Songkick takes its concert crowdfunding service, Songkick Detour, to the next level with what will be the largest fanfunded music tour to date if successful, bringing Andrew Bird to Latin America for his first regional tour. The choice of artist and location heighten the fan-focused nature of Detour. Latin American fans are hungry for American artists yet are often left out of world tours. Bird's fans in Latin America have never gotten the chance to see him live and Bird's fans at Songkick are excited to help take him there.
Songkick CEO Ian Hogarth has been dropping a series of blog posts about the ongoing development of Songkick Detour including one on the background and first show, which I discussed further with Hogarth, and one on a series of shows in England with Hot Chip.
Now Songkick Detour is helping bring Andrew Bird to South America for his first tour of the region. The campaign offers 12 cities as possible concert stops and if 6 receive the needed level of support then the tour is a go. According to a new post by Hogarth:
"The largest crowdfunded tour to date was Marillion, all the way back in 1997. This tour raised $60,000 from fans to bring Marillion over to the US from the UK. If fans in South America create 6 shows this Detour will raise in excess of Marillion’s, and involve thousands more fans."
Hogarth speaks of South American music fans:
"South America is somewhere we’ve been itching to do something with Detour since the start of Songkick. One of the earliest memorable events in our history was being flooded with traffic from Brazil, after a fan on Songkick broke the news of a Paul McCartney show in Rio. Since then we’ve been acutely aware of how passionate and dedicated live music fans in South America are. Songkick’s support team have heard countless stories of frustration from fans in from Bogota to Lima to Mexico City about being missed out. Skipped on the world tour."
In fact, the Latin American audience for acts from the States has been a driving force for concert crowdfunding efforts in Mexico by Bandtastic and in Brazil by Queremos!.
But Andrew Bird's fans in South America are only part of this story. Hogarth's glowing description of Bird in his blog post reveals that many at Songkick are also fans of Bird:
"Andrew is an artist we have massive respect for. He’s a true musical polymath; someone who combines multiple styles and instruments with amazing charisma, integrity, and humour. His live sets are unforgettable, and many Songkick team members have been to see his shows in London. We are elated to be bringing this experience to thousands of fans who’ve not yet been able to see him."
In fact, a focus on the fans runs throughout both Ian Hogarth's posts and our phone discussions about Songkick Detour. As he told me during our first conversation, he views Detour as a service designed to give fans a vehicle for bringing artists to their locations rather than as a tool for artists to find tour dates.
In his posts and discussions about shows funded via Detour, Hogarth always mentions fans at Songkick as well as the fans who will fund the show. Given their current bespoke approach to shows by hand-picked artists, Songkick seems to be not only taking the needed time to explore new territory but are doing so as music fans connecting with and learning from other fans.
Note: Andrew Bird's newest release, Hands of Glory, is available for free streaming.
More:
- Exclusive: Songkick Reveals Music Concert Crowdfunding Plans With The Tale Of Tycho
- Hot Chip Fans Take Charge Of Marketing Crowdfunded Shows On Songkick Detour
Hypebot Senior Contributor Clyde Smith (Twitter/App.net) blogs about music crowdfunding at Crowdfunding For Musicians (@CrowdfundingM). To suggest topics for Hypebot, contact: clyde(at)fluxresearch(dot)com.
