PICTURE THE SCENE. You’re at a gig, you’re enjoying the band and they begin playing one of their most popular songs. Without skipping a beat, a sea of smartphones begin appearing in front of you as fans try to take a photo or record what happening in front of them.
It’s a scene that isn’t just happening more and more, it almost become part of the culture here. Searching for any major gig on YouTube will present you with clips of gigs and performances that can cover full songs or even entire gigs.
Depending on your perspective, this is either a good or bad thing. It’s good because you get to see moments that wouldn’t have been seen otherwise (how else would you see how eccentric Miley Cyrus’ recent gig in Dublin was), especially if it was for a gig that sold out quickly.
However, while the quality of smartphone cameras have advanced significantly in recent times, now reaching 4K quality, the audio quality leaves a lot to be desired. Also, it can defeat the purpose of going to a gig in the first place.
By the time you’ve taken your phone out, waited for the camera to boot up, record, and posted onto Twitter or Facebook, chances are you’ve missed a major part of the gig and not enjoyed it because you were viewing it through a screen.
Summer usually marks the time when music festivals around the country kick off meaning the chances of you seeing people around you recording increases. While this is nothing new, having existed since the days of camcorders, trying to ban these devices has become more difficult as practically everyone now has a camera in their pocket.
So if you can’t beat a trend, how do you deal with it?
A tale of two startups
Two music startups have taken different approaches to this. Both work with venues, record labels and artists as part of their service, but one focuses on fans recording a gig while the other looks at professional recordings.
The first is the Dublin-based startup FanFootage which decided to leverage this trend by asking fans to load up clips of a gig to their site, editing together the assembled clips and inserting high-quality audio to create music videos for bands.
The second is Lively, a Seattle-based startup that encourages fans to put away their phones by providing them with a professional recording, both audio and video, of the gig they attended on their smartphone, either for free or for a small fee.
In the case of FanFootage, one of its more high-profile gigs was Kodaline’s performance in the O2 earlier this year. Asking the fans to record one song, All I Want, it combined the best footage to produce a eight minute crowdsourced video.
Having been around since 2011, the one-song approach is something that its CEO and co-founder, Cathal Furey, has found effective since it began.
“What we like [about one-song recording] is that it works on two levels, says Furey. “We can take the best of all the footage, create this edited video which means that your angle might be used in an official live broadcast video that would be used to promote the band.”
But also what we do with our multi-angle players is all angles of sufficient quality available to watch that’s really exciting as well… We really like the concept of lean forward versus lean back, if you want to lean back and watch the best of the stuff, then we can create an edit or supply basically a code so the band’s editor [can decide] or someone else can choose the best of the footage.We love the idea of being able to choose your own journey through a show so that way having full song length videos every individual brick of content stands by itself
For Lively, smartphones represent a lost opportunity for both fans and artists. Its founder and CEO Dean Graziano is a self-professed music fan and when he attended a gig and found that the majority of fans were trying to record it, all he saw was a “lose lose situation” for both parties.
“As a fan, I’m trying to capture this experience and this show, but it’s horrible quality,” explains Graziano. ”I’m the guy holding the phone in the air, not enjoying myself and I’m pirating the music that’s playing and not realising it. And as an artist, that content is walking out the door and I’ve no control of it, I’m not getting paid for it.”
From that, the concept behind Lively was founded in 2013. By providing venues and festivals with the tools necessary to produce audio and video recordings, the latter normally featuring two or three angles.
By using a specialised audio interface designed for iPad, it can get an audio recording of a gig live within 20 minutes after it’s finished. For video, it’s another 24 hours before a push notification is sent to alert fans to download it. Whether video is offered depends on what the venue can provide, but it’s provided most of the time and according to Graziano, it’s more popular with fans.
“If we offer both audio and video, sometimes we do just audio, we do see about 75 per cent will actually buy the video,” says Graziano ”If we do the video, people want to see it so if you have Airtime, apple tv or Chromecast, you can take everything that’s on the phone, you can watch it on multiple devices, you can throw it on your TV.”
As well as working with the labels, another major difference is that video footage for the gigs can be purchased for a small fee through its app.
Transactions are counted as in-app purchases meaning that part of the funds made go towards Apple or Google, but the remainder is split 70/30, the 70 per cent going towards the artists.
The startup is working with a number of brands to provide sponsored before an audio or video recording, allowing the download to be free and the same pay cut applies.
“For the artist, not only do they get that exposure, you know for the people who share, but also a revenue share so now there’s incremental revenue that never existed before,” says Graziano. “We’re monetising this content that was walking out the door.”
The psychology of recording
The entire concept of recording gigs mainly ties back to ego, a way of capturing moments that is exclusive to your group of friends. Being able to relive a moment is also a major factor, but being able to show the world an amazing, funny or interesting moment can be too much to resist.
For Graziano, the issue ties into that feeling of exclusivity, from being able to experience something first-hand that many people, including your group of friends, wouldn’t.
“Why do we capture it? Because it’s an experience,” says Graziano. “It happened once, we’re going to see that band at that venue at that time, and they played these songs and they did this on stage. It’s an ego thing going to a show saying, ‘I saw this band, and as my friends you guys didn’t and so here look at me, I’m here at this band having a great time, and here’s that experience.’”
Furey has a more nuanced view of why people go to such lengths to capture the moment, linking it to that feeling of being part of something that’s greater than the sum of its parts.
“There’s something around live events, both sport and music, where it’s a real kind of tribal thing where you’re all there and you become part of a greater thing,” says Furey. “The psychology around live events is amazing, I think when people feel the hairs on the back of their neck, like “this is pretty amazing”, that’s when the phone or camera comes out. Everyone has their own motivations but that’s [one of the reasons].”
“I think the problem is with the idea of people filming at shows is no one else usually benefits from that video so that’s why people get annoyed sometimes when people video which at Fan Footage, we’re not whistling and saying there’s no issues around it, but I think it’s interesting… seeing people are starting to get it.”
Getting bands on your side
Despite taking different approaches, both Lively and FanFootage work with the artists to help direct fans towards the desired outcome. Ultimately, it’s the artists that have the final say on whether they want to work with either company or not, something that both startups emphasise.
There are benefits to such an approach. By working with the artists too, it allows both startups to promote their method indirectly either by mentioning recording during a gig or spreading the word that the gig will be available to download soon after it’s finished. If they’re in support of an approach, then it becomes a lot easier for fans to get behind the idea.
For Lively, it uses a mixture of artists promotions, share features and push notifications to help spread the word about their work.
“We have a share feature which you get push notification saying that the show is available to purchase or download for free, it prompts you to share on Facebook and Twitter, and we’re seeing half the people use those share features,” explains Graziano.
“It’s very easy to say, I’m here with Lively, I’m getting the show and now all your friends can see you’re at this show, a small of that band and they can download lively and they can get the show, so there’s a really nice, long social media trail for fans but giving the bands that kind of exposure as well.”
Of the bands that TheJournal.ie spoke to (whose thoughts and opinions can be found at the end of this article), the consensus ranged from indifference to annoyance.
All of them felt that it was more an obstruction for fans than it would be for artists, taking them out of the experience either by getting them to record, or obstructing those behind them as they hold up their smartphone.
It’s easy to see why both startups would be tempting for artists. Either one gives them an element of control over proceedings, and while each one has different approaches, both focus on the same outcome: ensuring that fans can concentrate on just enjoying the gig.
Crowdsourced vs professional
The problem is relatively new when you think about it. If you look back to five years ago, smartphones were developing but still had poor cameras and were mostly 2G devices. Now, anyone can afford a good quality smartphone for cheap and be able to upload video footage relatively quickly.
While they’ve improved rapidly, they’re still not at the same standard as a professional camera, something that Graziano believes is a major factor.
“[If you're] recording on a phone or on a $10,000 DSLR, there’s no comparison, it’s like apples and oranges,” says Graziano. ”I don’t care how good your phone is, if you’re sitting at the back, it’s completely worthless.”
“For video, we’ve been through everything, there’s no better way than to do it professionally… [and even if smartphones were of similar quality], that doesn’t solve the problem of clearing the rights to that video and audio, paying the label, paying the artists, a lot that goes into this business other than just the captures.”
Unsurprisingly, Furey looks at the same concept in a different light. Since this isn’t a new behaviour by any means, an audience with smartphones gives them the opportunity to play a greater role at a gig and contribute to something greater.
“You have to remember, why do people do this? Because they’re excited about what they see, because they see talent, they’re enjoying the event, says Furey. “It’s kinda naive, I think, to just ignore this and stick your head in the sand and expect whatever about fan filming and try to ban it. This way of turning into something better by adding professional quality audio or just turning it into a great edit, just it’s makes sense.”
It’s transformative truly, say the music being able to stick your video up on YouTube or music up on Soundcloud and get a fan base in Chile… a lot of people who do things that were previously restricted to a small group of people. In the same way, I think what we’re doing echoes that, it’s this concept of you it’s no longer a one-way world where you’re a receiver of content, like traditional television, you can get involved, roll up your sleeves, get your phone or camera out and come along and film.
For better or for worse, the internet and instant access to such technology has changed gigs and music. But considering how expansive the live music scene is, there’s nothing to say that both startups can’t exist in the same space, especially if all parties are behind it.
Both FanFootage and Lively have prepared for a busy summer and year but one way or another, it’s going to be an interesting few months for both startups.
What do the bands think?
Considering how much the issue affects them, what do the artists think of such an issue? Here’s what four major Irish bands had to say.
The Strypes
The Strypes are a 4-piece rhythm and blues band from Cavan. The band will be playing at the Sea Sessions Festival in Bundoran on June 28th.
Having worked with Lively during their time over at the South By Southwest (SXSW) festival, The Strypes aren’t in favour of fans recording at their gigs, simply because it takes the fans recording the footage, and those obstructed behind them, out of the moment.
Viewing gigs as a “two-way conversation,” the main thing concerning the Cavan group is how fans react and whether they’re enjoying the experience, something they feel isn’t possible when you’re trying to capture footage of a gig.
One particular instance which stood out for the band a year ago with one audience member standing ”up at the front with his iPad and those standing behind them watching the gig on the iPad, watching the video while the video was being recorded.”
Overall, the band doesn’t feel that any rules need to be enforced, but believe that common sense should be applied, saying: “the important thing about going to the gig is you experience it and you have the best time you can have. There’s no point standing there and filming the entire gig when really, you’re not going to look at it [later on].”
Fight Like Apes
Fight Like Apes are an indie rock band which formed in Dublin in 2008. The band is preparing to tour across the UK in August.
The lead singer of the band, Mary Kate Geraghty is indifferent to fans wanting to record during a gig saying: “If anything, I would love to encourage constant filming of shows…. If you’re doing a show to support the release of an album and people are tweeting photos and videos of it, they’re basically doing part of your job [promoting the band].”
Other than that, the actions of individual audience members doesn’t register with the band during a performance. ”If people are standing still, I’d notice that, but the specifics of what one person is doing or ten people is doing in a crowd, I would never notice unless they’re lit up.”
However, she feels that fans should respect the wish of a band if they don’t want a gig to be recorded, saying “if you’re going to someone’s show, you should respect what they ask.”
O Emperor
O Emperor will be playing at Longitude in Dublin on 19th July and Castlepalloza in Offaly on 1st August.
Similar to Fight Like Apes, the possibility of someone recording during a performance doesn’t bother O Emperor too much. Its singer John Savage said that while the band mightn’t notice it happening, it may be a different story for fans.
“It might bug me if I was in the audience and someone was in front of me recording the whole time, said Savage. “There’s a different point of view, but for someone standing on stage, it doesn’t really bother the artist.”
Having worked with FanFootage previously, Savage is supportive of finding new ways to use such technology, but acknowledges the cons that follow such an approach.
“If you can do something creative… then I think those kind of things are very constructive, it will lead onto new advances or new gig experiences but there is certain annoyances with everyone watching it through their phones which is a bit bizarre. I wouldn’t be one for recording it on my phone.”
Le Galaxie
Le Galaxie is a 4-piece band which mixes dance, techno and synth. The band will be playing at Longitude in Dublin on 18th July.
The band’s frontman Michael Pope sees both the pros and cons of the audience using such technology while attending one of their shows
“If you come off stage and see a Twitter feed full of vibrant pictures, videos and comments, that’s a very tactile and immediate way to know how it went, said Pope. ”The flip side is that you want the audience to be there with you on the ride. You want to lose themselves, abandon their inhibitions and forget their names and parent’s names.”
Overall, he believes that allowing the audience to enjoy the gig the way they want so long as they’re paying attention the band. Throwing rules or requests into the mix would only dampen the experience for everyone.
“The minute you introduce such rules and regulations into the gigging environment, you’ll antagonise people,” explains Pope. “Let them do what they want. It’s up to us to grab them … If anything, having a designated song where everyone films the band is an even worse idea. It’s distracting, contrived and lifts everyone, and not just some people, out of the actual live gig experience.”
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