Spacejunky Live Gig
I returned from Sydney last night where I sat on a few panels talking about the
Australian Music Business. It's no secret that these are not happy times for the record industry and the message that artists are getting is it's now a DIY world so roll up your sleeves, become online savvy, and be your own recording/marketing/distribution/booking machine. It's always been a tough business for artists - even when there were boom times for the record companies - and now it's even tougher.

But along with change comes opportunity, if a band is willing to try something new. One area that I am excited about and mentioned at the conference is the potential for live performances in Second Life. Music performances in SL are glue that brings people together to socialise and it's a vibrant and active scene.

I just popped in on a gig by a band called Spacejunky. It was a shame that their live show was only semi-live; their stream seemed to be a mix of voice and pre-recorded tracks. The artists that are at the forefront of SL performaces are playing and singing at a mic straight into the virtual world. If you want to start exploring more about Second Life and live music, start here:

http://secondlife.com/community/music.php

Jaycatt’s Streaming Primer

It's a wonderful community of musicians and most are pretty happy to help newbies as long as they have the time.

It's also worth mentioning that SLCN's Tonight Live with Paisley Beebe includes a live musical guest each week. Paisley is a jazz performer herself with a large following in SL and she is doing a fantastic job of spreading the word about how talented some of the music performers are.

.