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Legal Issues and Monetization Strategies In a Quarantine-Streaming Music World

By Gwendolyn Seale
January 01, 2021

It is no revelation that the entire music industry is struggling due to the unexpected arrival of COVID. From the cancellations of shows and festivals to album release delays, COVID created a ripple effect the likes of which have been unparalleled — felt by musicians, venue owners, promoters, record labels, music publishers, booking and management agencies — and the list goes on. The large players such as the major labels, music publishers, agencies and talent buyers, while not emerging from this pandemic unscathed, will most certainly survive.

However, many musicians and independent music businesses will not fare as well as their larger-player counterparts. Because live performances with an audience have been next to impossible since March 2020, many musicians have pivoted to livestreaming performances for their social media audiences to experience.

While the livestreaming of music performances is not an entirely new phenomenon, the COVID crisis has transformed the live performance landscape, compelling artists from around the world to reach their fanbase by producing "quarantine streams," in which they livestream their sets on platforms such as Facebook/Instagram, YouTube and Amazon-owned Twitch. Make no mistake, even when this pandemic is vanquished, talent will continue to livestream shows to their social media audiences due to the downright ease of setting up a livestream, along with monetization opportunities that will continue to expand.

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