Make sure the room you are in sounds good to begin with. Check for any echo sounds. If your space is too "live"-sounding, maybe consider picking another room. Many people think they sound great in their bathroom, but that much echo might be too much echo for a live stream.

When in doubt, soft surfaces and a "dead" sound is always a good choice. Maybe set up on a carpet or go into a room with heavy curtains. Plants and soft furniture can also help eliminate bad sound reflections.

We recommend having your setup in a room that can be easily isolated from other noise and people. A desk or standing setup is preferable to a couch. To ensure a solid internet connection you should try to plug directly into your router.

People often think that the closer the microphone is to the source, the better the sound will be. But generally, this isn't the case. Often when you move a microphone closer to an instrument, the amount of bass in the recording will increase, sometimes so much so that the sound is muffled and inaudible. If you have that problem, experiment with moving the microphone farther away, as opposed to closer.

If you are only using one microphone or just the microphone on your computer or phone, give some thought to where that microphone is placed. Can you adjust it to be in a place that picks up your instrument and voice at equal levels? A slight move up or down can make all the difference.

Experiment offline. Find the best-sounding spot in your home by making test recordings and listening back to them before going live. Once you find that sweet spot, try to find the best microphone placement, record again and listen back.

The sound check will be your time to make sure you sound your best, and, most importantly, it will give you time to feel comfortable performing before you go live.

We recommend broadcasting live for a minimum of 2 hours per broadcast. We find that broadcasts do not hit their peak for 15-20 minutes, meaning short broadcasts tend to not hit their stride and total possible audience.

Your set design is yet another opportunity to showcase your creativity as an artist. Since a live stream is as much a visual experience as it is about audio, put some thought into how you, your equipment and your studio appear on camera.

Hang up some art, put up curtains, or use a special filter on your camera to add virtual animations.

Make sure your camera angle is set up to give a full view of yourself and at least a partial snapshot of your equipment or instrument if you use any.