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Be Square streaming platform “constantly evolving”

Recognising that the beleaguered live events industry needed an interactive live streaming platform when the first COVID-19 lockdown hit back in April 2020, a trio of production professionals, collectively known as Be Square Media, pooled their resources to come up with precisely that.

The event needed to offer a shared, online social experience for a group of up to five people, just as if they would all be attending in person. They should be able to appear as PIPs, thumbnails in the foreground of the show, chat, mute, or generally discuss the performance via message posts on the scroll bar - all within the comfort of their respective homes.

In fifteen months, the company has already supported a number of events, from shows at the Battersea Arts Centre, to After The Flood in the historic Spiegeltent, and more recently Babii Live at The Ramsgate Brewery. According to John Castrillon, who with Tom Barnsbury and Jon Wood make up Be Square Media, audiences and performers needed to be able to interact, so that the performers could see the virtual streamed crowd, as well as vice versa.

In the case of Babii the set-up was simple - a low-production performance at Ramsgate Brewery out of the back of a Transit van (to promote her new album), with support acts. This was the first time Ramsgate Music Hall had put on a show at another location.

The live attendance was complemented by additional ticket sales from anywhere in the world. “You are no longer constrained by issues such as venue capacity, or audience location. There are no travel or access issues to factor in - a massive advantage for those with disabilities”, says Castrillon, adding that in case a live audience suddenly becomes impossible due to restrictions imposed late in the day, the promoter can switch in-person tickets to be online instead, thus guaranteeing the revenue.

Audience members are issued unique links to Be Square events, eliminating the risk of link sharing, and protecting the revenue stream. They can book via a wide range of payment options. Within this, there is flexibility to allow guest list and comp tickets as required, to cap the event if required and layer QR codes to advertise merch, social media links or future events.

“This is a platform that is constantly evolving as we gaze into the future of event promotion”, concludes Castrillon. “We want to make the audience experience as authentic and immersive as possible, by maximising the vast potential now on offer.”

(Photos: Be Square/Babii)

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