About My Journey:

My musical/career background:

• Austin, TX Musician for 10 Years
• indie-signed at age 19, released two albums and worked the Los Angeles music scene/industry in my early years
• relocated to Austin in 2009
• Went completely self-indie after 2011, started focusing my musical energy on the right genre for me
• focused more on my brand and more on my fans
• worked a bunch of side-jobs, but wanted to do something meaningful and productive
• experimented early with FB Live and virtual tip jars with some success

My Streaming Journey Overview:

• in mid-February 2018, I decided to give it a "college try" with consistent streaming
• streamed daily at first, for two hours per stream, often twice a day (would not advise this in the current climate)
• I kept detailed records throughout the experiment
• I was careful to nurture relationships with viewers
• "branded" the stream as "Crooner Coffee Hour," starting at 10 am, typically until noon unless viewership was low
• decided to streamline to 1-2 hours of streaming per week, with a focus on engagement

The Format of My Stream:

• "Crooner Coffee Hour" every Friday morning at 10:30 am CST (beginning Jan 1, 2019)
• encourage viewers to share about themselves and their experiences
• it's consistent, reliable, with a focus on serving THEM
• I encourage requests based on a list that I provide for them
• the requests boost engagement to "gate" open the stream algorithmically to more viewers
• Best Practice Advisement: play original music as often and as much as possible (though covers might bring in more people)
• cover songs *can* get your page flagged, restricted, or taken down - so proceed (re: covers) with caution