Live Stream 103: Going Live at the Scheduled Time and Running Your Show

Going Live at Your Scheduled Time

As an admin you can edit your scheduled Go Live at any time. About 30 minutes before your scheduled time we recommend you get in there and update your description to have information on how to tip via Venmo and Paypal. 

Make sure both have recognizable photos. Ideally post links to both rather than asking people to type in the username or email. If you haven’t yet you can create your paypal.me link here: https://www.paypal.me/. If your Venmo asks for verification via the last 4 of your phone number either turn that setting off or post the last 4 digits of your number.

Paste the Stream Key into OBS and make sure things are looking good and any text or overlays are set up. They should be saved from your test stream. About 5 minutes before go time click Start Streaming on OBS.

This is also a good time to share a photo in your Facebook Event!

Facebook will automatically push you live at the scheduled time or you can switch to manual mode and go live a minute or two early. If you have a helper go get in position and then have them click the Go Live button for you so you don’t have to do the awkward arm reach and retreat. 

Tips for Putting on an Interactive Show Remotely

One of the challenges of a Facebook Live Stream is audience engagement. If you are currently residing alone we’ve got some thoughts for you but first let me share how Patrick and I teamed up to run his show since we are in the same household. 

I kept an eye on comments and responded in real time, passing on information to Patrick between songs about requests, who was tuned in, questions from the audience, or comments. Patrick had an iPad for his setlist in front of him on a Google Sheet. (Yes! Use a set list. Treat this like you would a show at a venue. Your professionalism is worth maintaining. Extensive hemming and hawing thinking of which song to play next while live is not the best look.) added any song requests on the sheet so he could keep track of them. I was also able to toggle between the live video/audio and our “We’ll be right back” overlay. (We’ll add more on overlays in the coming days.) Since Patrick did a 2 hr show we took a short break in the middle. It also avoids those super fun staring into the camera while you click end stream angles that are oh so flattering. 

If your current household is one, or none of your household members are willing and able to assist in case of a live stream, don’t worry, we have some ideas on how to stay interactive without having to check your phone between each song. It will still be useful to have someone helping manage comments remotely and update a Google Sheet for you with any song requests. We’ve never tried this method, so if you give it a shot and have tips to share, let us know in the comments!

Closing Thoughts

We’ve spent the majority of time focusing on high quality audio with minimal emphasis on video quality. As a musician, sound is a big part of the product you are delivering and we’ve seen enough lower quality live streams that we want to equip you with the tools to do a high quality live stream from home. Even with a great deal of preparation there are likely to be a few hiccups, but our best advice is to just roll with it! We are all adapting to spending so much time at home, consuming and providing content in new ways. Remember: You can’t control the waves, but you can always learn to surf!

Doing a live stream using tips you learned from Crescendo? Tag us and use #crescendocrew for a chance to be featured on our social media channels!