...online is a great way to see each other. Of course, the best of all is live performance, live communication. But there is a super plus in all this: a great opportunity to witness the performance from anywhere in the world Oleh Skrypka, VV frontman136. Online Music Marathons For almost six months, the Ukrainian Internet space has been loaded with online music marathons. In March, online media Slukh launched the Karantin Live (“Карантин Live”) special project with streams of artists' performances on YouTube, and in May, with grant support, presented a series of concerts entitled Kultura Objednuje (“Культура об’єднує”, engl. Culture Unites)137. The large-scale Intercity Live festival has taken online music marathons to a new level. It was initiated by the agency Kontrabass promo. Having started in the spring with 10 Ukrainian cities and 23 artists, by the end of the summer the festival brought together artists from 7 continents. In a global pandemic, the virtual cultural train was able to draw attention to contemporary independent music, and the use of digital technology has made Intercity Live truly an innovative project. Hromadske.ua and Toronto TV were the project’s information partners. The fourth Intercity Live was supported by the House of Europe program. During the quarantine, we managed not only to continue with the shows, but also to take them to a new level. The very fact of cool promoters from different cities of Ukraine collaborating is very valuable for culture in general. The online format opens up new opportunities to promote local art. Iurii Bazaka, Kontrabass Promo agency138.
LIVE MUSIC INDUSTRY
Development Of Online Platforms
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Responding to demand, platforms for artists to stream online concerts have emerged in the Ukrainian online space. Playitplay, Ukrainian Main Stream, Hover.link offered new opportunities for the implementation of online formats, adapting them to the needs of concert promoters.
136 Open.ua (2020). The band VV will hold a charity online concert, where they will play the album Zakustika: http://open.ua/music/digest/Gurt-VV-provede-blagodiyniy-onlayn-koncert-de-zigraie-albom-Zakustika/ 137 Karantin Live online concerts: https://slukh.media/news/slukh-quarantine-live/ Culture Unites online concerts were supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation and Concert.ua: https://slukh.media/culture-unites/ 138 Open.ua (2020). “The third Intercity Live online festival to be international”: http://open.ua/music/digest/Tretiy-onlayn-festival-Intercity-Live-stane-mzhkontinentalnim/