Does the response of the live entertainment industry to Covid-19 present a model for social interest groups to follow to increase audience engagement through virtual broadcasting?

The live entertainment industry in the UK has faced a significant detrimental impact due to the United Kingdom’s measures to minimise the effect of Covid-19. All live events and rehearsals were cancelled for an indeterminate period. Ways to compensate for this impact and continue communication were addressed by the industry. The route utilising online broadcasting was widely adopted. This study addresses the significance of online broadcasting, concentrating on social interest musical groups, with specific reference to brass bands, analysing its potency and acceptance during lockdown, and whether its adoption would be likely to continue post Covid-19. Explaining the use of multimedia content and video streaming and how it has become more popular, this paper investigates individual attitudes and perceptions. Would the technology be accepted and for what purposes could it be used? Following research to ascertain social interest groups who had adopted online broadcasting for their activities, the approach that was considered the most achievable and accurate was the use of questionnaires, which would be sent to individuals participating in such activities. This would ensure a fundamental understanding of attitudes and opinions. All questionnaires were anonymous. One questionnaire was designated as a general overview of members and audience opinions concerning online broadcasting and was sent to approximately 270 participants, the second addressed an actual online streamed event by a social interest group and was sent to 200 participants. The third questionnaire was distributed to professional theatre companies intended for their staff and performers to learn their experiences and was sent to 10 local theatres. To support the findings, interviews were conducted online ‘live’ and by way of written question and answer with representatives of social interest groups who were in positions of authority to ascertain their views. The analysis shows the amount of time spent carrying out participants activities online in respect of the social interest group was less during lockdown. Even in view of the fact that more online content had been made available by the group leader during lockdown. With regard to physical rehearsals, also evidenced was the preference of more than three quarters of the participants to return to in-person rehearsals. A few were content with a hybrid approach, but no one wished to carry on solely with online rehearsals. In respect of the streamed online event, more than half of participants did not watch it streamed ‘live’, preferring to view it later on-demand. A further finding regarding the popularity of paying for online performances resulted in one third of participant refusing to pay for a single online performance. However, some were happy to pay if the stream included the facility to paise and rewind the performance. To help demonstrate the outcomes a documentary has been compiled. The main findings of this report established that while participants were accepting of meeting and rehearsing online, the vast majority wished to return to physical in-person gatherings. The necessity of utilising online broadcasting was clearly manifest with no noticeable objections to its use. With hindsight, a knowledge of age of participants would have further enhanced the research. Future research could include investigating the use of online broadcasting by social interest groups post Covid-19, or the future of streaming media with regards to virtual or augmented reality, and casting from a device