As pandemic lingers, one DJ tests virtual 'tours'

Livestreamed concerts are now a common feature of the coronavirus age, with musicians vying for a spot on the overcrowded virtual stage even when they're doing it for free.

This weekend, Haitian DJ Michael Brun hopes to find a way to make streams more profitable, with plans to test a model rarely used in music. The practice is known as "geofencing" - limiting virtual viewers to a specific geographic area.

His strategy aims to draw an audience for a fee by catering to certain cities.

Like many artists, the New York-based Brun - who's played top festivals and seen his remixes generate millions of streams - has delivered several free virtual shows from his apartment since the pandemic began.

His first three paid concerts since then will be geofenced to people within 100 miles of Los Angeles, Miami and Chicago, respectively, at five dollars per ticket.     

The 28-year-old will DJ from Manhattan's Le Poisson Rouge venue, with higher-quality production than the often-minimalist streams that have become the norm.

Brun said he hoped making his shows location-specific can heighten the experience for fans, with each show limited to 500 viewers.

"It's not just a random live on a random day," he told AFP. "This feels like more of a moment."    

Brun said he was happy to do free shows from home - especially in the early days of the pandemic plagued by job loss, fear and uncertainty.

And though he made no money off of that work, he said that for many artists the makeshift streamed shows were a "necessity" to sustain their audiences.

 "Nobody really knows when live music is going to come back, so you don't want to just disappear," Brun said.

Most artists make the vast majority of their income from...