The popular funeral webcasting platform known formerly as Midwest Streams has announced a rebranding, with a new website, new features, and a new name — MemoryShare. The platform, which was featured in Forbes at the onset of the pandemic, allows funeral homes to offer in-house webcasting and livestreaming for funeral ceremonies.
“We wanted our new name to reflect the heart of why we built this platform, and that is to bring families and friends together to share their memories of a loved one — no matter where they are,” Kyle Fogarty, co-founder of MemoryShare said. “Our hope is that more and more funeral homes will be able to include this offering as part of their service, especially in a time where many people can’t be there in person.”
In changing from Midwest Streams to MemoryShare, MemoryShare is pleased to release the MemoryShare app, making funeral livestreaming even more user-friendly for funeral directors. Funeral directors simply download the MemoryShare app on their recording device and hit record to stream right from their obituary pages. MemoryShare can integrate with the existing video technology at a funeral home, or help the funeral home acquire the equipment they need to begin livestreaming. The MemoryShare team monitors livestreams in real-time while it’s displayed directly on the obituary page. The livestream video is embedded directly into the obituary page during and after the event, so friends and family can watch in the days and years to come.
“Our goal is to make funeral webcasting accessible to funeral directors and families around the world by making it as seamless as possible,” Kyle said. “The result is a memorable virtual experience, more people being able to partake in the service, and a video keepsake that families can hold on to long after the ceremony is over.”
The platform offers an alternative to Facebook Live, YouTube, or other video streaming options, where music copyright infringements resulted in many livestreams being taken down mid-ceremony or even suspended accounts. It also gives funeral directors full control of the webcasting, the ability to offer a video keepsake to families, and host on their website, rather than directing attendees to a third party site.
Kyle, a video producer, and his Co-Founder Shane White, a software engineer, originally launched the platform as Midwest Streams in 2013 because they saw a need in the funeral industry. As demand grew nationwide, the team expanded and is now serving funeral homes in 28 different states across the U.S.