Meet Yoop, a New Livestream App Aiming to Enhance How Artists and Fans Interact

As livestreaming becomes the method of choice for experiencing musical performances during quarantine, artists have leaned heavily on platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Zoom to reach fans.

While these platforms are certainly functional, none were designed specifically for the purpose of livestreaming, leaving many performances without the high quality sound and energetic exchange that makes performances truly special.

Now, a new platform called Yoop is stepping up to elevate the livestream experience, with features including high-quality production, live interaction and enhanced monetization opportunities for artists.

For example, as fans are watching a livestream on Yoop, they can be called in to appear virtually on-stage for audio-visual interaction with the creators. Presenters can engage in conversations with fans, or simply experience their reactions in real time and witness a real live crowd dancing in front of them.

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The platform has already secured over 300 events, with programming beginning in June. Sofi Tukker, who’s been livestreaming daily during quarantine, will one of the first Yoop performances. Events will include music, education, sports and more. Further programming announcements and dates will be released in the coming weeks.

“While we’re grateful to be able to keep the party going and stay connected with everyone, there’s been one thing missing and that’s the contagious energy exchange between us and the crowd,” Sofi Tukker says in a statement. “Until now, there hasn’t been a way to achieve that feeling and connection virtually. Yoop fixes this. Connection is a basic human need, one that we don’t get enough of even when we aren’t in quarantine. But it’s more important than ever now and we couldn’t be more excited to be on the forefront of pushing virtual experiences with Yoop and bringing more meaningful and reciprocal virtual experiences to the world.”

Yoop will allow creators to monetize content on a per-event basis, whether through fixed pricing or a mechanism that allows fans to pay what they want to support the creators. Yoop is free to access on all platforms, and events within the Yoop platform are priced on a per-event basis. Fans can replay an event up to 24 hours after the live broadcast. For events with unlimited capacity, pricing will be in line with the on-demand digital rentals, with most events priced below $10 and the majority priced at less than $20.

“I built Yoop to give fans a voice,” says Yoop founder and CEO Benoit Fredette. “Yoop eSpace does this by removing physical barriers to access for fans and enabling audiences and content providers to communicate live during events. It also allows performers to scale their events beyond the capacity constraints of a physical venue and without sacrificing production quality.”

The Yoop virtual venue has been in development for years, with the company speeding up development to launch it in the midst of COVID-19 climate and the subsequent reimagining of the ways live events are produced.

“I’m proud that this platform will create opportunities for many in the entertainment industry to return to work in a safe way,” Fredette says.