Live broadcast is exciting. It’s also nerve-wracking. Live streaming vs recording, which is best? Both create a live shared digital experience. One is truly live in the moment. The other one is simulated. So how do you choose?
In almost 20 years of producing live audio and video content, I still get nervous every time we go live. One of the vision mix operators I’ve worked with once told me he loved live streaming because of the unpredictability, stress and need for constant problem-solving. I laughed as those are all the things I could really do without, but I also know what he meant. Going live is exciting, but it does present some issues you may find unwelcome. So let’s explore when you need to go live, and why, and what the real difference is between live streaming and innovations like YouTube Premieres.
When I consider live streaming — be it for one of my projects or a client commission — the first thing I do is ask why. Sometimes people have a good answer for this, but quite often they don’t. While I do want the job, I don’t let clients get away with “we got some funding for digital projects and have to do some live streaming” or “our board has told us to”.
As a media producer, I need to know the full story. I want to know why. (Both my parents are journalists. I started out as a print journalist and I’ll always think like one). I get them to consider their motives, find out what the project, campaign or programme objectives are and discuss the pros and cons of live streaming versus streaming it as live or producing and publishing on demand content.
Shared Experience
Audiences enjoy shared experience. Gigs, festivals, plays, performances and sporting events bring us together and give us joy. When we weren’t allowed to get together during coronavirus pandemic lockdowns, we craved some kind of shared experience.
Apps like Rave let you stream shows, watch and comment along with your friends. Tim Burgess curated his wonderfully simple Twitter Listening Parties. Community clapping for front-line workers on Thursday evenings was a poignant real-world shared experience. (Although we now view it through the lens of hindsight, clouded by opaque funding support package decisions.)
And you can even still participate in share experience by watching live TV and listening to live radio! (Really. You can actually still do that.)
When it has to be live
Live streams have more to offer more than just shared experience. If the programme is about an event or activity that has jeopardy or a big reveal (a competition, award, debate, experiment, quest or launch), then it has to be truly live because once people the outcome, it loses potency. Involving the online audience in some kind of Q&A is the another reason our clients give us; and it’s a valid one. If the presenter, host, guest speaker or performers can speak to the viewers or listeners, answer their questions and give them privileged access, making them feel part of the activity, then there’s a great reason to stream live.
Musicians are live streaming frequently these days. Often their performances are inviting donations, to good effect. And their shows are intimate and connect directly with their audience as the artists acknowledge comments, answer questions and take requests. Comedians do the same thing. Some actors, poets and other creative people have also experimented with live streaming. Sometimes it works well, sometimes it doesn’t.
Another advantage of streaming something live is just doing it; setting up, going live and making a programme right there and then — mistakes and all. If you record it then you can always edit it later, and there’s always that risk that you’ll take much longer to do it. You might never finish it at all. So there’s a productivity imperative to live streaming too.

When production matters most
If you want high production values, which audiences do appreciate, then it’s much more demanding to do that live. It’s totally possible, but it takes a lot of preparation, planning, skill, expertise, experience, blood, sweat and tears — sometimes literally.
For performances including live music, spoken work and dance, and especially with drama, often making a film and putting it up online is preferable because you can get the content right and present the piece just how you want it to be. Audiences used to the top production quality we expect of BBC, HBO and Netflix Originals (be it the stunning Stranger Things or the — to me — inexplicably popular how-did-they-drag-it-out-beyond-one-episode documentary serials…) may prefer on demand video.
But if it’s not live, will they watch it? YouTube, Netflix, Spotify and every streaming site is packed with content that has had zero views. The excitement you can stimulate through live video definitely helps captivate an audience. But how do you create a great video and still utilise the shared experience? That’s where “as live” broadcast comes in.
Live streaming vs recording? Let’s go “as live”!
We do this quite a lot, and always have done. Since we started our internet radio station, Radio Magnetic, all the way back in 2001, we have mixed pre-recorded content with live in the moment programmes and broadcast it all live. Playing pre-recorded video content out “as live” is possible, but it requires specialist software and a fair bit of know-how. Or you could use a service like Castr or Restream (but be aware of the hardware or software and platform costs involved). But that was how you had to do it.
Until the advent of the YouTube Premiere, that is. With YouTube Premieres (closely followed by Facebook Premieres until the feature was retired by Facebook), you upload your video to the platform and schedule it for publication — like you would with any video. But crucially with a Premier, when it is published, the platform notifies your followers or subscribers and plays the video out as a live stream. Viewers can watch at the same time as each other, comment and chat; just like an actual live stream.
Premieres vs live streaming vs recording: you decide
And “as live” streams, including Premieres, don’t have to be passive experiences as far as the creator is concerned. You, or the performers, producers or whoever is appropriate, can hang out in the chat room and join in the conversation; answering questions and providing further information.
Premieres are also a great way of doing something live even if your internet connection isn’t up to full live in the moment streaming. Just make sure you give yourself plenty of time to upload your video to the platform — even if that’s overnight.
Whatever you do with live content, make sure you know why you’re doing it, what you want to get out of the live streaming experience and consider whether your show should be live or as live, like a Premiere. And if you find the experience exciting, let your audience know and you can all share in the excitement together.
If you want help figuring out the best solution for you, get in touch and we can help you work it out.