At the beginning of a new decade, there is no better time for a tide of conversion. For rock and steel music, the tide is fast turning, and it all starts with the growing popularity of live streaming, namely Twitch. it has built a prominent area for itself in and around the gaming industry, while for the music industry, locating its position in the picture, in the long run, has been a confusing problem. now it’s a long-term component of the industry, but beyond live concerts, is it more about how the music industry can have compatibility in the live streaming area?
If there is a precedent genre to answer this question, it is rock and metal. Modern rock personalities such as Matt Heafy of Trivium and Ronnie Radke of Falling In Reverse are two key figures who laid the groundwork for the stage, not to mention the music industry, through their appearances. how artists can use the Twitch platform beyond live concerts. . . However, this goes beyond Twitch artists, as rock media brands are also starting to move into the area. World-renowned festival and concert promoter Danny Wimmer Presents (DWP) has partnered with Twitch to tame an area for the next generation of rock fans, bands and news.
During that year, the channel attracted more than 4. 77 million live viewers, with segments such as “Riff Wars King of the Hill” attracting a gigantic audience of 359,595 viewers. While the segments and personalities of That Space Zebra Show play to show success, the Twitch-focused platform audience is a huge fan of what makes Space Zebra’s live streams so captivating Not only that, but the original Riff Wars, Meet screen segments.
In addition, That Space Zebra Show had a big presence at this year’s DWP festivals and the network went on to host a Twitch level for the Welcome To Rockville festival, which features unsigned bands from this year’s Battle For Big Stage segment. Twitch and brands like DWP continue to create this cutting-edge area for music and media to thrive, and it’s only a matter of time before other media take over it.
To be more informed about That Space Zebra Show and all about DWP, manufacturer Danny Hayes and host Beez sat down to reach out to Forbes.
Danny Hayes: In terms of physical presence, I think everybody’s excited, people were excited and you know they needed it, it’s a way out and it’s a return to normal, and for the fans, there’s no better way to get it. that release or return to normal. The reaction and power has been incredible.
DH: It was actually double, leaving aside Inkcarceration [Festival] for a minute, one was to choose 3 festivals that served 3 geographic regions, so we had Florida, Louisville and California. They actually covered the country and covered our audience so that everyone had a festival they could just go to. We also looked at what our maximum successful and successful festivals were. Like everyone else, we have a cash flow to offset starting in 2020, so we’ve focused on what our franchises are going to be: Rockville, Aftershock, and Louder Than Life are our franchise festivals. Epicenter and Sonic Temple were new festivals, and then with Inkcarceration, we became spouses and felt like there was a wonderful momentum, and we might just fall for amazing programming. in 3 weeks and we are really glad we chose to raise this one to four.
DH: So what happened was that when the pandemic hit, we started a virtual series called “Off Stage,” which was hosted by Gary Spivack, and we were given a very smart response. Then at the same time we started releasing pay-per-views, and then for bands looking to paint with us, we were able to do great pay-per-view, like Puscifer’s Live at Arcosanti, the one we did in Sacramento with Dance Gavin Dance, and we saw the answer to that. At the same time, we’ve partnered with Bobby Schubenski, owner of Blackcraft Cult. We’ve partnered with him on a logo called Space Zebra.
The original and ongoing plan is that we are building a clothing line called Space Zebra, however, it featured That Space Zebra Show on Twitch to market the logo. he’s what Bobby is and he’s doing a wonderful job with Blackcraft Cult. Regardless of that, Twitch came up to us and said, “Hey, we do channel deals with other promoters, we’re looking to place a promoter in every genre, don’t you think?needs to be the rock channel?” We saw what Bobby was doing and it became a “hey, let’s create our channel and build it around That Space Zebra Show. “Bobby transferred the channel from That Space Zebra Show to the DWP channel, which gave us a base from day one to build.
Beez: I’m someone who came to the United States to give strength to rock music, that’s why I literally came to those islands, I think Twitch is the first branch that cares about rock and steel culture. enough to perceive it and provide it in the right way with who the audience is in 2021, however, Twitch will put us at the forefront. I’m not just talking about That Space Zebra Show, I’m talking about the other people who posed the base like Matt Heafy. He is the patron saint of Twitch man! But you look at it and I think another genuine innovator is Ronnie Radke.
I’ve seen the media as a total check to take him down, and when you see him interacting with his fans, you no longer want to understand who Ronnie Radke is. Turn on your chain for an hour and then you’ll know. Who it is I like that, and I like the ability to allow it. Being on Twitch and creating is rarely the same thing that other people do the same things, it’s the artists who are innovating and the media is innovating. In the case of Bobby ‘Blackcraft’ [Schubenski], a guy who came here from clothes and got here and ended up innovating. . . it’s the ‘Wild West’ here, and you’d better buy me a horse!I love being at the forefront of things and Twitch and steel are where they are in 2021.
Beez: I think the night is the darkest before dawn. I feel like for the last decade or so, it’s been hard within the walls of rock media to see all those cutting-edge things happen. guilt of doing things the way they were done. That dreaded phrase, “we’ve done things this way” has been a bit of a crutch for rock media for a long time. While we’ve also noticed innovators, I think Jamey Jasta has done some amazing things in the podcasting area making sure we have a huge carbon footprint there, as well as someone like Dean Delray with Let There Be Talk. There are some key things in podcasts that I think constitute who we are, however I think rock music has had a replacement in ethics to show who we are during this decade.
The concept that we are Beavis and Butt-Head, I think is no longer what we are. I feel like the media is looking at us and they think we are, I like this band, but they think we’re all just Five Finger Death Punch. And I don’t need to say it’s an affront to FFDP, I think it’s a wonderful group, but we’re more than that. We are also Chelsea Wolfe, and we are also Spirit Box, etc. Rock media, I think our biggest challenge is believing in ourselves, and that’s why we’ve been a bit into funk, because I’m not sure we’ve presented ourselves as we deserve, however, it’s a tide that’s rapidly turning.
DH: We were surprised! Twitch constantly reminds me that if you have a hundred more people watching, then it’s a successful stream, or if you have another 500 people watching, then you kill it!We average thousands according to the episode and are in the most sensible 0. 01% of all Twitch channels. At Aftershock, we’ve had 750,000 live streams. We would have reached a million, but the broadcast came out on Sunday, so we ended up not broadcasting that day, however, we would have had a million just from the weekend and that doubled our number. We had done a million broadcasts before the weekend. , and then literally in 4 days we doubled it, and no live music.
Beez: It’s all over the channel, because when I do New Music Saturday, I have the honor of having 14,000 and a component of other people watching live as I play them what rock and metal really represents, each and every Saturday. putting in front of so many other people and Twitch admits it, it’s something quite magical, and it’s far from rock being that identikit or copy and paste, “here’s one butt-rock band after another butt-rock band”. The captives pass “wow, he’s sick” to the new Dying Wish, it just shows that belief is everything and everything. This Space Zebra Show is a component of the face replacement and presentation of rock music and I think that’s the credit I can give. That’s all rock accusations aren’t, so if they accuse us of being dumb, well, there’s me, Bobby, Josh Balz, and the manufacturer Jake to say it can be anarchic and funny. I think emotion is something so vital that we seemed to have lost.
Danny Hayes: It’s with one main twist, and the twist is that enthusiasts are running the show, and that’s what’s so amazing about the Twitch platform. Imagine if you can watch That Metal Show and interact with it as you go. . How cool it would have been to tell those guys “hey, do that,” “ask that question,” or win tickets. What was amazing was that the enthusiasts dictated the show. Segments that don’t work, we can say, and enthusiasts let us know. All the bands that won contests with us, the enthusiasts chose them, not us. We don’t vote, the Twitch DWP scene [on Welcome To Rockville] is selected one hundred percent through enthusiasts, and that’s exciting.
Beez: This Space Zebra Show is the location for unsigned talent, and it’s like the jewel in our crown. I can definitely see the comparisons and I think That Metal Show also had a really smart area for its rock music presentation era. So I haven’t had That Metal Show in the UK, and I know a lot of other people who love it and I think Eddie Trunk is a diamond, but I also have friends who don’t feel like they’re not allowed to like Metal. . Show because of the “man stuff” about him. We still have some paintings to do, however, whether it’s podcasts like On Wednesdays We Wear Black, there are other things that show rock where it is in 2021. So I can see it and I would love other people to see us. in this way, but if there is a difference, it is that they were right for their time. Rock music is common, it’s the heart, that’s all, it’s “you are us and we are you”, “you fall into the well and we pick you up”, and I feel like the vibe of That Space Zebra Show is smart for that and it’s smart for 2021.
DH: My biggest wish in life is that one of the bands [from that Space Zebra Show’s gang war] ends up fitting in as a headliner. If one day Widow7 headlined Aftershock, man, Twitch would have been a hit.
Beez: Literally, that’s why I came here ici. There are two parts of what we do at DWP and they have a goal. One is That Space Zebra Show and unsigned artists. There is so much smart unsigned music and I say everyone is his favorite band didn’t sign at some point. Rammstein was once doing Cirque du Soleil, an unsigned band in a bar. All bands want that outlet, and at a time when rock media only wants numbers in a safe aspect of music. It means you can’t tame so many new bands. It is important that there is an area for this to live and this is completely our precedence at That Space Zebra Show.
Everyone knows Spiritbox right now, however, the position in which the next Spiritbox is first noticed is in the DWP network and New Music Saturday. Es the ecosystem, we make unsigned teams, but we also have a duty to need all those new teams to succeed as promised. ground, and to put them with the biggest teams. It’s also the vote of the fans, enthusiasts vote if something is world-class or not good, and it provides you with an indicator. When we communicate about the fact that the media and enthusiasts are the tide, literally each and every week, they let me know precisely what they think of every single thing that comes out, so we have an indicator to know where the audience is and the opportunity to show them more than they are being served lately.