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Editor's note: Today on the blog we're running the firsthand account of a new Switcher user. As more people participate in social distancing to help stop the spread of COVID-19, we've seen an influx of interest in livestreaming — and inspiring new ways for livestreaming to be used. This is one such story. 

The day the (live) music died

My musical journey started a decade ago. I was active duty in the U.S. Air Force with a passion for music. In my spare time I would play piano at home and sing a lot of karaoke. When I was confident enough, I booked my first paying gig performing for two hours at a local dive, just me and my piano. Fast forward from 2010 to 2016 and I was a changed musician. My eight-year service in the military was ending, and I had just enough bookings that I was able to transition to a full-time entertainer without the inconvenience of a day job. I finally made the move to Music City in 2018 both to further my performing career and to start my songwriting career. Just before my two-year mark in Nashville, I had made quite a resume and name for myself as a performer, piano player, and songwriter. Not only did I have my own band and weekly residencies at the famous downtown Nashville honky-tonks, but I had also been hired to play piano for J Edwards and Jesse Keith Whitley. On March 3, 2020, I was officially hired to play piano and sing harmonies for 2019’s Indie Music Channel Awards “Best Contemporary Country Artist,” Ryan Daniel.

But on March 15, 2020, my plans changed. We had just finished a weekend rehearsal with Ryan for our upcoming tour when I was informed that the bars in Nashville were being officially shut down to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Absolutely devastating news for a musician who performs five to ten shows in those venues every week and relies on that work to pay bills. Not only did these venues close, but the tour we were supposed to start with Ryan was also postponed until further notice. In an instant, I went from being barely able to pay my bills to wondering how I was going to eat.

Global cosmetics and beauty company L’Oréal has employees based in 60 countries. With a mission of beauty for everybody, the company is looking to attract a workforce that reflects the audience they serve, one of different genders, ethnicities and social backgrounds.

However, recruiting early career talent has become a new challenge. “The way you attract candidates is changing, and the way you approach recruiting from colleges and universities is changing,” says Michael Lake, L’Oréal’s recruitment manager for Global Campus Activation. “The traditional way of doing a corporate presentation and talking about how great the company is or going to a career fair and talking to people who are already interested in you because otherwise they wouldn’t have stopped by is a little bit old-fashioned and doesn’t allow us to capture what we really want, which is really a very diverse candidate pool.”

Hurricane Harvey made landfall in Texas on August 25, 2017. Over a four-day period it resulted in over 100 deaths and affected hundreds of thousands of homes. Relief efforts would go on for months, but one such effort took place before the storm waters even began to recede, thanks to Facebook Live and Switcher Studio.

Whether you love seeing pictures of people’s food on Facebook and Instagram or you hate it, there is no denying that food is as much a visual experience as a tasting one. Maybe that’s one of the reasons why cooking shows are so popular. Watching a chef bring a meal to life in all its color and texture is so much more engaging than trying to follow the words on a page in a cookbook.

At Sun Basket, a healthy meal kit delivery service, the company has capitalized on the “show me” aspect of cooking demonstrations and the marketing power of live video to produce Facebook Live videos that engage their customers in an authentic way. Using Switcher Studio, Sun Basket creates videos that mimic real TV productions, without the cost and setup, and interact with customers in real-time.

One of the best things about working at Switcher is seeing all the cool stuff that people do with Switcher Studio. When we developed the product we couldn't have dreamed of all the interesting content that would be created with it. 

That said, we don't want to keep all this fun to ourselves. Here's a quick roundup of awesome videos from the first quarter of 2017. 

Creating TV style productions is a big operation. Lots of equipment, lots of people, lots of time. World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc.(d/b/aWWE) is an entertainment company and the largest professional wrestling organization in the world. Since its inception, they have amassed a global audience of over 36 million.

When you think of a radio station, people generally don’t think of video. But stations already cover so many events in their community...why not set up a camera? With Switcher Studio stations can easily produce video and start to connect and engage with their audience in new ways.