Erykah Badu Creates Her Own Livestream Company “Quarantine Concert Series!”

YourBlackWorld.net, By Victor Omondi Posted May 22nd 2020

Amid the Covid-19 pandemic that has seen the shutting down of the live-entertainment industry, Erykah Badu is becoming innovative to keep the fire burning.

With her elaborate “Quarantine Concert Series,” which is streamed from her Dallas home, has found an innovative solution to the Coronavirus-fueled shut down of the live-entertainment industry.

Badu launched her quarantine series concert late March. What makes Badu’s series one of a kind in a business sense is the fact that she has established her own Livestream company instead of using Instagram or YouTube. Badu is charging viewers a minimum fee of $1-$3.

“But I couldn’t just put a phone up on a tripod and do a Livestream on one of the social platforms, because that would just feed me: I had to figure out a way to keep morale up for all [my] musicians and techs and engineers and keep all of us employed,” Badu said in an interview with Variety.

Within 10 days after her tour was postponed, Badu had contracted a “back-end” Livestream company and a paywall service, figured out how to broadcast from her Dallas home, gathered musicians, engineers, and technicians, and reached out to fans across the globe.

Badu’s series began on March 23 with a three-hour concert nicknamed the “Apocalypse One”. Later on, on April 5, Badu carried on with a special show to pay homage to her “New Amerykah Part II” album’s tenth anniversary. She’s planning to air the third show on Sunday.

Badu charged $1 for the first show, $2 for the second, and she’s planning to charge $3 for the third one.

Sometimes Badu extends at-home vibes to the performances to capture the attention of her viewers. In some instances, she sings while sitting on her bed, and at some point, she takes a break to visit the bathroom.

The shows which have so far attracted more than 100,000 viewers according to her rep are interactive. In the beginning, the audience voted on which setlist they wanted Badu and the musicians to play, and for the second show, dubbed “Apocalypse Two: The Rooms”, the audience voted on which of the beautifully decorated rooms they wanted the group to perform during the show.