Hot Take: Livestreaming Killed the Magic of Live Music
- Rebecca McDevitt
- Jan 25
- 3 min read
Article Contributed by Rebecca McDevitt
When Missing a Show Meant Missing It
There was a time when missing a show meant missing it. You heard about it later through your friends, the blurry photos and videos, and their voices still hoarse from singing along.
But the thing is, you didn’t scroll through it in real time. You felt the absence. And that feeling made being there matter.
Live music used to live in the room. Between bodies, lights, sweat, and sound. It was fleeting by design. One night. One crowd. One version of the song that would never happen again.
Somewhere along the way, livestreaming changed that.
Hot Take: When Everything Is Documented, Nothing Feels Rare
Livestreaming did not make live music more accessible. It made it feel less rare.
When every show on a tour is broadcast in real time, the moment stops belonging to the people who showed up. It becomes something performed for timelines and the algorithm, not shared between strangers who may be trying to escape a feeling.
The magic in the moment of the concert may not disappear, but it sure as hell can leave the room through a screen.
Our hot take is that live music loses its edge when it is constantly flattened into content and likes. The imperfections that make a show unforgettable do not translate through shaky phones and compressed audio. What remains is a version of the night that looks complete but feels hollow.
Presence Used to Be the Price of Entry
There used to be something sacred about not knowing exactly what you missed. You waited to hear about it. You imagined it. You held onto the idea that being there mattered.
Now, presence is optional. You can attend without really attending. You can stand in the crowd while watching the show through someone else’s screen, even when the artist is right in front of you.
Live music was never meant to be infinite. It was meant to be felt once and remembered imperfectly. When everything is available all the time, the urgency disappears. And with it, the reverence.
Live Music Was Not Built for the Algorithm
The problem is not livestreaming itself. The problem is unintentional livestreaming.
There is a difference between capturing a moment and replacing it.
There are times when livestreaming makes sense. Accessibility matters. Distance is real. Not everyone can be in the room. But when every chorus, every bridge, every encore is instantly uploaded and on our timelines, the show stops being an experience and starts being a broadcast.
Live music does not need to compete with the algorithm.
It was never supposed to.
Why Being in the Room Should Still Matter
Ask any music photographer. We get three songs. Sometimes less. We wear black. We blend in. We move with intention because the moment is not about us. It is about honoring what is happening, not interrupting it.
That rule exists for a reason.
Not every moment needs to leave the room. Some things are better when they stay with the people who earned them by showing up.
The best shows are not the ones you rewatch. They are the ones you still feel days later.
Being there used to mean something.
Maybe it still can.
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