Sockpuppet Live Shows.

Logistics

Here are the most basic things that performers are going to need to know:

• What is the actual performance length? Performance sets are usually scheduled to be 30 or 60 minutes long, but there’s usually some time needed for performer changeover between them, as well as interviews between performers. Knowing how long the actual performance will be is important for setting up the set list.

• Mic boost or streamed? Does the world use a streaming player to broadcast the performer into the space, or does it use a microphone boost?

  This matters because the performer’s setup can be very different for each of these approaches.

• Will there be a public live stream as well? Which is to say, will the show also be broadcast on Twitch, YouTube, etc. for viewers outside of VRChat? And if so, what’s the link to the channel or event?

• Any content guidelines or restrictions? Do you want original songs or covers? Can the songs have swearing? What about political or sexual content? What is the minimum age of attendees? How will this age be enforced?

  For example, my most popular song is Freak Flag. I always try to perform it at shows when I can. But it is very much not appropriate for all audiences.

• Before the show, where does the performer need to be? What’s the “call time” when the performer needs to be in the instance? Will there be a Discord voice chat for coordination, and if so, what is the specific voice channel the performer needs to join?

Streaming setup

These questions are specific to shows where the performer will be streaming to the instance, rather than using a mic boost.

• Who provides the streaming CDN? Will the show organizers have their own streaming CDN (and link), or will it be up to the performer to provide one? If the performer is providing their own, is their stream going to be re-broadcast through the showrunner’s own stream, or will it be streamed directly to the world?

  This matters because the performer needs to connect to something via OBS, and if there’s a rebroadcast setup, there is also a lot more flexibility for the performer’s choice of broadcasting setup; for example, if it’s being streamed directly to the world, the CDN needs to be on VRChat’s allow-list and needs to provide sufficient capacity for the number of attendees.

  The choice of CDN also affects how much latency there will be between the performer and the audience.

• Will there be multiple instances? How large will the instances be? Will everyone be fit into a single instance, or will there be “overflow” capacity managed elsewhere?

  This can have an impact on how the performer sets up their stream, e.g. how they decide to provide visuals, and it also affects the streaming CDN capacity.

• Is the stream UV-mapped? Can a performer provide custom visualizations for different parts of the stage?

  If so, please provide the UV map in advance; at the very minimum there should be a picture that shows which parts of the texture map to which parts of the stage, and this picture should be at the actual stream resolution.

  Ideally there should also be a textual description of each mapping zone, including the specific size and position of the zone and how it is applied in the world.

Marketing

Some performers like to announce their shows in advance, and they need to know what exactly to announce.

• Which group is hosting the show? When the performer announces the show, how will listeners actually join it?

  Keep in mind that most people are going to join the group instance; expecting everyone to be able to join off of the performer will very quickly limit how many people will be able to, as performers don’t generally friend every single one of their fans.

• Is there a charity? Does the show benefit a particular organization? Which one? What is the purpose of this charity? Is there a donation link that the performer can provide in advance?

• What is the marketing plan? How far in advance will the show be announced? Where will the announcements take place?

  At the very least it should be pre-announced in the VRChat group (and put on the group calendar), scheduled as an event on the group’s chat platform (Discord/Telegram/Fluxxer/etc.), and announced in advance on said platform. People are going to want to know about things before they happen, not after!

• How are you promoting the performers? When and where will the performance schedule be announced? Will there be a website or Discord post or the like with links to the performers' own websites/bandcamps/etc.?

Also, please provide any organization logos and show posters as soon as possible, as those are also going to be part of the performer’s own social posts.

Performer comfort and safety

• How will moderation be handled? Will you have a trust and safety team on the lookout for bad behavior and willing to evict people who are causing problems for the performers?

  VRChat has some pretty rowdy people who can do some pretty rowdy things. I’ve personally experienced audience members trying to disrupt my performance in many ways, including heckling, switching to “crasher” avatars, using hacked clients to try to disrupt the instance, spamming avatar audio, shouting profanities and slurs, and setting their avatar height to be gigantic and getting in the way of the stage. These are just things I’ve had happen personally and is not an exhaustive list of the ways in which people are able to be jerks.

  There needs to be a moderation plan. The performer doesn’t need to know the details, but they need to know that there is one.

• Is there a “green room” or other backstage area? Will the performer have a private space to get ready for the set?

• Will the performer be expected to mingle before their set? Some of us are extremely introverted and tend to be anxious before performing.

• Will there be interviews? Some shows like to interview performers at the end of their set. Some shows do not. This needs to be factored into the performer’s preparation.

  It would also be nice to provide the questions in advance, if possible, since some folks aren’t great at speaking extemporaneously.

Bonus points

• Is this a paid gig? The answer is usually, but not always, “no,” and it’s nice when there’s financial consideration.

  Being a musician costs a lot more than you’d think, and exposure doesn’t pay the bills.