22 tips for livestreaming musicians who want to make money by going live

Advice from musicians killing it on Happs on how to gain fans and get paid for broadcasting live.

Musicans are flocking to Happs (a social livestreaming platform) as a way to go live, reach fans, and get paid. We asked some of the top performing musicians at Happs for the secrets to their success and collected them below. If you’re a musician who livestreams (or wants to), you just might find their advice invaluable…

1. Multicast to other platforms like Facebook and Twitch. Even better: Invite people to join you on your broadcast and multicast to everyone’s social channels. That way, you get maximum reach.
2. When multicasting, ask viewers on other platforms to join you on Happs so they can see you full screen, make requests, and give awards. Memphis singer-songwriter Chris Gales: “I say, ‘If you come to Happs, it’s easy for you to make a contribution to the artists that you’re enjoying and tip us.’”
3. Keep it interactive: Follow along with the comments, make eye contact, and be fun to watch. Viewers want entertainment. You could just practice, but you’ll probably do better if you amp it up a bit.
4. Team up with other musicians. Push each other to succeed. Watch their performances and champion them in the comments by saying things like “Great performance!” or “Let’s get those tips up.”
5. For your very first time livestreaming, consider going live on somebody else’s broadcast. Ask if you can join and interact with them. See how it works. Then, if you like it, go live on your own.
6. Get a rapport going before you start playing. You’re basically hosting your own show. Kerri Long: “Musicians who livestream should think of it as going online for an hour to talk to people. Interact with them and get a rapport going. After you guys have spoken for about 5 or 10 minutes, somebody might then say, ‘Why don’t you play a tune that you like?’ And then you play one and talk a little bit about it.”
7. Don’t just play a bunch of songs in a row. Think of it as going online for an hour to talk to people while also playing a few songs along the way. Remember: Viewers already have access to TV and tons of pre-taped sets on YouTube, but you can give them live interaction in a way that’s unique.
8. If you do covers, ask for requests and favorite songs/artists. This can be a great way to thank people who give you awards. You could even use this as hook to get viewers to tune in next time.
9. Say something in reply to your comments in between songs. That way viewers know you can see them. And if there’s an instrumental break, you can even do it mid-song.
10. After you finish a song, don’t go right into another one. Have 5 or 10 minutes where you connect with your audience again.
11. Go live regularly until you’re comfortable with it. It’s like practicing any other instrument. If you go live four or five days a week for 15–20 minutes, you’ll see improvement.
12. Regularly scheduled broadcasts are the best way to lure in viewers. In addition to your “regular” show, stream when you have the energy and know you’ll turn in a good performance. You can’t always schedule inspiration.
13. Broadcasting on a set day/time is recommended. In addition, consider going live at different times so you can reach people from different parts of the world (or folks who are busy during the day or night).
14. Time is money. The more you perform, the more money you’re going to make.
15. Make awards interactive. Do something different for each one. Singer-songwriter Kerri Long: “If they’re giving me an Appreciate You Award or a Talented Award, I’ve got a fun little move I do, so there’s a little choreography to the awards.”
16. Giving an in-person concert? Stream it too. Chris Gales: “When I’m streaming on stage and the crowd in the bar is not really paying attention, I will give a little more attention to the people watching the stream. If the crowd is on point in the bar, the people who are watching the stream feel that energy. Also, I’ll try to include them along with the crowd that’s physically there which seems to go over really well. Or if there is a birthday, I will sometimes have my live audience scream out ‘Happy Birthday’ to whomever is watching so they feel included.”
17. Cross-promote your livestreams with your concerts. This helps out the venues where you perform too. Chris Gales: “I’ve had people come see me live because they saw me streaming. They’ve travelled from another country and come out because they saw me online. That’s great for the venue too.”
18. Have a champion in your stream. When you’re performing, you can’t be in the comments that much. You can’t thank that person who just gave you that big tip, but your champion can do it on your behalf. Once you find your champion(s), encourage them and reward them by giving them a shoutout and/or some merch.
19. Spot and reward super fans, the ones who watch you online on a regular basis and encourage your community. Shout them out during your broadcast as if they’re in the room with you. Make them feel like a VIP.
20. Don’t fret too much about your performances in old broadcasts. You may obsess over missed notes, but chances are that no one watching noticed them in the moment.
21. Reach out to the Happs team with any questions/feedback. They love hearing from musicians and will help you out with any issues. Chris Gales: “The Happs team is so darn helpful. One day, I had an issue trying to get my stream started. I sent a text message. Within five minutes, my phone was ringing. It got resolved and I was up and going. You don’t get that with any of the other apps.”
22. For optimal sound quality: Use a separate mixer/mic connected to your desktop and bring it into the Happs Broadcast Studio via OBS (Open Broadcaster Software). If that sounds too intense, there are also a number of smaller external devices (like this one) that connect to mobile devices (iOS and Android) that can yield better sound too. Swedish singer/songwriter/producer Serina E explains her setup: “When I go live, I use a quality microphone. I always have my headphones on and then I have a program that I use to process everything — it can be Ableton, Logic, or wathever. I use Logic because I have a Mac and I add echo to my voice. Then I have software called BlackHole. [Ed. note: BlackHole is an open source virtual audio driver that allows applications to pass audio to other applications with zero additional latency.] Together, that sound is my input when I go live on Happs. That way, I can turn the echo on and off on my microphone. I can speak without reverb but then sing with it. That makes me feel more comfortable because when I record, I always put a lot of echo or reverb on my voice.”

Of course, your mileage may vary when it comes to advice like this. While these tips have worked for other musicians, you may find a different path more productive. Do what feels right for you and your music.

Want to learn more? We’ve conducted some great Q&As with Happs musicians and a lot of these tips come from those interviews.

Happs Musician Q&A: Kerri Long

Happs Musician Q&A: Chris Gales

Musician Q&A: SERINA E