{"id":3350,"date":"2020-12-15T16:03:21","date_gmt":"2020-12-15T16:03:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/encoremusicians.com\/blog\/?p=3350"},"modified":"2021-05-19T17:30:54","modified_gmt":"2021-05-19T16:30:54","slug":"musician-twitch-streaming-guide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/encoremusicians.com\/blog\/musician-twitch-streaming-guide\/","title":{"rendered":"How to reach 700,000 views on Twitch: with Courtney Visser"},"content":{"rendered":"

At the start of 2020, Courtney Visser<\/a> was performing live across the UK as one of Encore’s top singing guitarists.<\/strong><\/p>\n

When COVID hit, sadly most of her live bookings were cancelled. But rather than dwell on her losses, Courtney embraced the challenge of making online music-making work, first on Facebook and then using the streaming platform Twitch. And she’s had phenomenal success!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Just 6 months after joining Twitch, her live-streamed song request sessions have amassed over 3000 followers from across the globe. In recognition of her status as a rising star, she was even selected by Twitch to be featured on the front page of the website (which has over 15 Million daily active users \ud83e\udd2f)! Plus Twitch is now her main source of income – essential at a time when live gigs aren’t possible.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

We decided to catch up with her to learn how she managed to go from 0 to 700,000 views using Twitch.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

This article is part of a collection of articles looking at how Encore members are adapting to performing online. You might also be interested in: Sam<\/a> and Bethany’s<\/a> guides to Personalised Music Messages and Joncan’s Guide to Livestreaming<\/a>. If you’ve like to be featured yourself, drop us an email!<\/i><\/div>\n

————-<\/p>\n

Hi Courtney, thanks so much for joining us for the interview!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Firstly, could you introduce yourself. How did you first get into playing guitar & what were you doing before COVID hit?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hello! I’ve been playing professionally since I was 18 – I sang in choirs as a kid, and started learning guitar when I was 16 so that I could sing on my own with accompaniment. I was playing the odd market and pub, but my first real job started when I landed the position of solo guitar\/vocalist with the largest cruise line in the world, shortly after high school.<\/p>\n

I did that for 3 years and moved to Leeds in 2016 to study at Leeds College of Music (now Leeds Conservatoire). I was playing corporate<\/a> events, weddings, restaurant and pub gigs as well as busking a lot when covid hit. I’d also just released an EP of original music and was going to be touring it over the summer.<\/p>\n

How did COVID affect your musical career?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Like most musicians, I very quickly went from a pretty busy calendar to no work at all for the rest of the year. I had various weddings booked that were moved – I can only imagine how anxious clients must have been to postpone their special day with no real idea of what the future will hold for live events.<\/p>\n

When did you first begin using Twitch and why?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Before COVID I was streaming to Facebook once a month to connect with my community, who are pretty spread-out geographically. I started streaming more often, and in May finally began streaming to Twitch, as I had heard and seen that it was used by musicians and could be a good opportunity to reach new ears.<\/p>\n

\"\"\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Getting set up for professional live-streaming can take quite a bit of effort. How do you justify the time you put into live streaming?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Well, it’s worth saying that the stream as you see it now was very different when I started. There’s no point breaking the bank on something that you’re not even sure will work out. The stream setup is the result of months of refining and research and investing time and money into gear and understanding different bits of technology.<\/p>\n

The community I’ve built has also been so unbelievably generous and helped me afford some of the gear, so it’s really been a group effort. It was clear from early on that the future of live music wasn’t guaranteed, so it made sense to be applying myself to this new avenue. Also, having the opportunity to perform and interact with people is so exciting – the more that streaming picked up, the more thrilled I was to be doing it and learning how to make it better.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n


\n