StubHub Launches Concert Discovery App As Part Of Bigger Push Into Music
Yesterday StubHub announced the launch of StubHub Music, a concert discovery app focused on San Francisco. This is the full launch of a StubHub Lab experimental app called ShowDrift. It comes as StubHub, apparently long associated with sports events, is attempting to strengthen its secondary ticketing brand in music. Related efforts include their Next Stage Concert Series in the U.S. and a series of secret shows in the UK.
StubHub Music is a new app for iOS based on the ShowDrift app launched as a prototype from StubHub Labs back in October.
According to a company announcement, StubHub Music scans one's music library as the basis for recommending local concerts. Artist and venue info, ticketing options (not just StubHub) and social elements are included.
Features include:
- Customizes concert preferences to each user
- Notifies users when favorite artists are headed to San Francisco
- Allows users to add alert settings and dates to their calendars
- Allows users to share, email or message friends to invite them to an event (a move toward "social commerce")
- Provides a convenient mobile marketplace for direct ticket purchases
Note that:
"In the coming year, StubHub will actively test and release products that address the pain points associated with the live event space (i.e. event discovery, logistical planning, etc.) to provide consumers with a one-stop solution for all of their event needs."
That bit of corporate-speak doesn't quite communicate what StubHub's Head of Social Commerce discussed with PandoDaily:
"We think there’s an enormous opportunity to build the LinkedIn for fans…Consumers don’t have the capacity for another social network for humblebragging, but they do have capacity for more utility."
In addition to building on discovery, ticketing and social elements, merchandise may also become part of the mix:
“We know that we can merchandize events much better, much like the way it’s being done today in traditional ecommerce…I think social commerce will come from the commerce industry, not from social. People typically go to concerts in groups of two to four – we think we’re well positioned.”
This is part of a larger effort to strengthen music as an important part of StubHub's brand:
“We have driven a huge concert audience over the years, but this consisted mostly of sports fans crossing over, not pure music fans. Core music fans have been somewhat turned off by us as a perceived sports brand. We want to see how a dedicated music offering resonates.”
Additional efforts include the UK-based #gigenvy campaign and the U.S.-based Next Stage Concert Series.
Given that concert discovery is a fairly crowded area in mobile music apps and that adding the ticketing piece is often one of the difficulties in growing such apps, StubHub's efforts should be viewed from that perspective as well as that of ticketing industry competition.
More:
- Local Concert App Timbre Quietly Acquired By Seatwave Ticketing Marketplace
- WillCall's Music Concert App Adds Los Angeles
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.
