For an artist, planning a tour can be a risky business, and the geographical concentration of fan bases can sometimes be hard to predict. As one of the first industries to see major upheaval due to the digitisation of content, live gigs have become even more important for musicians, yet an average of 50% of concert tickets go unsold in the UK.
Six year old London business, Songkick is a web based business which allows music fans to track their favourite artists from one single location, letting them know when artists are playing in their city and ensuring they don’t miss out on tickets.
Earlier this year, Songkick launched Detour, an elegant solution helping to minimise risk and increase gig opportunities for artists. At the same time, Detour also gives fans the ability to attract their favourite artists to their hometown.
Detour allows fans to create demand for a band in their location through a pledge system. If enough fans pledge, Songkick contacts the artists directly. If the band subsequently plays, the pledges get guaranteed tickets to the gig. Since its launch, 90% of artists approached booked a gig, including London band Hot Chip.
This innovative mechanism illustrates the potential for collaborative consumption to increase both the efficiency and the value of events.
As founder Ian Hogath puts it to BBC News It’s about bringing 21st Century technology to the live music industry’.
