Gigstarter — A C2C Solution for Live Music Bookings

Project Information

C2C4LMB

Grant agreement ID: 837395

DOI

10.3030/837395

Project closed

EC signature date 19 November 2018

Start date 1 December 2018

End date 31 May 2019

Funded under

• INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Innovation In SMEs

Total cost

€ 71 429,00

EU contribution

€ 50 000,00

Coordinated by

GIGSTARTER BV
Netherlands

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - C2C4LMB (Gigstarter — A C2C Solution for Live Music Bookings)

Reporting period: 2018-12-01 to 2019-05-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Looking for a band, DJ or solo-artist for your party? — Go to Gigstarter to find & book the artists you’re looking for, directly and without any booking fees.

At this moment independent, affordable artists cannot be found easily. Booking agencies dominate the live music booking market, doubling prices and incapacitating over 95% of artists because these don’t fit into the agency template. At the same time, the need for low-budget, live music get-togethers will keep growing in a constantly digitalising world. Small and medium live music event organisation could be catalysed if a clear, openly accessible overview of artists would just be made available.

Gigstarter fulfils the growing need for DIY (Do-It-Yourself) music event organisation. By offering an inclusive, self-service live music booking interface, a yet untapped market is captured. Our SME-1 objective was to find the right product-market fit while making live music more accessible. We aimed to find our target customers and a way to approach this ‘to be created’ market. While piloting a route-to-market, our proposition would get validated in distinct markets, and insights in the market and its potential would be obtained.

We’ve been able to demonstrate the need for a self-service marketplace for DIY live music event organisation. Local events, with independent, self sufficient stakeholders, are our primary market application. In near-border areas this local approach also implies cross-border bookings, Gigstarter’s share in EU integration and mobility. Transparency and accessibility will lead to a blue ocean market of €4 billion in small and medium sized music events in the EU.

Gigstarter makes live music accessible and emancipates live music from old industry dogmas. A user centric experience, data privacy, and tools to facilitate a decentralised service market, will be key building blocks for any of tomorrow’s online marketplace based disciplines. Gigstarter empowers you, your neighbours and anyone else: to perform as an artists; and to find and book live music directly, easily and independently.

No hassle. Just music.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

Gigstarter needed to validate its business concept on an EU level. We chose to tackle this challenge with two in-depth case-study topics: (i) market entrance pilots, and an (ii) EU opportunity study. With the support of SME-1 we conducted international satisfaction/need surveys and market entrance tests. Qualitatively, the study has validated our innovation, both technically as well as commercially, in distinct markets and cultures. Quantitatively, we have gained better understanding of the costs for entering new markets and of the most efficient marketing channels and methods per country.

Our three most important insights concerning product-market and route-to-market are:

1. Market — Selected contacts from the established booking market and from the under-the-radar market were invited to make use of our innovation. The ‘integration’ of the established market is postponed due to ongoing resistance. The under-the-radar market —in the EU about 700k artists and 50 million households— will be our main target group in the next five years. Globally, we envision a €20+ billion market in small and medium sized live music events.

2. Business case — Our freemium proposition and pricing model have been tested and validated in 8 EU markets. To optimise artist’s creative capacity we’ve found two development trajectories which align to our innovation and purpose: (i) an international premium extension, tapping into artists’ need to autonomy while maturing their act; and (ii) audience monetisation services via strategic brand partnerships.

3. Scale up — We analysed customer lifetime expectancy, customer acquisition costs and return on investment in each pilot country. We’ve found which marketing channels and countries are of strategic interest during scale up and we’ve proven how income from premium members is a steady source of revenue. Our next step will be to attract a long-term investment partner to finance our growth and co-create a sustainable, self-service live music ecosystem.

Our SME-1 results have been, and are currently being exploited with the creation of a novel DIY market. Gigstarter creates impact in 8 EU countries and empowers independent artists and DIY bookers, enabling anyone to organise local and international live music events. This currently adds up to 7,300 artists and 11,000 unique booking requests per year (averaging €400), being coupled via Gigstarter. Our insights on trends and opportunities are continuously disseminated via our local portals’ home pages, blogs, newsletters and social media expressions.

Visit our local artist booking portals to get a feel for our impact, and, while you’re at it, to book live music to celebrate your next personal milestone:

- the Netherlands: www.gigstarter.nl
- Belgium: www.gigstarter.be
- France: www.gigstarter.fr
- the UK: www.gigstarter.co.uk
- Spain: www.gigstarter.es
- Germany: www.gigstarter.de
- Austria: www.gigstarter.at
- Italy: www.gigstarter.it

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

Gigstarter will keep improving, expanding and integrating novel services which add up to a self-service ecosystem for DIY bookers and independent bands, DJs and solo-artists. For the EU this will result in the creation of a completely new market in tight-budget live music events. Including ancillary services, this implies the creation of a market of at least €4 billion, in the EU alone. Once market leadership in the EU is reached, product diversification and global expansion will become our next growth drivers.

The currently existing EU’s live music event market equals €10 billion. In time our innovation will also become a tool for managers, small and medium booking agencies and other professional music services, who need to team up to compete to the industry major’s international reach. When this stage is reached —in 4 to 5 years— the established live music market will adapt to Gigstarter’s novel ways of working; and vanguard booking and music agencies will see our ecosystem as an opportunity instead of a threat.

In a wider perspective mobility, transparency and autonomy will be adopted by the music industry. When it comes to the gig economy in it’s broad interpretation, the building of connective platforms will shape the basis of modern social nets —think pensions, social security & legal protection—, desperately needed for the future of the decentralised service industries. With the gig as the core starting point of the music value chain, Gigstarter will keep innovating and venturing with the single purpose to make live music accessible for everyone.

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Official Gigstarter logo

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