VNUE to acquire live streamer StageIt

Music technology company VNUE has announced that it will acquire DIY ticketed music live stream platform StageIt, adding a projected $9M to its yearly revenue.

VNUE’s portfolio includes set.fm and live music recognition technology (MRT) Soundstr which simplifies reporting to PROs and will be used by Stageit.

One downside to the deal could be that sharing data with a competitor might slow Soundtsr adoption by other live streamers.

StageIt was launched by musician Evan Lowenstein in 2010, is one of the earliest music live streaming companies.

It hosted 6,280 shows in 2020 and paid out over $7M to artists, generating more than $9.2M in gross revenues. The platform has over 58,000 performers and over 900,000 users from 135 countries.

StageIt launched a venue program in 2020 that includes The Bluebird Cafe in Franklin, TN, d.b.a. in New Orleans, and The Great American Music Hall in San Francisco.

Bruce Houghton is Founder and Editor of Hypebot and MusicThinkTank and serves as a Senior Advisor to Bandsintown which acquired both publications in 2019. He is the Founder and President of the Skyline Artists Agency and a professor for the Berklee College Of Music.