From affiliate site to changing live music forever – Songkick

I’ve been using Songkick for a number of years now and am a huge fan of what they do. In a previous blog post I described them as the perfect affiliate site.

The business model is incredibly simple. You tell Songkick which bands you like and they build a personalised calendar for all upcoming relevant gigs in your area. As soon as a new gig for a band you’re following is announced, Songkick send you a notification. As someone who previously suffered from ‘oh look who’s playing! Too late, it’s already sold out’ syndrome for many years, the service has been a blessing. Songkick generate their revenue from commission earned on ticket sales using good old fashioned affiliate links. The service is completely free for users.

I was lucky enough to be one of the first 100 people invited to participate in the Beta release of their latest feature, Songkick Detour (you can sign up here) and last night I attended the official launch party. I firmly believe that this will have a massive impact on the future of live music and like all great ideas, it’s a very simple one.

For example, I am a big fan of American Analog Set. A quick Google search only returned with details of one previous London gig back in 2009. It doesn’t look likely that I’ll get to see them any time soon, which is a real shame.

This is where Detour comes in. It is essentially a crowdfunding platform for live music. I have pledged that I am happy to pay £15 per ticket to see AmAnSet if they ever come to London. Not only that, but Detour shows me exactly how many other people have pledged. Once enough people have committed to seeing the band live, Songkick approaches the promoters to make it happen. If the gig goes ahead, you’re guaranteed a ticket ahead of everyone else. If for whatever reason you can’t make the gig, you won’t be charged a penny.

As you can see from the screenshot below, a total of 34 tickets have been pledged to see American Analog Set and a promoter has now been selected. The next step is for the concert to be confirmed and I’ll be going to see a band that otherwise would never have come to London.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This eliminates the financial risk for the promoters, which in turn enables more gigs and more fans get to see the bands they like. It’s another product from Songkick where literally everyone wins, which I think is the reason I like those guys so much.