Sophie Moser 0:02
Hey, I'm Sophie.
Sophia Barber 0:04
And I'm Sophia.
Sophie Moser 0:05
And this is the That's Showbiz, Baby! podcast.
Sophie Moser 0:12
Hey, Sophia, how's it going with you this week?
Sophia Barber 0:15
Hi, Sophie. I'm pretty good. You know, just finishing up with school. Uh, shamefully listening to Christmas music in November. You know, nothing nothing crazy. How are you?
Sophie Moser 0:27
Yikes. I have to say I'm definitely a no Christmas until after Thanksgiving person. So yikes- not a big fan of that but that's okay.
Sophia Barber 0:35
You know, most of the time I am. Most the time I am but it's been a rough year. So here we are.
Sophie Moser 0:41
That is true. That is true. Sometimes, you know, just got to add an extra a little bit of joy. Also, since we're going home and not coming back after Thanksgiving, I feel like it is okay. Because there's going to be no like USC Christmas time. Like it'll just all be at home. So you might as well start it early now.
Sophia Barber 1:01
Exactly. So anyway, non-Christmas related. We have some music recommendations for our audience this week. So I can start my song recommendation is called "Stone Cold" by Deb Bever and Kenny Beats. And it's just a really fun track that I discovered while making playlists for internship applications because they make you do the A&R legwork for them. So let's take a listen to "Stone Cold."
Audio 1:33
*Clip of "Stone Cold" by Deb Never and Kenny Beats*
Sophia Barber 2:00
So that one's a more chill song than what I usually recommend. But I just love the funky bass line and the interesting beat. I think it's chill, but it also kind of hypes me up for some reason, not totally sure. But like, I get excited about the song. So it's a great song and I would recommend checking out both Deb Never and you know, of course, Kenny Beats.
Sophie Moser 2:24
Yeah, I haven't heard that song. But that was really cool. I definitely enjoyed it, I will have to listen on my own. Anyways, I brought a song that I also found doing an A&R project for an internship application, they really do make you do some legwork. And and I found a song called "Van McCann (Boys)" by CARR. Um, so let's play a little clip.
Sophia Barber 2:53
*Clip of "Van McCann (Boys)" by CARR*
Sophie Moser 3:24
Yeah, so that's "Van McCann (Boys)" by CARR, which has two R's if you want to look her up. She's a super cool new and small artist. I just yeah, stumbled upon her on a Spotify playlist, I think. And I just really liked this song right away. I think it's a really fun, like, light pop vibe. It's really catchy. I love the lyrics. I think they're really clever, and fun and relatable. So that's definitely caught my ear. I've been listening to that a lot recently.
Sophia Barber 3:55
Yeah, she has a really good voice. I really liked that song and only 19,000 monthly listeners on Spotify. So everyone go hype her up.
Sophie Moser 4:05
Yeah, that's right, A&R over here.
Sophia Barber 4:10
So today, we are going to be talking about concert replacements, or concert augmentations, or just how concerts are happening in 2020 during a pandemic where we can't gather. So I'm going to start with some virtual concert options. And then Sophie is going to take, you know, the in person innovations that people have done. I know we talked about the bubble concert that the Flaming Lips did in a previous episode, but we're going to kind of expand on those options. So my first virtual option that I found is a brand that my mom actually sent me because she likes to keep me current on music news. And it's called Topeka and they offer virtual one on one sessions with select artists, where you can get serenades, conversations, personal mini concerts and even music lessons, which was cool. I saw a video that they posted on their website of people hiring their favorite artist for their first dance at their wedding, which only had like their parents and a friend at. And I thought that was really special, the artist talked to them, and congratulated them and then played their favorite song. And it seemed` like a really special moment. Like during these times, those can be kind of hard to find. And it is adapted where it's virtual, but it still seemed really special. And then they also have, like typical ticketed, virtual events that other people are doing where you can buy a ticket and sign on to a virtual event. But they also have the feature to be in the front row, so the artists can see you while they're playing on like, their big screen.
Sophie Moser 5:49
No I think that's really cool, what they're doing, how they're diversifying what they have. And I think the front row feature is really cool, because I think that's kind of a criticism of some of the online concerts that they're really not very interactive between the artist and between the fans watching. And I think this would kind of make it much more of a live-ish, you know, as much as it can be, experienced where the artists can actually see faces, which I think would be pretty nice as an artist.
Sophia Barber 6:17
Yeah, I think so too. I just, I think that you know, they're making the most out of these times. And I really like that you can get personalized mini concerts or serenades. That's a really cute, like gift to someone or a special moment. The next one I want to talk about is- happened a couple days ago and it's the Lil' Nas X Roblox concert. So you know, Travis Scott, and others did Fortnite and Roblox did a concert earlier this year. And now they're teaming up with Columbia. And they did a Lil' Nas X concert. So Roblox is one of the biggest video games there is apparently they have over 100 million users. And Lil' Nas X had special edition Roblox swag that people could buy like kind of a virtual merch booth. And he played different songs in the Roblox world. And as those songs played, the world shifted around him. So for example, there's a wild west town for "Old Town Road" and each song had a different world, which I thought was really cool. And so they could go around the world, the users, and collect hidden tokens by answering trivia questions about Lil' Nas X and his music. They could buy virtual shirts, he had his own avatar, and it just seemed like a fun time, ya know?
Sophie Moser 7:41
Yeah, that's really cool. I think that's definitely something that's kind of coming up into the scene- the music, live music scene, I guess even before COVID was some of the fortnight collaborations and I'm definitely a little detached from the video game world, I have to say, I have no idea whatever game you're talking about. So that's that. Um, so definitely, you know, I'm not really using or interacting with those things. But I think it's a really cool outlet, because a lot of people do obviously, like there's a really high amount of users on that platform. So it's a cool opportunity, and definitely something to- I think it's good that they're expanding now in COVID. It's something that they can work with a little bit more, given the circumstances.
Sophia Barber 8:24
Yeah, I agree. That's kind of more niche than like, like a concert would be you have to understand how Roblox works. There's definitely a technological barrier. I'm sure there's mostly young people attending, even younger than us or just cooler than us, I guess. And I just thought it was, you know, interesting. I think one of the cons is that it doesn't feel like personal. You're not, you don't really actually see the artist or they can't really see you. It's all through avatars. But I think they made up for that with their cool graphics and innovative ideas. So there's some pros and cons there for sure. And the last virtual event I'm going to touch on is Tomorrowland, which is a Belgian electronic dance music festival held in Boom, Belgium. And it was first held in 2005. And it stretches over two weekends and usually sells out in minutes. It's a very popular festival. And it's known in person for really elaborate set design, like a huge grounds with lots of stuff to do, and like absolutely huge crowds of people that come from all over the world. And this year, they did it virtually and they created a whole virtual Tomorrowland world with the same elaborate sets and large crowds built in, but obviously all virtual, and you could buy a ticket to go either for the weekend for 20 euros or just a day pass for 12.5 euros. And, it garnered 150% more viewers with the virtual experience, then it does in person, obviously, because there's no travel, it's much easier to go to, and it's much cheaper. And they had over a million people attend. So that's really impressive. And artists were filmed performing live in four specially designed studios in Belgium, LA, Sydney and Sao Paulo. And they used 4k high definition cameras to capture them and then place them in this virtual Tomorrowland world.
Sophie Moser 10:29
Yeah, that's really cool. I think- I think you bring up a really good, like an important feature of some of these virtual options is that they are much more accessible than the normal concert experiences just with price and then travel restrictions. Um, those can be two really big barriers, and even just the cost of travel, much less the travel itself. So I think it is cool. While you know, it's not maybe the situation that most of us would prefer, we can still kind of look on the bright side and see that it is cool that there are these really accessible options, cheap options, that can include a lot more people than would normally be at that event.
Sophia Barber 11:05
Yeah, especially for music festivals. Because there is the like overnight and travel, you know, you need your hotel, you need food, like three meals a day, that adds up quickly. You know, going to a music festival is not cheap. So that was cool. And I'm glad that they could provide this because people love Tomorrowland and it's a big community experience. And the fact that they could continue to do it is really nice. They're also having a New Year's Eve show like Tomorrowland part two, with those same features, if anyone is interested and wants to check it out.
Sophie Moser 11:39
That's really cool. And especially something that I think you mentioned that it happens in Belgium normally. Yeah, and I know for me, that's not something that would ever be accessible, like not just gonna pick up and fly to Belgium. So it's cool that we have the opportunity to tune into something like that.
Sophia Barber 11:55
Definitely.
Sophie Moser 11:57
Yeah, I did that kind of a dive into some of the in person COVID concert replacements that have popped up since the beginning of the pandemic. And obviously, kind of the biggest one. And the one I've been seeing the most of are drive-in concerts. So this is obviously a really popular replacement. Um, they're happening in you know, big open spaces wherever you can come and park your car. And you can watch the concert from the safety of your own car, and come on your own or bring a small group. Just you know, as many seats- or as many people as seats you have in your car. And I actually haven't been to one yet, but I think they're kind of fun. They're like, essentially, you know, drive in movies, which I have been to before. But, obviously a different form of entertainment. So I kind of did a little bit of research on some of the pros and cons that have come up with the drive-in concerts. So one of the pros is that it is real live music, when you're comparing it to some of the virtual opportunities, those can tend to be you know, a little bit more like less interactive, sometimes they're pre recorded, they're not even live. And so I think it is cool that with the drive-in concerts, you really are hearing and watching true live music, you're actually seeing an artist in front of you on an actual stage, and they're playing live. So that can be really special to have the physical experience and you know, getting to see an artist doing what they do live, which obviously, is sad, we don't have as much of that anymore with COVID. So it's nice to get that when you can. And another pro is safety. So obviously, with COVID, it's really nice that you can still have an in person opportunity. But you do have- because it's in cars, you essentially have small groups that are already confined, which naturally separates and distances people as long as people are following the rules and staying in their cars. And when they leave their cars wearing masks, which I know there have been some problems that have come up where people don't always follow those rules. But at least from what I could tell, it seems like most everywhere this has happened, it's gone perfectly well. And then apart from COVID, it can also present- prevent some big risks that come up when people are packed in one area. So you know, in your traditional concert experience, you have crowds that get packed in super tightly, which can make it difficult to move around or get through. So if you have someone who's having a medical issue or someone who faints in the middle of the crowd, it can be almost impossible for them to get out and get help or you know, for people to get in and get to help them. So you're avoiding that situation with drive-in concerts which you know is not always a problem in real person- in in-person concerts, but definitely could be. And then just going off of that, beyond the extra space being helpful for the kind of practical medical reasons. It can also just be more comfortable. So if you're watching from your car, you have more personal space, you have elbow room, you have a seat, you have air conditioning, and you have space for drinks and snacks which is kind of nice. I always get hungry and thirsty when I'm at in-person concerts, especially festivals.
Sophia Barber 15:00
Yeah.
Sophie Moser 15:00
And then visibility can also be better, which is a big one for me, because I'm pretty short. You know, if I end up behind a tall person at a concert, like there goes that, you know, like, I can barely see anything. Experience is, you know, not quite what I thought it would be. So you can definitely avoid that situation at drive- drive-ins. Unless for some reason you end up like behind a monster truck. But, you know, not the most likely out here, at least in LA. So yeah, those are some of the pros of the situation. I don't know if you have anything else to add to that, Sophia.
Sophia Barber 15:36
Yeah, I, I like to, I'm really exposing myself here. I'm the type of person that likes to give commentary. Warranted, unwarranted, welcome, unwelcome. I just love to give my thoughts. And so I think it would be kind of fun to be able to, like, hear the people around me and like, talk to them, or like, give fun commentary. I think that's a bonus. And you just kind of get a more intimate experience with your friends or the people you live with in the car. So that's definitely a pro. And also, yeah, large crowds are just kind of scary. And we have learned a lot about them and the dangerous of them in our classes. And it's made me even more paranoid. So that actually sounds like kind of fun. I wouldn't want to do it forever. But I definitely want to go and I think I would enjoy it.
Sophie Moser 16:26
Yeah, totally. I was thinking about that, too. Just the concert safety things we've learned about like, crowd crush, and even just some scary situations that happen when people will get like, just jammed together in a big crowd.
Sophia Barber 16:38
Yeah.
Sophie Moser 16:38
So, I agree. I wouldn't want to, you know, have drive-in concerts forever. But it can be nice, especially in a really big, like, big crowded concert center.
Sophia Barber 16:47
Yeah.
Sophie Moser 16:48
Anyway, anyways, moving on to some cons. Um, I guess kind of the flip side of having so much extra space is that you do need to find somewhere with all of this extra space. So it can definitely be difficult to find something big enough to host a drive-in concert. I mean, obviously, it depends on you know, the size of concert you're looking to have. But you definitely need to find something car accessible, you need a much bigger amount of land than you normally would in a venue if you were doing a traditional concert. So people have been using a lot of parking lots and fields, those are common spaces to use for drive-in concerts. But you know, they might not always be the easiest to come by. Um, parking lots, a lot of times are there to be used for parking for something. So you can't always find an open one. Obviously, in LA, we don't have a lot of access to just like fields in a more like city environment. So that can definitely pose somewhat of a problem with drive-in concerts.
Sophia Barber 17:47
Yeah, I saw like, uh, Rooftop Cinema Club is doing drive-in movies, so not concerts, but they're doing them, like at the Santa Monica Airport on like the landing pad that I guess they're not using. But I was like, like innovative. But there's not that many spaces like that, especially if movie theaters and concert promoters are competing for these spaces.
Sophie Moser 18:12
Yeah, you definitely have to get creative. And I think that's a good point that there's more than one type of entertainment out there that's looking to use these spaces for some type of in person event. But another con that can come up that I've seen around is that not everyone really feels like a drive-in concert truly captures the real concert experience, which you know, is subjective from person to person. And I can't exactly say because I haven't been to a drive-in concert yet, but I don't know Sophia, have you been to one? Do you have any thoughts on that?
Sophia Barber 18:45
I have not. But I've been to some drive-in experiences, where it's like immersive and for other stuff. It's fun. It's a nice thing during these times to go to but it it definitely doesn't feel the same. So I can't totally speak to concerts, but it's definitely different.
Sophie Moser 19:05
Yeah, and I think that's kind of the consensus that I was seeing is that they do have their perks, but it's just not a true replacement and can't really capture exactly what we want it to. And I think when I'm thinking through it, something that comes up for me is just like you do have a live audience, but they are in cars, it's more separate, you're not having the same- like you can't hear necessarily, I mean, maybe you can, but to me, it seems like you wouldn't hear as much cheering there wouldn't be as much noise and just this energy that you can feel, which I feel like that can really push a concert over the edge and make it really special and even translate over into how the how the artist performs like if the audience is really energetic that can just bump up the artists performance even more. So it seems to me like you might kind of be missing out on a little bit of that like audience energy aspect that you would have with a normal concert. But another con is that- which obviously, thankfully, we don't have to worry too much about here in LA. But in other places, there definitely is weather that can pose a problem to outdoor concerts, even just colder climates as winter is coming that can pose a problem, especially for the artist who's out, you know, exposed on the stage who's performing. And just other you know, weather issues, rain storms, stuff like that, that wouldn't necessarily pose a problem to an indoor concert could definitely kind of threaten an outdoor show.
Sophia Barber 20:31
Yeah, I- that LA privilege. I didn't even think of that. But yeah, there's no way. I'm from Denver, originally, and Sophie's from St. Louis, like, there's no way we would go to an outdoor concert in the winter, probably.
Sophie Moser 20:44
No, unless it was one of those, like, freak days where it's 70 degrees. Then I don't think I would be down.
Sophia Barber 20:50
Yes, exactly.
Sophie Moser 20:52
But one last thing about the drive-in concerts, and this isn't exactly a pro or con just kind of an observation about what's happening. But ticket prices tend to be more expensive per car. So ticket prices can be around like, I was seeing an average of around $225 to $375 per ticket, which is really expensive. However, the flip side of this is that you're now buying a ticket for a car. So you're splitting the cost of that one ticket between whoever you're bringing with you in your car. So you do kind of have some level of control over just how much each person is paying. So for me, I can comfortably sit five, you know, if I brought my household that's like, you know, filling up the five seats, we split that it's not really too outrageous to pay a fifth of that price. So you know, if you want to go just you or with another person, that can definitely be a little bit more expensive. But if you're bringing extra people that makes it more reasonable. So.
Sophia Barber 21:49
Yeah, I saw from like the ads I get, that some companies are doing a special price for like two people, where it's lower and then if you do- go above two people, it's the higher price. So it definitely depends I think.
Sophie Moser 22:04
That's interesting that people are breaking it up, that would definitely help I think to make things a little bit more, you know, not too expensive.
Sophia Barber 22:13
Yeah, I think overall, with the in person concerts, it's also just nice that people who build stages or run sound or lights are being able to be employed in any capacity in a time where there's not a lot of jobs. So I think that's another big pro of these events, is that it's creating revenue for the artists and jobs for, you know, a lot of people that have to work the event.
Sophie Moser 22:39
Yeah, that's definitely true. I know, we've touched on just kind of the venue, venues and venue workers relief that's come up in one of our past episodes. So you know, that's definitely an industry that's struggling. So to be able to help it in any capacity is important, definitely can't be overlooked. But other than drive-in concerts, there's not too much differentiation in terms of what else is going on, there's a lot of very similar type of in person options where, you know, you're not in your car, per se, but you do have some type of live audience that's confined. So I've seen, you know, people kind of sitting in, they'll use barriers to block off certain squares or rectangles and just have, you know, certain groups, you know, like one group per square and space those out by six feet, across a field, which I think most of the same pros and cons would apply to that situation, it's just kind of another type of distanced, in-person concert that's been out there. People are definitely getting creative with that too. Just taking liberties with like, what you can do with the set and what you can, you know, just make it fun and exciting, since it's, you know, limited, it's not the full experience that you would have otherwise. And then other than that, I just kind of have two last things that Sophia brought up earlier, actually, the bubble concerts that we talked about, that was kind of like a fun outlier that we saw where they had people actually in like hamster wheel bubbles. So I'm not sure that's gonna be like a reasonable method to really replicate too often. But that was definitely a fun in-person replacement. And then other interactive options where it's a little bit more, kind of, personal and you drive through it. We both did something like this actually, that was more tailored towards like film, it was a Stranger Things drive through that we were able to go through and that's here in LA. I'm sure many of you have seen it advertised, I think it's still running. And that was pretty fun. Obviously, it wasn't music but I think a lot of forms of entertainment are trying to do things like that. And it's definitely an option that music could kind of expand into a little bit more where they- they had with their event kind of like three different stages. So you drive to one watch a little skit and performance, drive to a second watch a little skit and performance, and drive to a third. So I think that was fine because you were moving more, you were seeing different types of sets, they obviously had it decorated and set up to be like different sets from the actual TV show. But you could definitely do something similar with music. Obviously, it would be different than your traditional concert where you sit there for a long time, you know, like each station is a little bit shorter. But I think that is an option that other forms of entertainment have used and could be something that music could get into to be, you know, a little bit more creative to have some more interaction, and just more live replacements now that we're in COVID.
Sophia Barber 25:37
Yeah, definitely. If anyone listening stumbles upon any fun, new concert experiences that they want to share with us, please please DM us on Instagram, which is always in the description of the podcast because I love learning about stuff like this and seeing the news articles.
Sophie Moser 25:56
And thanks for joining us everyone to hear about some COVID concert replacements.
Sophia Barber 26:03
Thank you all for listening. You can find us on Instagram at Sophia.productions. And please go rate, download, and follow wherever you get your podcasts
Transcribed by https://otter.ai