Fans Bid Online To Get Musicians To Come To Their City

Article written by guest writer Kecia Lynn

What’s the Latest Development?

Songkick, a Web site that lets its users track their favorite musicians and bands, has added a new feature called Detour that allows those same users to basically bid for artists to perform at their location. The feature uses the same crowdfunding model as Kickstarter: “[F]ans place advance orders for tickets, which are charged only if a certain threshold is reached and therefore the concert takes place.”

What’s the Big Idea?

For fans, Detour helps bring them closer to the artists they love, reducing the frustration felt when they either miss out on concerts or the act never comes to their city. For artists, Detour helps mitigate the risk involved in booking in what may seem to be an out-of-the-way place. Musician Andrew Bird currently has fans in 12 Latin American cities bidding for him to play six shows; the first six that sell 250 tickets will get the dates. Songkick will take most of the risk for this tour in the hope that, if it’s a success, it will be a model for others. Bird’s booking agent Erik Selz says, “The hope is that a handful of superfans [will] market the show  beyond purchasing the ticket. They’ll have a stake in having the tour land in their city.”

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