Why Live Music Changes Lives

01-Jun-2020 By 1 Comment

With live music moving towards ‘live streams’ in today’s challenging times, we are all eagerly waiting to go back to a life of waiting in long lines only to get up in front of the stage and flaunt our front row cred to the world. We believe that day is going to be soon, live music changes lives and is here to stay. Josey Dunbar takes us through the experience all over again well within the safe confines of your homes.

Now, picture this.

It’s a beautiful, sunny day in your local city – except you are unaware of this as you stand, shoulder to shoulder with strangers from all degrees of life. Packed like farm animals inside a dark auditorium awaiting the blinding of strobe lights and deafening of speakers with enough SPL per watt to uproot a forest. And yet, you leave this loud, crammed, seemingly undesirable experience as an inspired, satisfied and overall happier individual; and the question is: why? Why humans not only love, but crave the live music atmosphere, dates back to practically the dawn of mankind.

Even in prehistoric times, the art of live music was believed to play part in the lives of cavemen and women. Artifacts found revealing cave drawings of people dancing—and let’s be honest, who dances without music? Jump forward a few hundred-millennia to Ancient Greece where live performances of theater and music became not only a source of entrainment but also a means of projecting societal norms.

1700s: Opera emerges as a new type of live music performance; initiating a need for large showcase venues such as La Scala in Milan.

1850: Jenny Linda makes her debut in America, exceeding the crowd size brought out by any preceding artist.

1950s: Rock and Roll broke down the race barrier by showcasing black and white artists side-by-side on a shared stage.

Maybe it’s just in our nature or maybe there truly is something different, something unexplainable about live music. On that note (pun intended), the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center conducted a study that analyzed the compared human reaction to live and recorded music. According to the data retrieved through this study, live music resulted in greater relief of stress among patients than recorded tracks. The setting, the physical vigor and connection between fan and artist has the power to pull audience members out of their busy lives for a moment, where nothing else matters but the art in front of them.

And that’s not even the best part. Concerts not only have illustrated a unique ability to reach people in a way no other means of art can, they are also -dare I say- saving the music industry. Mind you, this is a debated topic amongst music connoisseurs. Many argue, that as the profit from purchased music decreases with the incline in streaming, the touring and live music industry will pick-up the income slack.

Despite the outlandishness of this claim, it is valid considering the immense growth in live music profit over the past decade. Concerts and live tours, which were once mere means of promoting a new album, have evolved into a multibillion-dollar industry. Millennials have undeniably taken part in the live music fad; however according to Ticketmaster’s 2014 Live Attendee Study, their presence was solely thirty-five percent of overall attendees. Therefore insinuating that older generations too, have increased in concert attendance, and today take up sixty-five percent of the documented audience.

So picture this again.

It’s sixty degrees in Dublin, You’re in an outside venue in close quarters with the stranger on your left. You take a moment to appreciate that one festival brought all of these people together. The lights of the stage dim, and outsteps the artist you came to see. And thus, you leave this loud, crammed, seemingly undesirable experience as an inspired, satisfied and overall happier individual; and the answer is: music.

Music can brighten your day, try youbloomConnect. It doesn’t cost you anything to sign-up, but you’ll have the power to help create the show you want to see! So, sign-up as a fan today and become a part of this ecosystem.

If you enjoy this blog about music and want to know more about youbloomConnect be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

Josey is music obsessed and a diehard Tom Petty fan. Josey currently lives outside of Los Angeles where she enjoys excessively sunny days, train adventures, and organic chai (yes, Josey is high-maintenance about her chai).

Music and Therapy: Listen To Music With Your Muscles

28-May-2020 By 1 Comment

(Post Via Josey Dunbar) Music philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche, made this claim by insisting that humans ‘listen to music with their muscles’ through the use of facial expressions, keeping rhythm, and using their bodies to sing along. He projected music as something which requires the whole person rather than a mere half-listening ear.

Have you ever stopped to wonder why music is everywhere you go? Why these unavoidable tonal patterns are essential to human life and apparent in every aspect of society?
Maybe it’s a nice distraction from daily life, or maybe it’s much deeper than that.

Scientists have found that the act of simply experiencing music with others stimulates a ‘binding of the nervous system’ which can physically heal people. So hooray! Every musician can be a doctor! (Sort of).

Studies have shown that there are certain places in the brain most stimulated by the rhythmic sequences of sound. The Auditory Cortex (a fitting title) is primarily part of the temporal lobe on either side of the brain and the cells within are organized depending on their ability to receive high or low frequencies.
The Cerebellum is located at the back of the brain and is the body’s center for rhythm balance and coordination. The Center for Neuroskills attributes a musician’s ability to move their body to play their instrument as envisioned, is all thanks to a highly functioning Cerebellum.
And Finally, The Limbic System gives you the ability to react to music with your emotions, and feel the pleasure of a song you love. Disease researchers have also noted this as the place where humans feel the music rather than hear it.

While our brain is busy experiencing the influence of this amazing art, our bodies, minds and nervous systems are able to improve with the simple influence of these tone patterns.

One mind-blowing study conducted by a series of educators in music drafted the hypothesis that performing a musical instrument can protect the human brain from degenerative diseases. This was based on the scientific evidence that playing an instrument improves cognitive ability.
In order to prove this theory, music educators studied twins; this would eliminate favorable genetics as an indication for dementia prevention. The results of the study showed that musicians who play well into adulthood were thirty-six percent less likely to develop dementia.

Another fascinating discovery showed that playing an instrument leads to a higher IQ in early adulthood. In this study, researchers found that children under ten who had a sole year of instrumental music lessons had a significantly higher intelligence quotient than those who did not attempt to learn.

So now that you know how powerful music can be in the human brain, you may be wondering how to take it even further to develop some supernatural abilities (at least I am). Sadly, no discovered have been made on that —yet— however, there are several ways for us to best utilize the gift of music.

Music can be used to reduce stress and depression through improving mood, reducing stress, boosting immunity and aiding social bonding. It can also lead to enhances cognition. Through learning to play an instrument, even as a beginner, you will improve certain high brain functions which truly can enhance brain development.

Finally, don’t forget to use music as a memory booster. Science has found that music can be used on young brains to retain formation and enhance learning.

To take your insight of how music can brighten your day, please try youbloom connect. It doesn’t cost you anything to sign-up, but you’ll have the power to help create the show you want to see! So, sign-up as a fan today and become a part of this ecosystem.

If you enjoy this blog about music and want to know more about youbloomConnect be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

Power to the fans with youbloomConnect

20-May-2020 By Leave a Comment

Via Petra Cugalj

The power that music gives fans

Petra Cugalj shares with us the power of music and what makes her feel empowered. she adds, “coming from a small town, lots of good gigs were often not accessible to me. Either too far away, in bigger cities or simply too expensive for my budget. I often found myself daydreaming about how cool it would be to see my favorite bands and artists play live in my city”. At the same time, she expresses how powerless she feels because they wouldn’t ever come to a city near her. Here’s how youbloomConnect impacts fans from across the globe.

Get invited to the show, before anyone else

One of the biggest benefits of signing-up as a youbloomConnect requesting fan, is right there in the name itself – you can request bands and artists to come and perform live in your city! Get your friends involved and requesting too ‘cause the more you request, the higher your chances are to see them play live in your city! By signing-up, you’ll always be the first one to know when the next youbloomConnect gig is happening. Before you know it, you’ll be relaxing with friends and enjoying an unforgettable, uninterrupted, live music show just for you. Even though live music is limitless, the seating might not be, so sign up to be the first one to secure your ticket and we’ll keep your wallets a little bit fuller by giving you a 15% discount on ticket prices!

Get involved today!

Don’t wait for a chance to see your favorite artists and bands play live. Take the power into your own hands and bring the bands you love to watch perform to your city . The music industry would not exist without the fans! We at youbloom know this is true, this is exactly why youbloom launches youbloomConnect to give the power to you – to us, the fans.

It doesn’t cost you anything to sign-up, but you’ll have the power to help create the show you want to see! So, sign-up as a fan today and become a part of this ecosystem.

If you enjoy this blog about music and want to know more about youbloomConnect be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

Indie Artists: Time Be Your Own Booking Agent

09-May-2020 By Leave a Comment

Via Luca

Indie artists, it’s time to drop the Booking Agent

No one knows better than indie artists how frustrating and stressful it can be to book shows, tour, and perform. Hiring a booking agent may seem like the easy answer, but if the royalties aren’t exactly flowing in yet, you might not be in the financial position to do this. What to do, then? Let’s not forget that we are the DIY generation, we do it ourselves. Here’s how to book your own shows.

Perhaps you’ve made a list of all the venues that would fit your music, sound, and style, and yet it’s nearly impossible to get them to give you a decent time slot. You will most likely get an 11pm weeknight spot or a 3pm Sunday afternoon one, and we all know that no one is going to miss brunch to catch your new band at what promises to be an empty, desolated venue.

When you ask for a better, higher profile slot, the booking agent usually says: “Well, how many people can you draw?”. If the answer is more than 20, then you’ve got yourself a Friday night show. However, if your response is anything less, you’ll have to wait patiently in line until your following is bigger.

Which brings us to our next point.

Book others, to book yourself.

How is a band supposed to grow a fan base if the only shows they can play occur when people are watching Netflix or in a yoga class? Good question indeed. Those who manage to bring a good crowd are those who are either already established or have a lot of friends in town. Venues are not going to bet on a new indie artist nor are they looking for the next big act to feature before they blow up. Venues want to break even. They want to see the money they spend on a typical Friday night come back in full, and if possible make a little profit.

Be your own booking agent. Look for an equally unknown band that shares your ambitions, ethos, and sound and put a show together. Perhaps, pick a less reputable venue in your town; smaller and more intimate is ideal. Make sure you market the show as a party; a night to have some fun and enjoy some live music. Startups like Sofar Sounds have built a brand around this exact experience and platforms like youbloomConnect match local indie artists with one another, making it easy for bands to come together and book.

Each band will bring their friends, and if you advertised the event properly, their friends will bring other friends looking for a fun night.

Play the show, distribute some t-shirts, have a beer and repeat.

One of two things will happen. You will either get a call from the bigger venues looking to book your band or you won’t need them anymore because your fan base has been growing without their help.

You should hope for the latter.

About the Blogger

Luca a freelance writer, blogger, musician and songwriter. Born and
raised in Italy, his passion for Rock n Roll made him move to London where he
lived for one year and gained a certificate in Songwriting from ICMP.
Luca relocated in NYC in 2014 to pursue jazz music and liberal arts at the
The New School from which he graduated in December 2017. Luca currently
resides in Nashville, TN

Live Shows; Fans Can Be Hosts Too

05-May-2020 By Leave a Comment

applause and raised hands at concert. Nightclub life

via Anthony Flowers

Imagine this. You go to live shows. You identify as a fan. Therefore, you go to all the local concerts, shows, and music festivals. You have been keeping an eye on a talented local band or musician you’ve seen perform from time to time. You hear live music and it makes you smile on the inside. Yes, we are talking to you! Here’s how fans can be hosts too 🙂

Anthony Flowers will tell you how to become part of the show in your city.

One Way to Enjoy the Show

If you really love live music, you would have signed-up as a fan on youbloomConnect already. In that case, you can request an artist to perform in a city near you and tell your friends to do the same. If enough other people start requesting the same artist, consequently the CityRep will reach out to the artist to book a show. Once a show is announced, you buy tickets and show up ready for uninterrupted, unforgettable live music. There’s two sides to every story though.

Host Your Very Own Show

As a fan on youbloomConnect, you can sign-up as a host and bring the show to you. When you sign up to host and your spot gets chosen, we’ll have a gift for you. Because you’re basically VIP in our eyes, every host automatically receives four tickets to invite their very own guest list. You and four (4) friends will have front row seats to the show in your very own space. Think backyards overlooking the hills, beachside cafes, downtown rooftops, a co-working space, on a boat, or a wine bar. The possibilities are endless. If you have a space that you and a few friends could have a pretty cool concert, we’d love you to become a host.

Sit Back and Enjoy

Music is meant to be experienced with friends, so share your space as a host, this way you can actually sit back and enjoy the show. No worries, certainly you can trust youbloom will take care of the rest. By becoming a host with youbloomConnect, you will really be able to make a connection with the artists and all the other music fans who show up. As a result of your hospitality, the artists will be super appreciative and ready to put on a show for you and your friends.

It Takes a Village

Next time you are out on the town listening to music with your friends and you think to yourself: ‘it would be really cool to have a concert at my place one day.’ Know that you can! youbloom puts on shows around the world bringing together people who love live music. So, go ahead. Become a host today!

Cheers to live music!

If you enjoy this blog about music and want to know more about youbloomConnect be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.