Virtual concerts – finding new ways to connect with radio listeners

Due to the pandemic, radio companies have lost the opportunity to organise big music concerts and festivals and connect with their listeners in person. Many radios were quick to come up with alternatives such as virtual concerts, drive-in concerts, online festivals, small exclusive streams with stars, virtual expos, in-person concerts for small groups, music tours, etc. These virtual events helped radio discover new ways to interact with listeners. They saw great engagement from fans and big interest in connecting with music and music stars. For example, the number of social media impressions generated by the virtual iHeartRadio Music Festival increased 20% compared to the face-to-face version one year ago and its livestream set a record compared to previous years.This shows that virtual events help fans to stay engaged and connected to their favourite radio brands.

In today’s egtabite we take a closer look at special project from Russia, a series of streamed concerts in the unique and attractive setting of a famous panorama tower, which attracted millions of viewers and listeners across platforms.

PANORAMA360 – the highest concert venue in Europe

The Russian radio holding Gazprom-media radio (GPM Radio) and their station Avtoradio partnered with Europe’s highest observation deck, PANORAMA360, which offers unique views of Moscow from 330 meters above the ground. They set up Avtoradio Studio for live concerts in PANORAMA360, located on the 89th floor of the Federation tower in Moscow.

Avtoradio has a very successful YouTube channel that the station uses as part of their promotion strategy, as an additional communication channel and to generate incremental reach and attract new audiences. egta previously covered their YouTube strategy here.

This special project lasted six weeks in Autumn 2020 and during this time 30 artists from Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Great Britain, performed during the evening show "Murzilki Live". The programme was broadcast on Avtoradio station as well as streamed on YouTube, Yandex and on Avtoradio’s website. In a year where the majority of live concerts were cancelled, this was a great opportunity for artists to connect with their fans via radio and across all screens.

Furthermore, the live broadcast was also available in a VR360 degrees format. Fans could watch using a VR headset and be virtually teleported into the venue to enjoy the breath-taking 360 degrees panoramic views of the city. The 360 degrees experience was also accessible on YouTube by simply moving the image with the mouse or by rotating a smartphone. A limited number of fans were able to attend in person but the tickets could only be won via a special competition.

The show was a great promotion for the PANORAMA360 venue, which was a partner of the project. The unique views were showcased during the stream, as well as the restaurant on-site and ice cream and chocolate factories, both of which are sought-after attractions of the tower and were promoted by the artists who were more than happy to consume the unlimited ice-cream offered to visitors of the tower.

Results – a world record

The series of concerts was a big success. Overall, the videos got more than 12 million views on YouTube, 300 000 views in the VR format and hundreds of thousands of viewers in Yandex. The project also received a world record certificate for "The world's largest number of concerts held in a radio studio on an observation deck more than 300 meters above ground."

This project also led to another now ongoing project with YouTube and a sponsor - car tires.