An AgeTech Collaborative™ startup participant, Sage Stream is a live, real-time interactive music video streaming platform tailored for older adults. Designed to promote social interaction and participation, Sage Stream’s roster of global artists personalizes every concert by taking requests and celebrating milestones. The company’s solution entertains viewers and enhances their well-being, streamlines planning for activity directors, and provides respite for caregivers.
Recently, we spoke with founder and CEO Anthony Cirillo about the company’s unique offerings and how it’s making a difference in the lives of older adults.
This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
Please tell us about Sage Stream.
We are a live-video-streaming, real-time interactive music network. We put on eight concerts a month, and they’re “live-live,” meaning that when you’re watching us on any platform, that musician is somewhere in the world performing at that moment.
Our platform includes a chat function and a phone number, which people can use to send in requests. Viewers can also ask the performer to mention someone’s birthday, for example, or to give a shoutout that your adult day center took a trip to the farmer’s market. It’s personalized, because we are all about being interactive.
What kind of music and concerts do you feature?
We have more than 120 artists performing all genres of music, from Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin tunes, to Crosby Stills & Nash. We have jazz musicians, an opera singer and a Native American musician. It really runs the gamut.
All our musicians are professionals — some of them have played and toured with superstars like Cher and Lionel Ritchie — so the caliber of performance is likely different than the average person who might go into a senior living facility to play a few songs.
We’re also adaptable. If we get a request for a certain type of music that we don’t currently have, we’ll find someone who plays it. For example, recently we received a query about bossa nova. We have a lot of Latin artists, but none that played bossa nova music — but within two days I found a bossa nova artist and added them to the platform.
What’s the problem are you looking to solve?
Especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, when people may still be skittish about going out, social isolation remains a serious problem, particularly with older adults who are living alone. Sage Stream can also help prevent caregiver burnout by giving them an hour or two where they can take a break — or even just have a shared activity with the care recipient.
In addition, care facilities are discovering that hiring individual artists to come and perform for residents is becoming increasingly expensive and complicated. So for roughly the same cost as hiring a single artist, they can get eight artists and concerts a month with Sage Stream, without the hassle of having to manage all of those bookings.
It sounds like you’re serving both individuals and institutions. Are you both B2C and B2B?
We originally started as a B2B company, focusing on getting into assisted living facilities. Then, as part of the work that we did going through the AgeTech Collaborative accelerator program, we learned that we would be a good fit for a B2C model, so we’re in the process of implementing that. We’re also pursuing a B2B2C approach through an affiliate program — for example, working with another AgeTech Collaborative startup participant, RAZ Mobility, to reach people who are using their platform.
What inspired you to found Sage Stream?
My background has always been in music. At one point in my life, I was also working in hospitals while gigging five nights a week, and it was burning me out. One day I went to a continuing care community and began singing. I ditched the instruments and used backing tracks and a wireless microphone so that I could roam through the audience and get involved with them, and I quickly fell in love with the people and how they responded.
Later, I became the marketing director for a company in the healthcare field, responsible for overseeing the staging of their events. But then, during those events, I would actually end up becoming the DJ, the emcee, and the singer all rolled into one.
Fast forward a few more years and I thought, “I want to try out this streaming thing and see what that’s like.” I connected with a couple of artists and “people who knew people,” and the next thing you know, I have a streaming studio in my house and a roster of 120 artists. That’s how Sage Stream came to be — it’s the culmination of my careers in both music and healthcare, and it’s become a passion because of those moments when I’ve touched particular people with music.
What’s up next for Sage Stream?
We have a terrific product and roster of artists, and I don’t see anybody else doing what we’re doing with actual live concerts. We’re at a tipping point as we move into B2C and B2B2C, so we’re looking to augment our sales and marketing efforts. In particular, I’m considering bringing on a cofounder who can offer additional strategic guidance and focus on sales and marketing, so I can devote more time to our artists and content — because it’s hard to do all this alone!
You can learn more about Sage Stream at their website.