Stageit brings concerts to your living room
LOS ANGELES — Did you catch that backstage concert Jimmy Buffett put online recently? Or the Sara Bareilles show from her studio?
Artists like Buffett, Bareilles, Jon Bon Jovi and Bonnie Raitt aren't alone in pursuing the new online platform Stageit. They've been joined by many emerging acts with strong online presences, who are using it as a way to make money from their down time, by staging concerts from their laptop.
Stageit, started with $4 million in 2012, quietly just turned profitable in December, after some lean years.
"For the artist, the benefit is they have tons of social media, but they haven't been able to monetize them," says Evan Lowenstein, the boyish looking 40-year-old former pop star who runs Stageit from his downtown loft here. "Now they can give fans an experience they never had before, and bring in some money."
In 2000, Evan and twin brother Jaron had a top-10 hit with Crazy for this Girl, but then the record industry collapsed, and the interest in a follow-up was minimal.
So after knocking around Hollywood and writing unproduced screenplays, Lowenstein decided to switch gears and become a tech mogul.
Luckily, he had made some good friends along the way — including music legend Buffett, Napster co-founder Sean Parker and former 20th Century Fox president Strauss Zelnick, who all invested in Stageit, along with brother Jaron.
"The only way that existed in my day as a struggling up-and-coming artist was to play every possible place that would book you," notes Buffett. "It sure helps to have something like Stageit, if the people who like you can't get to the venue you might be playing at. Between the traditional and the modern way to reach an audience, you have a much better chance of finding your audience."
Lowenstein has a tiny staff of just three — and that includes himself. "The beauty of this is the self-service platform."
Anyone can sign up to put on a show. Just register, click a few tabs, price your show (from 10 cents up to the $50 Bon Jovi charged) set a time, scream it out to your social network and wait for the tickets to get sold.
Music is free and abundant online, especially at YouTube, but Stageit brings the fans closer and lets them interact directly online — something they're happy to pay for, Lowenstein says.
Beyond the price of admission, passionate fans end up putting more money into the "tip jar" as well to show their appreciation.
The company grossed $1.4 million in 2014, and expects to hit $3 million this year. Stageit keeps 30% of whatever money comes in.
The best performers tend to reap anywhere between $5,000 to $30,000, Lowenstein says. The all-time chart winner was actor Misha Collins from the CW's Supernatural and actor/singer Jason Manns, who performed together and brought in nearly $100,000.
For 2015, Lowenstein is looking to expand beyond musical artists, with more actors like Collins (Tori Spelling just signed up) comedians and chefs.
He also wants to get Stageit from out of the dressing room and tour bus to anywhere music is presented, like music stores.
Westwood Music, a Los Angeles mom-and-pop retailer, began producing Stageit shows recently to bring people into the store and promote the brand at home.
This week, Lowenstein will be at the National Association of Music Merchants convention near Los Angeles, meeting with more stores to tout Stageit.
"You're in a music store, maybe your dad took you to see an artist play, and maybe you're then inspired to start playing," Lowenstein says. "It's a natural."
Kevin Page, the general manager of Westwood Music, says having a platform like Stageit available to him is a matter of survival.
"We're fighting the big-box stores and Amazon," he says. "We don't have their resources. Building community for a small store helps us thrive. Just like having lessons and all the guitars in tune, Stageit is another avenue for that."
Meanwhile, Lowenstein, who had turned his back on performing, has the bug again, thanks to Stageit.
He and Jaron put on about six shows a year online, and "it's turned out to be a great outlet to connect with fans. A lot of record companies have asked if we're ready to do it again. We're talking about it all the time."
Do we hear the word encore being screamed out there?
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