Google+ may be considered a ghost town by many tech bloggers around the world but Google claims that it has over a hundred million users actively sharing and communicating on the network, or a quarter of those who have signed up. As Google+ is gaining some serious traction in Indonesia with many events and musicians taking advantage of the live video broadcast and chat features, Google saw it fit to launch Share the Stage in Jakarta today, as an initiative to let Indonesian musicians and fans to connect, discuss, and generally interact online using Google+.
Google says that Google+ offers an unlimited opportunity for music labels, bands, their fans, and the wider music community to meet virtually, create music together, obtain feedback as well as receive the latest exclusive news.
Share the Stage is a time limited program that ends on 31 January 2013 according to its Google+ page. It lets Indonesian music fans to upload their own videos on YouTube to their personal accounts, singing songs made available for the program, and share it on their Google+ pages as well as other social networks. While Google provides the platform for interaction, the bands and labels can have their own activities for their fans to participate in using YouTube and Google+.
In the past few months, a number of Indonesian musicians including had been using Google+ to stream private concerts, album launches, and exclusive chats with their fans. Share the Stage is an initiative to formalize those activities with the support of seven music labels and 21 bands. Participating labels include Warner Music, Musica Studios, Sony Music Entertainment, Digital Rantai Maya, Aquarius Musikindo, Alfa Kreasitama, and Trinity Optima.
“Indonesians love to socialize and music is a major influence in their lives, so this movement is a great opportunity for us to embrace them with the help of the latest social media technologies,” says Rizki Utami dari Trinity Optima Production.
“Google+ is a great platform for musicians, giving them opportunities to meet fans from all over Indonesia with ease. Hangout on Air is one of the best features on G+ as it provides direct interaction between the artist and their fans compared to a text chat or audio recording format that provides limited engagement,” said Morin Chandra of PT Digital Rantai Maya.
Participating musicians and bands are Last Child, Saykoji, Princess, Smash, Ari Lasso, J-Rocks, Afgan, Vidi Aldiano, Maudy Ayunda, XO-IX, Tasya, GAC, Kotak, Winner, Alexa, Lyla, Pee Wee Gaskins, Be-Five, Sheryl, Nidji and D’Masiv.
“Share the Stage offers unprecedented access for all music fans to communicate, share and experience their love of music with their favorite bands and singers, as well as other fans. Our partnership with 7 of Indonesia’s top music labels is a new breakthrough for the music industry to further engage and communicate with their consumers. We are proud to facilitate this new digital conversation,” said Krishna Zulkarnain, Google Indonesia Country Marketing Manager.
