Ep 47: Beyond the Back Row with Jim McCarthy

​Host Luisa Lyons chats with Jim McCarthy, CEO of Stellar and author of the new book Beyond the Back Row: The Breakthrough Potential of Digital Live Entertainment and Arts, which explains the why, how, and what of online events.

In this lively conversation, McCarthy shares the value of an English degree, how working in e-commerce led him to the creation of Goldstar,  how the company changed course in March 2020, the creation of theatre streaming platform Stellar, how the NBA can be a model for streaming theatre, the current theatre business model and how streaming can make it better, re-thinking bootlegs, and accessibility. 

Beyond the Back Row is available via Amazon and Bookshop.org (these are affiliate links and Filmed Live Musicals may earn income from purchases made through these links). 

Jim McCarthy is the Co-Founder and CEO of Stellar, the only full-service livestream partner for professional live entertainment organizers, committed to delivering premium interactive online shows to paying audiences around the world.

For nearly 20 years, Jim was the CEO/Co-Founder of Goldstar helping 10 million people go to Goldstar to discover live events nationwide for 5,000 live entertainment organizers.

When the COVID-19 crisis shut down the live entertainment industry in March 2020, Jim led the charge to develop Stellar, to help producers create and sell high quality-live streaming events. In August 2020, Stellar started welcoming creators and audiences in beta. Since then, millions of people have live streamed a variety of shows available on the platform. In July of 2022, his new book, Beyond the Back Row: The Breakthrough Potential of Digital Live Entertainment and Arts, was released to help break down the why, how, and what of online, streaming, and hybrid live events.

For more info and a full length bio visit Stellar.

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Filmed Live Musicals is created by Luisa Lyons. Luisa is an Australian actor, writer, and musician. She holds a Masters in Music Theatre from London's Royal Central School of Speech and Drama and now lives, works, and plays in New York. Learn more at www.luisalyons.com or follow on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.