This post was written by guest contributor John Oszajca from Music Marketing Manifesto.

Online concerts are a great way to play in front of a live audience without the expenses associated with touring. The only problem is that it’s often difficult to generate any income from streaming concerts as the reciprocity factor is simply not as strong as it is with live events and the popular streaming video network, Ustream, is simply not set up to be easily monetized.

Last October that all changed with the launch of StageIt.com.  StageIt was created by music industry veteran Evan Lowenstein, and the service offers a simple way to monetize live performances via the Internet.

StageIt works like this: An artist creates a show, sets the price or suggested donation, then invites his/her fans to show up. It’s that simple. StageIt also uses “Notes” instead of dollars. The currency exchange is 10 Notes for each $1. That allows users to offer tips in increments as small as 10 cents.

When Evan talked to The Comet he explained, “With StageIt, not only can artists take the stage and perform live from their computer, regardless of their location, but they can also monetize these performances”.  StageIt also gives them access control since artists can choose when they want to perform, for how long and how much they want to charge. Lowenstein also commented that, “This platform also greatly complements and activates other traditional and digital promotional and networking tools artists are already using.”

Some of the Pros and Cons of StageIt…

The Pros.

• StageIt is simple to use.
• It gets you paid.
• There is theoretically some degree of a built in audience.

The Cons.

•  StageIt takes 40% of your money in exchange for the service they provide.

Visitors need to register and get acquainted with the “Notes” system. The more steps the harder to close the sale.

•  StageIt does not integrate with third-party auto responder programs such as Aweber, which makes it hard to control the pre-show build up or to use the platform to build your mailing list.

The bottom line: There are ways that you can privately host your online events, control the entire process, and make 100% of the money. However, they offer technical challenges and there are costs associated with them.

StageIt offers musicians what Ustream does not; an experience that is tailored specifically for music fans and a way for musicians to get paid. If you’re considering hosting a live concert then StageIt is a solution certainly worth exploring.

To learn more music marketing tips from John Oszajca and to get his free Music Marketing Blueprint video go to http://musicmarketingmanifesto.com

Interscope recording artist and online marketing expert, John Oszajca is an in-demand consultant and speaker at seminars worldwide. John speaks about the new music business, on and off-line marketing strategies for musicians, social media, performing, songwriting, recording, and the new frontiers of independent music made possible by the internet.

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