Music is a powerful tool to create an emotional connection with your virtual event audience. It can set the mood, convey a message, and enhance the overall experience. But how can you use music effectively in your online events? Here are some tips to help you choose, play, and mix music for your virtual events.
The first step to create an emotional connection with your virtual event audience through music is to know who they are, what they like, and what they expect. You can research your audience's demographics, preferences, and feedback to find out what kind of music resonates with them. You can also use surveys, polls, or quizzes to ask them about their musical tastes and opinions. Knowing your audience will help you select music that matches their interests, needs, and emotions.
The few times I get to feel like “DJ” is when I wait for the audience to join, this is when I show off my different playlists on Spotify. In-fact I play songs & I also ask my audience to rate. It’s a super nice way to break the ice & to also tell your audience that you’ve got some great taste in music (or not, haha) Also, take requests from the crowd & play the ones that gets most amount of votes! On Zoom this works the best, not much on Google Meet!
Knowing the audience is crucial. Age, demographic, and background can highly impact the type of music you choose. Keep it light and fun and find ways to leverage music to invite the audience in.
Keeping the audiences interested and focused on the visual connection and task at hand. It cannot be overwhelmed yet it cannot be lifeless. Balance within the mood, sound design, and sound effects need to be appropriately executed. It needs to illuminate and keep the audience/participants focused.
It is important to understand that music will help your audience to make decisions. Music should pair with the content of the event, and every single piece should be intentional to emphasise the topic and lead to making a choice.
The second step to create an emotional connection with your virtual event audience through music is to choose music that fits your theme and goals. You can use music to support your event's purpose, message, and tone. For example, if your event is about innovation, you can use upbeat and futuristic music to inspire your audience. If your event is about wellness, you can use soothing and relaxing music to calm your audience. You can also use music to create contrast, surprise, or humor, depending on your event's mood and objectives.
Being clear and intentional with how your brand sounds is (or should be) part of your brand's identity. Work with your brand experts to find artists and beats per minute that work with the feeling of your brand. Additionally, think of the timing of when your attendees will hear certain tracks. Do you need a separate playlist for the keynote room and the lunch space?
In my experience knowing who is the target audience is key. But also bringing a variety of samples to help poll the reactions.
The third step to create an emotional connection with your virtual event audience through music is to play music at the right moments. You can use music to create transitions, breaks, and highlights in your event. For example, you can use music to introduce speakers, segments, or topics, to signal changes, or to emphasize key points. You can also use music to fill gaps, pauses, or silences, to avoid boredom or awkwardness. You can also use music to end your event on a high note, to leave a lasting impression.
I definitely agree with this point and It can also be used in live entertainment events. I do it all the time to avoid boredom or awkward silence when broadcasters stop talking.
The fourth step to create an emotional connection with your virtual event audience through music is to mix music with other audio elements. You can use music to complement or contrast with other sounds, such as speech, sound effects, or ambient noise. You can also use music to create layers, textures, or dynamics in your audio design. For example, you can use music to create background, foreground, or focal points in your sound space. You can also use music to create harmony, tension, or balance in your sound structure.
The fifth step to create an emotional connection with your virtual event audience through music is to adjust music volume and quality. You can use music volume and quality to control the impact, clarity, and mood of your music. For example, you can use music volume to create emphasis, contrast, or atmosphere. You can also use music quality to create realism, distortion, or effects. You can also use music volume and quality to adapt to different devices, platforms, or environments.
This is what I call: Texture. It always enhances the audio experience and makes it more organic and "digestable". Every time we create an audio product in order to create a particular experience for the listener, is of major importance to create: TEXTURES. It is an artistic expression in fact, like a plastic artist does it on a canvas, we do it on the recording to be reproduced on a speaker.
The sixth and final step to create an emotional connection with your virtual event audience through music is to test and monitor your music. You can test your music before, during, and after your event to ensure that it works well, sounds good, and meets your expectations. You can also monitor your music during your event to check for any issues, feedback, or reactions. You can also use analytics, metrics, or surveys to measure the effectiveness, engagement, and satisfaction of your music.
It's really important to feel your music yourself first. That's how you can use it as a great match to your event. Use it when it's needed and stop it in the right moment. And in my opinion to attract most attention of the audience is when you make a unusual pause in your music and make this question in your audience mind:"what happened?"