As Angus Finlayson’s percipient piece on fan-funding notes, crowd-sourcing has its ups and downs. Whatever your opinion, one thing’s for sure: it’s here to stay.
Dummy have drawn attention to a new startup called Detourjam. Whereas sites like Kickstarter are typically used to raise funds for artists looking to enter the studio, Detourjam is designed with live shows in mind. Artists upload their tour schedules onto the site, offering possible dates in a range of cities. Fans then pledge to buy a ticket in their city – the first city to hit 100 pledges gets the gig.
Holy Other, supported by Lapalux and The Haxan Cloak, is one of the acts currently offering up a gig for auction on the site. London, Brighton, Bristol and Leeds are in the running, with the capital the clear frontrunner. Emika and Tom Williams And The Boat have both also put shows up on the site.
Truth be told, the concept as it stands is more ‘kooky marketing strategy’ than ‘revolutionary business model’. It’ll be interesting to see how, and if, the site expands its remit (inviting users to help plot entire tours, for example). If you’ve ever wished that the experience of buying tickets was more like an episode of ‘It’s A Knockout’, your horse has just come in.