I see great merit in making music together online and it is not in this forum that I have to convince anyone of this.
The people I know in person, however, are rather difficult to convince and even if they are interested, the technical requirements of playing in a virtual studio with fast internet are beyond their capabilities.
How can I find people to play with on JackTrip?
Finding people willing and capable and not too far away is a real challenge. Finding JackTrip users in Europe is, for the moment, next to impossible. Other platforms allow meeting new people, but chances are limited, as most of the time nothing is happening on these platforms.
To change this, I have designed several strategies.
In JamKazam I program recurring sessions with certain musical genres I like. In each session there are 6 complete arrangements of emblematic tunes. The tunes are played by Band-in-a-Box, the melody being replaced by a BiaB soloist for copyright reasons. As soon as someone joins the session, the track corresponding to the instrument in question can be muted in BiaB while the rest of the backing continues playing. The advantage is that there is never a boring or empty session, and one gets into the groove instantly (or not if it is really not your genre). Those who wish can leave me their address for future sessions in JackTrip.
A second strategy consists in raising awareness of the possibility of JackTrip among professional musicians who have a greater reach than I and eventually spread the good news. Their example would be invaluable for a wider adoption of this technology. If they give lessons, they can do so on JackTrip and play together with their students. There is a possible multiplier effect. And, of course, they can broadcast live concerts on FB and YT.
A third strategy concerns social media, but I still lack compelling video content. More videos of ordinary people making music together as if they were in the same room but remotely would help a lot. Occasionally someone shows interest in the topic and there may be a possibility for making music together.
You wonder why I am doing all this not having any financial interest in JackTrip?
I am a musician, but I do not want to spend my time on the road. I want to meet other musicians and stay musically in touch with friends who are hundreds of km away. I am a longstanding believer in working remotely. I like more fluid means of making music together. I do not want to wait until the next pandemic for online music technology to prosper.
I hope that there will be an increasing number of people who push in this direction.