Bruna Caram, Blitz, Zeca Baleiro, and many others have recently joined the platform's catalog
When WePlay Music TV, the first Brazilian streaming platform for shows, was born, Maria Rita Lunardelli, CEO and founder of the startup, embarked on a huge challenge: to include the entire diversity of Brazilian music in an audiovisual service.
Today, three years after the initial steps, the challenge still exists, but much has been achieved. Partnerships with record labels, labels, and producers such as Biscoito Fino, Deckdisc, Showlivre, Tratore, TV Cultura, and many others have been celebrated since then.
Now, WePlay is advancing into another segment of the music market: independent artists. Since the second half of 2022, the company's curation team has been seeking artists with their own content, meaning those not affiliated with any record label. And the results have been very satisfying. Content from acclaimed bands and artists such as Blitz, Yamandu Costa, and Zeca Baleiro are already available on the platform (all of them independent artists). Soon, Marisa Monte and Geraldo Azevedo will also be on WePlay with performances that have made history (many of them were recorded on DVD) and have embraced the idea of the importance of immortalizing the great moments of Brazilian music.
The new generations are not left behind; singer Bruna Caram was one of the first independents to have a show available on the service. According to ABMI (Brazilian Independent Music Association), 53.5% of the most played artists on audio streaming services are independent. An unprecedented initiative in the audiovisual field, WePlay also aims to reach this segment.
"When WePlay started, we sought contact with record labels because they have a large amount of relevant and important content for our culture. Our synergy with them continues, and we are closing new licensing contracts, of course. When we talk about diversity, we also mean covering the entire market, and we cannot forget that independents represent a considerable slice of this ecosystem," says Maria Rita Lunardelli.
Opening for music videos and curation
Conceived as the first Brazilian show streaming platform, today WePlay is not limited to this format. It also features music videos and documentaries, as long as they are about or related to Brazilian music. "Every day we work towards the platform's evolution. Recently, we introduced the playlist functionality and also WePlay TV, a linear channel within the platform, with a schedule of shows, music videos, and documentaries already available and selected by our curation," explains Maria Rita. "Our idea is to revive show catalogs that are no longer consumed due to the absence of DVD playback equipment. Additionally, our main goal is to keep our Brazilian culture alive, which is extremely rich, and to show the new generations the great masters of Brazilian music."
Today, WePlay is the platform that cares the most about crediting all musicians who participated in the shows, including the instruments they played, and all composers and artists.
"We make a point of honoring everyone who makes the show happen. Crediting is an obligation that, unfortunately, is not followed by digital platforms. At WePlay, the search system is wonderful because many times I can be a fan of a particular musician, and on the platform, I can find out about all the shows that musician participated in, and thus follow his career more closely," adds Maria Rita.
For the inclusion of independent materials, all content goes through curation evaluation. Criteria such as cultural relevance, popularity, and image and sound quality are analyzed. If you are an independent artist and want to submit your content for WePlay's review, send an email to curadoria@weplaymusictv.com.br.