BandPage is going beyond its Facebook app and connected Web platform today by launching BandPage Experiences, a new feature that allows musicians to sell exclusive lessons, backstage concert tickets and other unique merchandise to their fans online.
Most online stores owned by bands or artists contain the same drab goods, such as t-shirts, CDs or pin badges. BandPage believes, however, that there’s a market for more premium and exclusive experiences, tailored to both casual and dedicated fans alike.
BandPages Experiences sells one-of-a-kind opportunities to fans. Musicians are able to set the price, description, location and cover photo, before embedding it as an extension on their website or blog.
More than 50 musicians have teamed up with BandPage to launch the service, although only a few could be deemed influential or significant. They offer some interesting examples of what the service could be used for though; Ozzy Osbourne guitarist Zakk Wylde is offering a private guitar lesson over Skype, while Megan Keely promises to play a concert in your living room, and she’ll even bring dinner and wine for you and ten friends.
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Unfortunately, BandPage Experiences is only launching for “a select number of musicians” who use the platform today. The company says it will open the feature up to a wider audience “in the coming months” though, with a full roll-out by this summer.
“We believe that offering these types of experiences directly to fans will be a significant source of revenue for musicians over the next few years,” a company spokesperson said. “We’re proud to make BandPage the first platform where artists can easily offer these experiences at scale, and look forward to seeing the amazing new experiences musicians come up with.”
BandPage started out as a Facebook app for musicians, but later expanded into its own dedicated website (similar to BandCamp or MySpace) and platform where users could manage their presence across SoundCloud, Twitter and Pandora.
BandPage Everywhere launched in July last year, giving its customers the chance to push their content and updates submitted on the platform to a website or blog. This includes show information, photographs, videos, artist bio and music tracks.
The idea is that you update your profile once on BandPage – say with a new concert date or a brand new track – and then the service updates all of your Internet profiles in one sitting.
At the moment, bands spend half their free time jumping between social networks in a desparate bid to keep their fans engaged, replying to tweets, teasing new songs and updating their profile. BandPage is trying to make the process of managing this online presence much simpler and easier. Merchandise is only a small part of what pays the bills for a musician, but even so, the opportunity to offer new and more expensive experiences will be welcomed by most.
Image Credit: THOMAS SAMSON/AFP/GettyImages
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