Teddy Riley vs Babyface: 3 Things For Creatives To Consider For Livestreams

Image via VERZUZ

For weeks, music fans were excited about the VERZUZ Instagram Live battle between Teddy Riley and Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds, two of the most legendary songwriters and producers in the music industry. It was originally scheduled for April 5th. But, the energy of the experience started to change. At one point, Teddy Riley wanted to change the battle’s platform and there were rumors about it being a paid event. However, it was announced that it would be streamed on Instagram Live on April 18th because Babyface was recovering from Coronavirus. Something, however, made me feel that things weren’t going to go well when the stream finally happened…and my feelings were correct.

Image via Amy Harris/Invision/AP/Shutterstock

I won’t get too deep into what exactly happened here, but the various memes and videos spreading jokes about what occurred are enough to keep you entertained. There were 400,000-plus people in attendance to see and talk about the musical genius and excellence of Babyface and Riley’s catalogs. It was short-lived, however, due to technical issues. Based on how it went down, I’m surprised that it was rescheduled for April 20th, but I’m happy it was. 

Image via Getty Images/Greg Doherty

The things that went wrong during the live are things that creatives in any point in their careers can learn from. With the increasing amount of livestreams happening on social media due to the pandemic and social distancing, it’s important for creatives to know how to operate on social media and how to strategize their live video experiences. This is even more important for quick and easy platforms like Instagram Live, where the bulk of livestreams are happening. I mentioned three things that creatives should consider when doing their livestreams. Read them below:

Know and understand the audience and platform for the livestream, then cater the experience to it.

For the VERZUZ battles, the creatives usually share 20 songs each (one minute or so for each song) back and forth. Those battles consist of the creative playing their song from their computer or in their studio. This makes sense for Instagram Live because the livestream goes on for one hour before it ends and the host has to start it again. Babyface’s setup was perfectly fine for the event because he kept it simple and on brand to what the other battles were like. However, Teddy Riley had an entire production behind him because he wanted to give us a concert-like experience. Truth be told, I would have enjoyed the experience a lot based off of his catalog…just not through the VERZUZ experience and not through a joint Instagram Live due to Instagram Live’s time limit.

The experience Riley tried to give would have been fine as a solo experience through his website, which is what he tried to do simultaneously with the Instagram Live. Because of that, there were sound issues that made the Instagram Live unenjoyable. The sound on the stream via his site, however, was beautiful. Teddy Riley and his team put the focus into the wrong platform for the occasion. If he did the battle in a simple way and then promoted a concert experience for another time (like for his planned afterparty), it would have came off much better.

If you’re doing a joint live, consider the other party involved.

The battle that we witnessed on April 18th started 15 minutes late. I’m not sure if Teddy Riley’s crew wasn’t paying attention, did not know how joint lives work, or were more worried with the livestream on Riley’s website, but Babyface was there for a few minutes waiting for Riley to approve the request. Plus, during the experience, Babyface was turned off (and being shady as well) because, just like the people watching, he couldn’t hear and enjoy it much. I can’t speak for all of the people that watched the live, but if the people hosting the live don’t look engaged, then I’m turned off from watching. The sound issues, as well as Babyface’s demeanor, made it difficult to watch, so I exited out of the live. Creatives that are hosting an Instagram Live should focus on the other party and then on the comments, which leads to the final point:

Glitches happen—address them and learn from them.

Riley’s team did not do well in responding to the echo issue. That turned people off and it led to so many unfavorable comments about Teddy Riley and the live. Creatives shouldn’t be hard on themselves when things like this happen. It’s just like a live in-person experience: when something goes wrong, the creative adapts and switches it up because the show still has to go on. They perform and they learn, even with preparation and practice. That’s how creatives grow in their craft. Even Teddy Riley, a creative in the industry for almost 40 years, can slip up in his creative strategy and execution…and that’s okay. 

Now that the jokes and the frustration about the battle have come out, I hope that there will be a more consistent, enjoyable (and even informative) experience for this next battle.