Sell Tickets for livestream events and get additional revenue – how it works!
In our blog post “Survive the corona crisis. 10 things you can do as a promoter now.“We presented you a number of exciting possibilities that you, as an organizer of live events, can currently do to keep yourself and your event business alive. One of the topics we received the most feedback on was the opportunity to offer events online. We would, therefore, like to dedicate today’s blog exclusively to the topic of livestream.
Why does live streaming make sense? For whom is it suitable? And how can you implement it quickly?
Status Quo. No normal operation in 2020.
LIVESTREAMING ALLOWS YOU TO GENERATE MORE EARNINGS AND COVER COSTS.
Everyone should know the live features of Facebook or YouTube by now. A wave of live streams is currently going through the internet and the share prices of streaming platforms such as Netflix or Disney Plus have increased rapidly. Many providers of video conferences (e.g. Zoom, Vimeo) have expanded their functionalities. There is the possibility to show house tours, to broadcast concerts online or to make archived material accessible to your own fans and supporters. Now, that no major public events are allowed to take place (in Germany until, at least, August 31, 2020) it is important that you have a plan for the next 4 months. The possibility of offering livestreams brings a number of possibilities and advantages that will also last beyond the quarantine. With online livestream offers, you have the opportunity to redeem income even during the temporary closure of your venue. This service is beneficial for you whether you are an opera house, a comedy club, a theater, a playhouse or a solo artist. With live streaming events you have the opportunity to reach your fans anytime and anywhere in the world despite the quarantine. But even if the first deconfinement steps for venues with fewer than 1,000 places is expected to come into force from the end of 2020, due to new hygiene regulations, seats in your location will have to remain empty. It is, therefore, very likely that reopening will only be permitted if social distancing rules are being followed. Therefore, organizers will have to accept a loss of revenue, as they have to report sold out at 30-50% of their original capacity. Hence, an additional livestream offers the opportunity to generate additional income and cover costs.
There’s a life after the crisis. LIVESTREAMING FOR MORE TICKET SALES.
But even if we can, hopefully, soon return to normality, additional online streaming offers should remain an interesting option for every event promoter. Even then, they still offer the opportunity to generate additional profits and reach international fans. Capacity is always limited and tickets can only be sold for physical seats. Events can hardly be scaled and organizers have to be very creative to increase their income in a normal way. A livestream ticket can reach a second audience in addition to the guests on site. Regional restrictions no longer exist, and you can make your performances accessible to fans at any time, who might only be able to make it to the venue once or twice a year due to the distance. Well promoted, a livestream offer even gives you the opportunity to reach completely new target groups and to gain new regular customers with your exciting content. Use your additional livestream offer as an appetizer. Be creative and offer additional online content for your visitors; you can provide an interview with the artist or a look behind the scenes as added bonus and thus significantly expand your offer compared to the other venues.
We, at egocentric Systems, are focused on marketing your events so that you can simply sell more tickets! Continuing on the subject of livestream. We have, therefore, given a lot of thought and can offer you a solution that you can use to start your streaming tickets today! In addition to all the software, you’ll also need the right technology, depending on your requirements. Because the quality of creating paid content also plays a major role in online business. With this in mind, we found competent partners with T-Systems Multimedia Solutions and Video Vision that would rock your livestream event with us!
The ticketing software. Our all-around genius.
In our ticketing software solution you have now the option of either setting up pure livestream events or, in addition to your offline events, also configuring tickets for access to the streaming offer. This is very easy and can be done quickly. Then you integrate the individual streaming service of your choice, whether it’s Zoom, You Tube, Vimeo or any other. We have deliberately designed our options so that you can freely choose your streaming platform. As a last step, you just have to integrate our streaming plugin into your website or any landing page. That shouldn’t take longer than 5 minutes and you’re ready to go. Your fans, guests and spectators can now buy a ticket in our ticket shop with just a few clicks. The ticket buyer get send an access code in his print at home or mobile ticket, with which he can get to your live offer quickly. Of course, this access can only be used once per time, so that you have no risk of multiple accesses with the same code.
As always with our software solutions, both the shop and the plugin are completely white label and can be easily integrated into your design and without media break. With our newly created media library options, you can monetize recorded events and other video material after the live event. Here, you have the option to sell the videos, e.g. with unlimited access, as well as on demand, with a limited access authorization. You can also find out in our video how easy you can integrate a stream into our platform.
The Oohs and Ahhs. The technology for brilliant live streams.
Live is life, that applies both at the event and before the stream. So everything has to fit when the curtain falls. Your livestream should run continuously without breaks and the video quality should be good. Interruptions or a bad streaming quality not only cause dissatisfaction with your audience, but can also make you appear unprofessional. The technical setup should be the right one and it is important that you equip yourself with the necessary hardware. With the help of our partner Video Vision, we have a few hints and tips for you below.
By the way, in our livestream offer you will find two great packages that we have put together for you with Video Vision.
Camera.
- For simple transmissions (e.g. home stories), the webcam of the laptop, tablet or cell phone does it for the start.
- For a better quality, in larger rooms or when recording with several people, a video camera and simple equipment is preferable. The camera should be able to output formats up to 1920 × 1080 / 60p.
Volume.
- The tone is mostly underestimated. Although built-in microphones from your cell phone, computer or camera can bring good to very good quality, you are usually 2 meters or more away. External microphones are then much more suitable for these purposes and can be connected directly to a capture box.
Laptop / notebook.
- To get started, a standard laptop is enough. It should have at least 2 CPU cores with 2.5 GHz (i5 or i7). The RAM should be 16GB RAM. All other components such as graphics card or hard drive are not relevant for live streams. The operating system can be Windows or MacOS, but keep in mind the quality of the sound.
Connection to laptop / notebook.
- When using a camera, it must be connected to the computer. Special devices (capture boxes) are available from € 150.
- The important question here is how the signal gets into the computer. Picture and sound signals are mostly imported via HDMI or SDI signal. (SDI offers higher uncompressed quality and is mainly used in a professional environment).
Internet.
- We recommend 2 to 6 Mbit / s (Mbps) upload speed. Make sure with your provider that this is not the download rate. This is often significantly higher and the upload is often around 10-20% download rate. You can test the whole thing e.g. via breitbandmess.de. An LTE solution can be an alternative depending on the utilization of the radio mast. As good connection rates, between 10 and 40 Mbit / s are available.
- For a transmission of 720p HD you need approx. 2 Mbit / s, for Full HD with 1080p approx. 4-6 Mbit / s.
Live-Encoder.
- You need software to process the incoming video signal on the laptop. This processes the image and sound of one or more cameras into a livestream and connects directly to a streaming provider.
- Our recommendation here is “OBS” – Open Broadcaster Software. The software is free of charge and available for Windows, Mac and Linux. It offers a lot of functions (combining different video signals, graphics, titles and lower thirds), which are also ideal for professional use. With a short introduction to the software, even streaming beginners can get started quickly.
Streaming server.
There are various options here that have to be weighed depending on the requirements.
- Version 1: YouTube – free of charge, but not securely limited by a payment barrier. So if you want to sell live stream tickets and avoid sharing the stream free of charge, this option is out of the question. In addition, YouTube displays advertisements and promotes other videos. This can distract your viewers and switch to other content. Particularly important, with the publication on YouTube you may transfer your rights to the platform. So take a close look at the terms and conditions. If the general conditions of YouTube fit your needs, then you only need the ID of your stream, which you can easily assign to a streaming event in our system.
- Version 2: Zoom – free of charge or also available as a payment solution. Zoom is actually aimed at small webinars and digital workshops with a maximum of 1,000 viewers. Many currently use the service provider for direct streaming. In the free version, up to 100 viewers can follow the stream. Similar to Youtube, you only need the ID of the stream here and you’re ready to go.
- Version 3: Individual solution: Do you have your own streaming solution or a favorite streaming service (e.g. Vimeo)? No problem! With Iframe integration, you can integrate any stream into our system.
The bottom line is…
Extraordinary times require new measures and are often a driver for innovations!
With our functionalities you can also be an innovation driver! There are certainly countless arguments that speak intensively about providing live stream sessions for events. A few years ago, it was only reserved for the major broadcasters to sell video content, but today this is no longer a problem even for smaller providers. The technical framework has become significantly cheaper and the level of difficulty has dropped extremely.
We have the right solution for you. Check out what options we offer.
And that shouldn’t end here. We want to #sticktogether and have created the best entry for you with the soliticket.de project to get through the crisis in the best possible way!
Start with us now!
For more information about great opportunities to advertise your event online, just contact us and get to know us and our software better.