THESTAGE.TV ANNOUNCES THE NEW SPOTLIGHT PLAYER

TheStage.tv, “the World’s OPEN MIC”, today announced the availability of its new Spotlight Player, the first video player that lets audience members donate money, buy music and share performances of their favorite TheStage.tv artists – all within a video player that artists can place anywhere on their website or social media fanpage.  

“The Spotlight Player represents the next generation of social media sharing where the traditional video player has been enhanced by embedding a call-to-action to support the artist in a variety of innovative ways,” said Kevin Kalajan, co-founder of TheStage.tv. “Finally, there is a one-stop mechanism for donation, email subscription and music purchase so that fans can take action immediately.”

“Listening to music is an emotional experience. Many people who enjoy watching great songwriters on the Internet would love to send the performer a few dollars as a token of respect, but until now there hasn’t been an easy way to do so,” said Denny Burgess, Chairman of the Australian Songwriters Association (ASA). “TheStage.tv Spotlight Player solves that problem by making it simple for audience members to engage directly with artists. We are thrilled to see such a win-win idea up and running successfully.”  

TheStage.tv Spotlight Player is a new tool developed in partnership with DonorTube.com. Any artist performing original work on TheStage.tv can embed the Spotlight Player on their website and social media sites that links directly to iTunes and Amazon. The Spotlight Player allows fans to offer donations to help independent artists who are planning to tour, record their music or donate funds to important causes.  

The Spotlight Player lets users subscribe to be notified via email of upcoming live performances and offers tightly integrated social media interaction with Facebook and Twitter featuring a share tab for fans to “Like” the performance on Facebook, which automatically embeds the Spotlight Player on the user’s wall with all the same features.  

“Getting involved with TheStage.tv gives independent artists like me the ability to perform new material to a completely global and open audience,” said Suzen Juel, Minneapolis-based artist and musician. “It drives and pushes the indie singer/songwriters to a higher level of performance. I’ve seen the novice become experienced and the professional raise their game. Now with the new Spotlight Player we have a simple and powerful way to reach more listeners than ever before.”

TheStage.tv is the world’s first online open mic that connects artists with new fans and introduces audiences to live music from performers around the globe. Since opening its doors in 2010, TheStage.tv has showcased nearly 60,000 performances from artists across a variety of music genres including shred, jazz, country, singer/songwriter acoustic, karaoke covers and much more. Continually pushing the technology envelope, TheStage.tv is first in supporting dual video relay and 3D webcams.  

TheStage.tv creates the feeling of a real open mic venue where artists can try out new material, engage with and grow their fanbase and even make money by performing. Audience members can tune into TheStage.tv day or night to watch original songs and covers of popular hits. They can interact with performers by cheering, extending stage time, offer tips, and even bump their favorites up on the real-time leaderboard.  

To watch the Spotlight Player in action visit: http://www.thestage.tv/spot or visit Suzen Juel on the Spotlight Player at: www.suzenjuel.com.  

For more information on TheStage.tv please visit: www.TheStage.tv.