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But as it becomes increasingly clear that the pandemic will severely wound (if not entirely end) the live music industry in existence, a question looms behind every single musician’s front-facing camera: how is anyone supposed to make any money from this? A potential answer comes in the form of a once-struggling livestreaming platform with outdated technology and a founder responsible for a one-hit-wonder from 20 years ago — specifically, StageIt, which was founded in the beginning of the 2010s and now stands as one of the few-so-far financial success stories in the music industry’s COVID-19 era.
Boasting the ability for artists to “perform live, interactive, monetized shows for their fans directly from a laptop,” StageIt requires potential audience members to pre-purchase “notes” at $0.10 each, the platform’s digital currency used to purchase admission to livestreams. During the performance, audience members can use their notes to tip the artist as well as chat with other audience members; there’s even a ranking of the biggest tippers that runs on the bottom of the screen, presumably to gamify the act of tipping itself.
The mastermind behind StageIt is Evan Lowenstein, whose (first) name you might recognize from his work with twin brother Jaron as Evan And Jaron. The pop-rock pair scored a minor hit with 2000’s “Crazy For This Girl,” which ended up peaking at #15 on the Billboard Hot 100.
(You can see him performing the song for a StageIt demo here, if you wish.) Since then, Lowenstein’s career both alongside his brother and solo has seen myriad twists and turns. In 2006, they appeared together on ABC’s proto-Shark Tank reality show American Inventor to hawk a fruit pit-storing tray called the “Pit Port”; while his brother pursued a short-lived country music career in the early 2010s,
Lowenstein founded StageIt and, more curiously, became Kevin Spacey’s live-in manager in 2016.
Last year, The Hollywood Reporter reported that Lowenstein was allegedly responsible for lensing the disgraced actor’s infamous “Let Me Be Frank” video from late 2018, in which he appeared to channel his House Of Cards character Frank Underwood while addressing the multiple allegations of xesual assault and misconduct he faced in real life.
“I’d rather talk about StageIt, if you don’t mind,” Lowenstein told me with a nervous smile and after a prolonged silence over a Zoom call earlier this month. “I respect that you ask, but he has nothing to do with StageIt. I’m still great friends with everyone I’ve been friends with my entire life, if that helps.”
When we spoke, Lowenstein had dialed in from his London home, where he was forced to decamp when the pandemic began instead of his usual Los Angeles digs. “I was here and took the gamble of Boris over Donald. Not sure how that’s paid out yet,” he joked after affecting a fake British accent for a few sentences — but the growth that StageIt has seen since COVID-19 began its spread is no laughing matter. For the last five years, the company has practically been on its last legs, with a total of $8,000 in revenue amassed between New Year’s Day 2020 and March 10; StageIt went on to earn $1.5 million the rest of that month, and took in another $600,000 in the first five days of April.
The Precarious Comeback Of StageIt, Where Live-Streaming Musicians Actually Get Paid
StageIt says it can help performers make money during coronavirus, if it can stay in business.
www.stereogum.com