Pedro Seiler had just finished a Youtube Live with the youtube channel Cultura Em Casa (Culture at Home) when I called him. The channel invited Seiler to talk about his crowdfunding company, Queremos, and the concerts they have been hosting via social media. Queremos or We want is a kickstarter for concerts, live events and festivals. It is what Seiler has dedicated his life to for the past 10 years, and although the company has found ways to adapt to the pandemic, it has still been hit hard.
“Entertainment was the first to shut down and will be the last to come back,” said Seiler. Queremos had to cancel their most awaited festival in June and they had to refund all those that had bought tickets. It was a financial as well as emotional blow for everyone involved. This would have been their third festival and the best line up yet, according to Seiler.
The festival is now rescheduled for some time after march of next year, but undoubtedly it will not look the same. “A whole year lost. We don’t know if we’ll have the same artists since the dollar is increasing in value so one idea will be to work more closely with Brazilian acts. [Also] Brazil maybe will have a travel plan from international artists, so even if we can promote the shows here, the artists might not come,” said Seiler.
Though it is uncertain what next year is going to look like, Seiler is focused on what Queremos can do under the current circumstances. He tells me that Queremos was, “one of the first in the world to do a live festival with artists in their home.” With the help of their sponsor, Queremos was able to pay the artists fees while funding a social project supporting local bars and nightclubs suffering due to the pandemic.
And, the company has experienced great success from streaming their festival online. The festival, broadcasted via youtube, was viewed 400,000 times. Duda Beat, a Brazilian singer and songwriter, performed online for 36,000 people, something that would never have happened if she was to perform live. With these concerts, Queremos’ online community has been growing faster than ever.
“We find ourselves in an interesting moment that our brand is growing and we have a big community,” said Seiler. “We are trying new opportunities, creating digital content, writing series of podcasts, [thinking of a] documentary show. Being really active on social media: instagram, facebook, and twitter.”
While the online festivals have been successful, they are not exactly easy to pull off. Most of the artists are unable to perform online. “They don’t feel comfortable playing one instrument. Most artists were also not able to prepare anything in such short notice,” said Seiler. Despite the difficulties, Queremos still strived to make the online festival as similar to the real one as possible. “We wanted to be faithful to our curation process. Equal number of men, women, different styles, 50% were black artists,” said Seiler.
As Seiler mentioned, there is uncertainty regarding the entertainment business and it is hard to visualize an in-person festival or a concert happening in the near future. “Personally, I don’t like any of the suggestions to have open drive-ins or venues with 30% of the capacity. It’s not the same. There are also questions that no one is addressing – what if everyone wants to go to the bathroom at the same time,” said Seiler. Queremos will therefore continue having their festivals online in order to keep their company afloat. “For us it would be great to have one each month. As a company and as a budget to survive. Our income is zero and we’re probably gonna stay twelve months without an income,” said Seiler.
For the time being, Seiler has been spending his days meeting with his team and potential partners. When he is not working, Seiler spends his time checking off movies and tv shows from his bucket list, listening to music and sharing suggestions to his followers. On Instagram, he has been posting some of his favorite music albums of the year as well as movie/tv show recommendations such as Plot Against America, The Sopranos and Once Upon a Time in America. “I’ve been listening to new releases, remembering old artists, really listening to a lot of music,” said Seiler. He has been spending his time wisely, focusing on the present, and not letting himself get too worried about the future.
