Even when musicians are willing to share a performing space, audiences may be less so. Live shows from a quality venue could be exciting if the online audience could participate and the performers could hear it.

It seems to me that an applause/cheering channel could be very low bandwidth, because it does not need to be real-time and distinct. It could even be a virtual applause triggered within the video sending software, on the order of "Likes" adding up. It does need to be experienced at both ends, but because it requires almost no unique data it should be possible to accommodate large audiences.

Performers and audiences both need to feel the immediacy and reality of interacting. With many people owning large TV screens and good sound for movies, a realtime show that hears the audience's shared applause and cheers would be very satisfying.

With the economics of attending live shows becoming high-cost to both performers and audiences -- jazz at a nightclub involves a taxi or parking fees, a cover charge and drinks, and committing the whole evening -- virtual shows that are interactive might increase live performances and yield more income for the players, with lower ticket prices.

Recording studios are a likely first choice, but live venues could perhaps restructure their costs. Bars and nightclubs need to sell drinks to pay rent, but venues that are supported mainly by tickets could be ok.

But back to the first question: is there any word of new software, is anyone here up to working on it? I'm just a player, and don't know anyone in the coding world. Certainly someone does, and it might be a small app that runs separately from Zoom or Vimeo, or YouTube. Applause and cheering that comes back to the players would be heard in the outgoing audio. The audience would hear the combined reaction of listeners, and the players would know they are not playing to a vacuum.