by Dave Mainella
Jimmy Buffet. Plain White T’s. Lisa Loeb. Jason Mraz. Trey Songz. Crosby, Stills & Nash. This is just a sampling of the eclectic musical line-up found performing at an exciting digital venue called Stageit. It is video streaming and concert touring for the modern musician. It is backstage screenings and living room specials, with the audience never leaving their home.
Stageit was created by founder and CEO Evan Lowenstein, who envisioned an opportunity where musicians like himself could tour the world from their living room and connect with fans across the globe. At no cost to musicians, bands can set up online shows and determine what to charge fans. The ticket price, which can be as little as 10 cents in a “Pay What You Can” format, averages about $3.75 according to Tyler Palmer, an Artist Relations representative at Stageit. Fans purchase tickets to these streamed shows and hunker down in front of their computer at show time. During the performance, fans can interact with the musicians via chat and messages, and the musicians can (and do) reply in real-time, thus creating an exciting and interactive dynamic between audience and artist. Fans can even tip artists as they see fit during the show.
Palmer stresses this kind of interactive experience is most important to Stageit. “We want each show on our site to be unique, once in a lifetime, and interactive.” He continues to tempt audiences, “If I told you that you could hang out with your favorite artist for a few dollars, hear them play songs from their living room, and you could ask them questions, give feedback, and chat with them, you would race to get your ticket right away.”
Stageit has attracted over 4,000 artists to their site, including the names mentioned at the beginning of this article. The personalized streaming show service can offer a collection of things to artists and fans. It can easily be used as a compliment to physical touring. Palmer mentions artists performing backstage, before, and after shows, from the hotel room, and on the tour bus, all to an at-home audience.
But there is also the opportunity for young and unestablished artists to expand their fan base through Stageit. “I’ve seen artists on our site who started playing for 12 fans grow their shows through word of mouth and social media,” Palmer says, “to where they’re now playing for over 60 fans each week. Whether it’s artists doing weekly shows, or monthly shows on Stageit, if you create an awesome experience, your fans will definitely spread the word… and you can grow your shows into something special.”
Stageit also stresses the importance of social media and promotion. Users can log in to the site using Facebook Connect. And artists can embed their shows on their Facebook Fan pages. The Stageit site offers a Twitter widget for hash-tags and trending ease.
Keep an eye out as Stageit continues to expand its mobility, hoping to share Stageit shows through multiple personal devices. Stageit is also expanding its roster to include non-musicians, hosting shows by comedians and authors as well.
Dave Mainella is a musician, producer, composer, and writer living in
New York. He graduated from New York University in 2011 with a Jazz
Studies degree. See what he’s up to @DaveMainella.
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