12 Dec FanFlex concert app connects musicians with fans
Originally Posted:
Original Article: http://www.dailynews.com/business/20141212/fanflex-concert-app-connects-musicians-with-fans
Additionally at: http://www.dailybreeze.com/business/20141212/fanflex-concert-app-connects-musicians-with-fans
Additionally at: http://mickey-avalon.musicnewshq.com/news/fanflex-concert-app-connects-musicians-with-fans
As a college student at UC Santa Barbara, Erik Nelson hated when touring musicians would pass up the fan-filled college town between San Francisco and Los Angeles.
To help bands see the error of their ways, Nelson become the school’s concert coordinator and started reaching out to bands directly.
“Every time there was an open date, we’d say, ‘Hey, come stop in S.B.,’ ” Nelson recalled. “There was an efficiency in stopping there … the crew is already on the road.”
After graduating and working in the music and event production industries for more than a decade, Nelson is returning to his roots as a concert promoter.
The Burbank resident has created a mobile app called FanFlex, which helps bands locate their fan bases and book shows in those areas. It also helps fans influence tour schedules by providing them a platform to show their intent to buy tickets.
“We’re trying to bridge the gap between fans, bands and demand,” Nelson said.
The idea is to reduce the risks involved in booking a show. If a venue books a band in an area where they have no following, both the band and the venue can lose money. Likewise, if a band has a cult following in a town that is off the beaten path, it’s in everyone’s interest — including the fans — to schedule a show there.
The first concert booked through FanFlex happened Thursday night at The Standing Room in Redondo Beach, with Hollywood hip-hop artist Mickey Avalon, who has made a name for himself rapping about his experiences with prostitution, heroin and crack addiction.
The Standing Room owner Jason Baran said that FanFlex is helpful for booking shows on weeknights when attendance is low.
“The app allows for an artist that usually wouldn’t have considered or known (The Standing Room) as an option,” Baran said in a text message.
Nelson and his partner, Gian Perugini, hope FanFlex will help bands make money in an industry crippled by declining music sales.
For a $400 premium, FanFlex users were able to sign up for a one-hour limousine ride with Mickey Avalon before the concert Thursday.
“With the rise of social media, everyone wants to be in the middle of the action, take a picture and publicize it,” Perugini said. “There’s a value to that for the artist.”
That value goes beyond the $400 VIP pass because fans tweeting selfies with their favorite musician help drive awareness of the concert and boost the artist’s profile.
Music is no longer a commodity that musicians sell; it’s a marketing tool used to grow an audience, Nelson said.
FanFlex adds value by helping bands capitalize on their greatest asset — access to a large, dedicated consumer base.
“Bands aren’t looking to make most of their revenues through music anymore,” Nelson said. “They produce music to get themselves out there, but their income now is generated mostly through live shows, through merchandise, through brand partnerships.”
FanFlex is still in its early stages. Nelson and Perugini have signed up about a dozen bands and 10 venues in Los Angeles, which will serve as a testing ground for the app before its official unveiling in March at South by Southwest, a music, film and technology festival in Austin, Texas.
Nelson plans to grow FanFlex’s offerings of backstage and VIP events that are helping musicians stay in business.
“There’s a financial incentive from the band to offer those experiences, and there’s an intangible incentive because they become marketers for you,” Nelson said. “If your fans are having a good time and talking about it, it’s a win-win for everybody.”