Concert Discovery Space Heats Up With New Startups and Established Ticketing Companies
Up until this year it looked like one or more startup mobile apps related to music concert discovery such as WillCall and Jukely were going to gradually build out the concert discovery space city by city. While that work continues new entries are to be expected. But not only are nightlife and event apps entering the scene but so are more established ticketing companies that offer much more serious competition.
Hypebot's coverage of concert discovery apps has focused on small startups attempting to create something new designed to serve those seeking a fun music outing.
Event Discovery Apps
Similar apps are likely to launch in the future, but recent startup entries in the space are taking a more general events approach:
Eventblimp is a new iOS app that now claims to have the "world's largest database of events plotted on an interactive map." Their event aggregation app draws on Facebook, Eventbrite, SeatGeek, Bandsintown, Eventful and Meetup.
More: TechCrunch
Weotta has been around for a few years but has introduced a "search engine for stuff to do."
More: TechCrunch
Though such general event guides do represent a form of competition for music concert discovery apps, concert apps are focusing on those who want to see music on a regular basis. So event discovery apps are likely too broad to be competitive in that space.
Concert Discovery Apps from Ticketing Companies
Established ticketing companies are much more serious competition for concert discovery apps since they have brand recognition and ticketing already in place:
Though secondary ticketing company Seatwave held off on an official announcement till this week, they acquired the Timbre concert app a couple of months back.
Another secondary ticketing company, StubHub, launched a concert discovery app earlier this month as part of efforts to build their presence in music.
And Eventbrite, an indie ticketing service, is expanding its engineering staff to "create what they hope will become a true platform for event discovery."
Though the Eventbrite move is a broader events offering, their status as indie ticketing kings means that a lot of people encounter them through music-related events which makes them more formidable than simple events listings.
How Will Small Concert Discovery Apps Compete?
The concert discovery apps that will be able to withstand what's looking like a large wave of competition are likely to be those who are focusing on personalization and curation. If done well such startups still have the potential to punch well above their weight and leverage the relationships that are hard to establish when you're focused on bigger data.
More:
- Local Concert App Timbre Quietly Acquired By Seatwave Ticketing Marketplace
- StubHub Launches Concert Discovery App As Part Of Bigger Push Into Music
Hypebot Senior Contributor Clyde Smith (@fluxresearch) also blogs at DanceLand. To suggest topics about music tech, DIY biz or marketing for Hypebot, contact: clyde(at)fluxresearch(dot)com.
