Beatstream: Boxoffice For Live Audio Streams Launched

Beatstream co-founders.
 – Beatstream co-founders.

Beatstream is a new live streaming platform, but for audio-only, which aims to increase ticket revenues for artists even post-coronavirus.

The company believes, that “as popular as video streaming has become, audio streaming is still vastly preferred in most settings such as house parties. 
“Even post-Covid, when live streaming from clubs takes off once more, audio-only streaming will remain the first choice simply because the UK’s network infrastructure isn’t stable enough to allow mass video streaming to be scaled to levels of suitable quality and stability.”
Beatstream promises artists and venues a new revenue stream in form of ticket sales for the audio-only live performance.
One advantage the company claims to have over video streaming offers is the ease with which to set up a stream. “It costs nothing to set up, and takes under 10 minutes to get live, which is in stark contrast to the costs and time involved in setting up visual streaming,” the press release accompanying the launch reads.
The founders of Beatstream believe, that audio streaming is preferred to video streaming in most settings.
– The founders of Beatstream believe, that audio streaming is preferred to video streaming in most settings.

The streams cannot be shared around, are available via app or on desktops and sit behind an embedded paywall. Artists can make the event for free or set their own price for tickets, offer fans to pay what they feel like, tip only, or make a charitable donation. 

Tickets are listed via an online form and sold via the Beatstream ticket site, with dedicated technicians setting up each listing. Users of the platform, whether that’s artists or promoters, earn revenue on each ticket sold via the app, with Beatstream costs starting at £1 plus 15p per hour streamed from each ticket.
Beatstream is already engaging partners in the USA and Europe with the aim of covering all genres from country to EDM, gospel to punk, hip hop to jazz. Confirmed partners include PRS For Music, The Department for International Trade, Music Venue Trust (MVT), with more to come. 
Matt Walsh, founder & CEO of Beatstream, explained, “We take the feed straight from the mixing desk so the fans hear the full live experience. They simply buy a ticket, receive a code and sign into the gig on the Beatstream website or App when the doors open. It’s a high-quality audio stream and all the test events have sounded fantastic. The technology has been designed to be simple, it takes minutes to set up at the venue and can be listened to anywhere in the world on many devices.
He said, “promoters can now sell tickets for people to listen anywhere in the world. This is a new revenue stream which goes beyond a venue’s capacity, it is secure, high-quality and limitless. Fans can now get into ‘sold out’ events or follow their favorite artists around the world. Promoters set the price of the ticket; Beatstream Box Office simply charges a fixed price per stream for the technology cost.”
Artists can also stream from home. Walsh told Pollstar, “The artist from home stream is a software solution, they need to be able to get the audio into a pc or laptop.”
At live gigs in venues, the company plugs into the PA system, “where by the kit is preconfigured for each stream, we take a full FOH mix into the streaming kit and balance the level for the optimum stream quality,” he explained.