-brows of both viewers and fellow musicians. They will boycott your show, guaranteed!

PG 13
Please keep your language suitable to a “PG 13” movie. We try to provide a pleasant environment for ALL our viewers and ensure an enjoyable experience for the majority of StreetJelly members. Read more about this topic: What is a Family Friendly Site?

Music can improve our daily lives on so many levels. It unites people, helps many of us through difficult times, or simply entertains us. We would like to thank everyone who visits this online venue and shares our passion for music and music lovers.

Martina
StreetJelly co-founder

Branding, the Key to Large Crowds and Fans

Posted on August 20, 2014

StreetJelly starts a new blog series on Marketing and Artist Promotion.

Stand Out from the Crowd

Whether you are fairly new to StreetJelly or part of a larger following of regular StreetJelly performers; you almost certainly notice the steadily increasing number of artists who draw a large audience. These musicians are the envy of most performers on StreetJelly. There is no magic trick behind attracting an audience of die-hard-fans. You can follow some simple steps that can lead to an increase in viewer numbers and even a cult of followers who will go above and beyond to tip, attend shows, and promote your music. It all boils down to Branding: the who – your name, the what – what you are all about, and the how – how you spread the word.

Who – the Artist Name Don’t underestimate the power of your artist name. StreetJelly allows you to create a unique profile name (at least 5 characters) that becomes your own StreetJelly link. Think of it as your “stage name.” Choose a name that is pleasant and meaningful. It is tempting to choose something cool, but keep in mind that names which are associated with unpleasant events in life might deter people from going to your show. Pick something that defines you as a person or your music. It is perfectly fine to be inventive, but toilet references or violent phrases can be an automatic turn off to your shows.

Recommendations: keep it simple; choose a name that you are comfortable being addressed by; and when in doubt, use your actual name or family nickname.

What – Are you All About What does that mean? It’s your personal identity. Your intent is to create a strong bond with your audience so they feel a deep connection to you. The key to a large loyal fan base is a personal and individual approach to communicating with your fans. It literally means conversing with them one on one. It is about exchanging interests and skills in everyday life. If you lend a helping hand to someone, often people will remember you and support your own agenda. We often call this “networking,” or the building of productive relationships.

StreetJelly is a great avenue for networking since you get to talk live to your fans. Think about what you say during your shows, how you want people to perceive you, and what you post later online in other social media communities. Talk to people, a lot of people, everyone you meet.

How – You Spread the Word Many Streetjelly artists support each other and attend each other’s shows. This is wonderful, but it is important to attract your own personal audience. Maybe your friends or family, your coworkers, or neighbors enjoy live music. Let them know that you are performing on StreetJelly. Inform them about your upcoming shows and share your talent with as many people as possible. Soon your audience will grow and you will be one of the artists with the popular show. This will attract even more fans. Crowds attract crowds. Connect with this audience and make them watch you perform over and over.

Remember, do not spam a huge number of people on social media. Your posts will get lost in the sea of noise out there. But do individually invite people you know to your shows. And ask them to share your invitations. Rotate through different groups of people you know, too. It’s unpleasant to burden the same people all the time.

Branding is forming memories, opinions, representing ideals, and stirring emotions. You build loyal fans that associate your name and performance with a specific mixture of musical talent and personal charm. Building that deep bond takes time and commitment. But it’s simple. Get to know your fans, entertain them with your music, help them out when you can. Good luck out there!

Tips on Filling Out your Artist Profile / EPK

Posted on January 23, 2013

SEO Cheat Sheet: Artist Profile / EPK (Electronic Press Kit)

Headline – Provide a short three to five words of who you are. “Latin Country Singer from Nashville” This headline is repeated in the HTML <title> tag; which means its heavily used by search engines.
Music Categories – Although choosing two music categories is optional, it really helps to pick two. For one, search engines will find you in multiple places, but so will viewers. Also, choose at least one of the main categories that appear as part of the top menu buttons: Rock, Country, Hip Hop, etc.
Location – Many people search Google, Bing, and others by also including a city name. By filling out the location field, you get indexed by search engines for anyone’s search within specific regions. The search engines are smart enough to expand searches geographically even by just supplying a local city or town name.
Bio – A good bio is important for both viewers and search engines. Keep in mind to include words that people may use to search for you. For example, it’s always beneficial to include your stage or band name. “I am Frankie Two Shoes.” This way whenever someone searches for you on Google, or even the StreetJelly search box, your profile will get returned.
Links – You want your presence across the internet in as many places as possible. Not only does it help viewers find your YouTube account, or Reverb, or whatever, it also gives weight to search engines to crawl your other pages out there on the net.
Stories – Similar to the advice for Bio (above), be sure the fill out your fun stories with specific venue names, bands, famous stars, and so on.

Artist profiles/EPK (electronic press kits) on StreetJelly are important for two main reasons. One, they allow the internet search engines to find the artist. The cheat sheet above covers that. It’s generally known as SEO: Search Engine Optimization. The other reason to make a great profile is to inform viewers about the artist, their style, show a picture, links to social media, etc.

All social media profiles, whether it be Facebook, Twitter, and the like, are all about telling the world who you are! But with StreetJelly, there is an added incentive to make a real connection with the artist. Ultimately, we hope to entertain viewers through music in exchange for gratification, fan exposure, and of course, tips. On StreetJelly, however, we did not create profile pages like all the rest. In fact, we put in fields where the artist can link back to YouTube, ReverbNation, etc. so they can expose their fans to their other online profiles. But we did specifically add questions to the StreetJelly profile to invoke a more personal response about being a musician. We as humans make connections with others through experiences. Telling a short story about oneself is more effective than listing out prior job titles from a boring resume. Successful profiles are fun, interesting, and a bit personal. Viewers will see the artist as a close friend rather than some anonymous organ grinder.

Which artist profiles on StreetJelly do you think are great? Add them below in the comment section.

No, You Can’t Upload a Video

Posted on September 25, 2012

Can I upload videos and mp3s to my profile?
No, you may not!

Did we just break the cardinal rule and say “no” to our customers? I guess so. But I’m not really the type to do what everyone tells me to do, anyway.

We’ve been asked a few times at Street Jelly if an artist can upload their videos and mp3s to their profile. When an artist is not performing live, understandably, they would like their repertoire of songs and videos to be easily accessible. We can totally agree with this.

But at the same time, Street Jelly is about LIVE performances. We don’t allow musicians to broadcast recordings, presumably over and over, to put up some kind of tip jar filling machine. There is a craft to entertaining the public for tips. The great performers do it for the love, and the tips come naturally.

We thought long and hard about adding the ability to upload files to a Street Jelly profile. Our decision was to stick to our guns about LIVE music and not allow uploads. After all, there are plenty of websites out there for uploading videos and songs. The last thing we want to be is yet another place on the web where musicians feel obligated to put up their “store front.”

We also believe that the delivery of music will fundamentally change again in the near future. Digital downloading, piracy, copyright infringement, etc. has made one big unsustainable mess of things. But one fact hasn’t changed – we humans love our silly love songs. And we will be seeking that love by any means practical. (Note I said “practical,” not free.) It’s our guess that people will seek live music more and more for its true entertainment value.

So Street Jelly is not a digital uploading / downloading site. Hurray! We do what we can, however, to help promote our artists. We made it easy for them to place links to their YouTube channel, ReverbNation, etc. right on their Street Jelly profile. In fact, we encourage it. This week, we released a feature that now embeds YouTube videos directly in the artist’s profile page. Now music lovers can watch artist videos on Street Jelly without having to pop over to another browser window. This should make life easier for musicians.