The closure of the performance halls, decided two months ago to combat the spread of Covid-19, has caused an unprecedented crisis in the world of live performance. " We are soon in the middle of the year and we have achieved only 20% of our turnover ", deplores Marianne Piketty, the artistic director of the classical music ensemble Le Concert Idéal. " All of our dates until August 30 have been postponed ." Only one concert was maintained: the one planned for 1001 Notes, a Limousin festival which decided to broadcast the shows of its 2020 edition by streaming rather than sitting on 120,000 euros in ticket sales. Spectators who have purchased a seat will therefore be able to attend by connecting to a dedicated platform.
With no prospect of reopening and subject to fixed charges, more and more cultural establishments are adapting their offer to the restrictions in force to replenish their funds. This is the bet made by the Apollo Theater in the 11th arrondissement of Paris. This establishment, which accuses 50,000 euros of monthly dry loss since March, now offers spectators to go to a dedicated website to attend comic shows.
Screens on stage for an interactive show
Thanks to an innovative device, the duo Oth and Kal can see certain members of the public reacting to their jokes on television screens placed in front of the stage. Spectators chosen from among their fans must film themselves, as during a videoconference. They are therefore visible to the actors, who can interact with their audience in the great stand-up tradition.
“ We try to create an interaction between the artists and the public, without the latter being present in the room , explains the director of the Apollo Theater Philippe Delmas. Screens are also installed behind the artists so that the rest of the audience can see the reactions . ”
Since the installation of this device, each performance has gathered 180 spectators on average, at 8 euros per seat. " It is not enough ," admits Philippe Delmas, who nevertheless retains his enthusiasm. “ Streaming allows us to reach a wider audience. Fans of Oth and Kal were able to attend their show from South Carolina, Ottawa or Algiers, "he said. An opportunity that the Apollo Theater intends to seize: it will continue to offer live streaming shows, even when the halls can reopen.
" I see very well in the near future of rooms filled to a third of their capacity to comply with social distancing measures, with an additional revenue which could be that of the sale in streaming, " he said following the announcements of 'Emmanuel Macron who presented his cultural aid plan on Wednesday. The President of the Republic thus wishes that the rooms reopen and " can again reach audiences ", in particular thanks to " recordings " broadcast on television or on the Internet.
A substantial investment
But that may not be enough. Le Divan du Monde, another Parisian establishment that has started broadcasting its shows online, doubts that the profits made from streaming will be enough for it to function. " It will not allow us to pay our fixed costs ," explains its director Fabrice Laffon. But it can ensure the survival of the troop . ”
If streaming seems to be an opportunity to make the theaters work by the time they reopen, this solution is not available to everyone, however. The Apollo Theater thus already had the equipment necessary for the broadcasting of its shows in streaming, this is not the case for all the rooms which will have to face a barrier at the entrance to get up to date.
A medium-sized hall should therefore spend at least 3,000 euros to acquire the equipment necessary to broadcast its shows, said Guillaume de Scorbiac, the founder of the Cominweb company who created the platform used by the Apollo Theater.
The demand for its services could increase significantly in the coming months, but it will however have to face competition from large platforms like Twitch, which allows authors to be paid by a donation system and Facebook, which recently announced that it would charge for access to a video stream. But Guillaume de Scorbiac argues that his solution is more qualitative, and suitable for structures that want to reach an audience with various digital uses. " Our tool makes it possible to broadcast simultaneously on several different platforms ," he explains.