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You can now tip street musicians with Go-Pay
Musicians will display their accounts' QR codes on their guitars or on banner stands as they perform, enabling listeners to send tips even when short on small change.
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Kibar, a Bogor-based blues and reggae band, performs an original song next to a QR code for tips in Jakarta on Thursday evening. (20/6) (Norman Harsono/Norman Harsono)
E
-wallet Go-Pay announced on Thursday evening that it has equipped 80 street performers in Jakarta with e-wallet accounts as part of a new partnership between the company and the Street Musicians Institute (IMJ), of which all the performers are members.
The idea is for musicians to display their accounts' QR codes on their guitars or on banner stands as they perform, enabling listeners to send tips even when short on small change.
Go-Pay benefits from this partnership by accessing the institute’s 3,000 members (and their fanbase) spread out in multiple cities, mostly in Jakarta, while musicians benefit by, firstly, having an alternative means to receive tips.
“Secondly, transactional records. Musicians will have data on which areas are most profitable to perform. IMJ, as an organization, will also gather data, which it could use for many things. IMJ may [for instance] use the data to select which musicians to promote,” said Go-Pay CEO Aldi Haryopratomo.
He added that while the company would not deduct commission fees on tips, musicians were expected to eventually use the e-wallet’s financial service offerings, which include home loans and education loans. The e-wallet’s revenue would come from selling such financial services.
IMJ co-founder Andi Malewa said all the musicians equipped with Go-Pay were professionally trained performers and that both parties planned on expanding the partnership to more musicians in more cities.
He said that the Go-Pay partnership was one of many efforts to improve the welfare of street musicians since 2014. Other efforts include training members to create YouTube videos and market on Instagram.
Looking forward, he continued, musicians could display their QR codes on social media and receive tips from online viewers.
“We want to prove that the quality of many street musicians is on par with any other musician. The streets are just a stage for us because we have limited opportunities, limited funds and limited support,” he said.
