AvA: The Industry Connection

The Weekly Buzz:

• Spotify is the most significant streaming platform of Artist discovery according to a new study by Viberate. The rest of the top 5?

  • #1) Spotify

  • #2) YouTube

  • #3) SoundCloud

  • #4) Apple Music

  • #5) Amazon Music

• Warner Bros. Discovery halts merger talks with Paramount Global (Read more)

• ASCAP doubles down on their non-profit model, after paying out a record $1.59B to Artists in 2023 (Read more)

  • Wait.. what is ASCAP? Learn about Performing Rights Organizations (PRO) here.

• Hollywood: The Sequel

  • Out of the top 60 box office films since 2016, only 5(!!!) can be classified as true originals (Read more)

The Call Log: Fabrice Sergent, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Bandsintown

AvA: How did you get involved in the business side of music? 

Sergent: My business partner and I became friends around the shared passion for underground electronic music in Europe, and more specifically France. We were always looking for an equivalent to Fandango for concerts as we were trying to catch our favorite DJs when they went on tour, but kept missing them because it was hard to track. We quickly realized that there was no equivalent to what Fandango was doing for movies in the concert space. 

We did some research and found this app called Bandsintown that had already been launched on Facebook. We immediately thought that we could apply our knowledge and our industry relations to turn it into a mobile first concert guide on one hand, and on the other hand to help artists grow and get discovered by more fans. 

AvA: Can you talk about the unique role that Bandsintown plays in the artists-to-fan and fan-to-artist ecosystem?

Sergent: Bandsintown really serves three types of stakeholders. 

Bandsintown Concerts serves 85 million registered users worldwide in 7 languages. Last year we listed about 1.5 million shows, which were recommended 3.8 billion times to fans. The unique role we play with fans is that we understand their music tastes, and through a proprietary AI-based algorithm, we recommend shows. So not only do we help them get alerted about their favorite artists, but we also help them discover new artists. We send 15 million people to buy tickets every month. Half of them are going to buy tickets from relatively small artists who have less than 200,000 followers Bandsintown. We're very proud of that. 

Bandsintown For Artists is the only marketplace that gives Artists the opportunity to publish their tour dates once, and get promoted everywhere: Bandsintown audience, website apps, and through our distribution agreements with Spotify, Apple, Microsoft and Google. So there's a number of platforms that trust Bandsintown because the data is provided and verified by the Artists directly. 

The other unique aspect is that we always thought that artists should own their first party data and have direct access to their fans. So we provide Artists with free tools to display tour dates on their platform, post them on their socials, and by doing so, to not only sell tickets, but also acquire emails and phone numbers, which they own and can download. We want to help artists build sustainable futures by granting them direct access to their fan base.

AvA: What are some trends and stats that have stood out to you in 2023? 

Sergent: We always claimed or pitched this idea that live music is one of the last tribal experiences. It’s a moment where there is no income, social levels, color, sexual orientation or religion. We're all in a mosh pit cheering for these artists together. It's transformative for society because it makes people more tolerant and more human. 

The pandemic confirmed that live music was essential to people’s lives. Post-pandemic, we are still seeing an unprecedented level of demand for live music in terms of engagement and tickets sold. But now we also face an unprecedented level of offer, and there are more shows than ever. We see 50% more shows on Bandsintown in the US in 2024 compared to 2022, with smaller acts adding on average 20% more shows to their tour. So not only are more Artists touring, but Artists are touring more, doing more gigs, and adding more gigs within each tour. Fans are overwhelmed. The irony is that fans are buying more tickets than ever, but there's also an unprecedented level of competition among artists. 

The rising costs of touring has also become challenging for artists to succeed economically.. 

AvA: How do you foresee the live music industry continuing to shift and evolve into the future? 

Sergent: Live music is going to continue to evolve in order to answer and address this high level of demand. There are new venues that are popping up in secondary and tertiary markets, with new entrepreneurs who are building or consolidating independent venues to address and respond to this level of demand. These venues are offering live music, comedy shows, which are an important dimension of Bandsintown, as well as different types of experiences more generally. 

Artists going more global is definitely a trend that I think is going to continue as well. You see Artists that are relatively small or emerging, who are doing concerts in various geographies. That is the beauty of social and global networks. 

AvA: What is one piece of advice you have for someone wanting to get into the music business?

Sergent: Entering a new type of business requires a high level of curiosity and an open mind. Don’t let yourself be locked into a box or role. Be curious, because curiosity leads to innovation, which leads to success.

The Job Board

💼 = Job | 🎒 = Internship

💼 Goldenvoice Venue Event Staff Job Fair - LA - Learn More

💼 Executive Assistant to the Head of Marketing - Red Light Management - LA - Apple Here

💼 Manager, Youtube - BMG (The New Music Company) - LA - Apply Here

💼 Influencer Marketing Coordinator - Hundred Days - LA - Apply Here

💼 Talent Buyer Assistant - AEG - LA (Part-Time) - Apply Here

💼 Production Assistant - DripsyDrown Entertainment - LA - Apply Here

💼 Operations Coordinator - Disney Music Group - LA - Apply Here

💼 Production Assistant - Create - LA - Apply Here

💼 Music Marketing Ambassador - Monster Energy - LA - Apply Here

💼 Music Project Manager - Create Music Group - LA - Apply Here

💼 Coordinator (Sync) - Downtown Music Holdings - LA - Apply Here

💼 Publicity Associate (Classical Music) - Unison Media - NYC - Apply

💼 Coordinator, Insights & Reporting - Sony Music Entertainment - NYC - Apply Here

💼 Manager, Commercial Partnerships - Sony Music Entertainment - NYC - Apply HereHere

💼 Music Agent Assistant - UTA - London - Apply Here

🎒 Music Booking Internship - Elsewhere - Brooklyn - Apply Here

🎒 Audio Visual Internship - LACMA - LA - Apply Here

🎒 Summer Intern - Sony Music - NYC - Apply Here

🎒 Music Internships - Warner Bros. Discovery - LA - Apply Here

🎒 Finance for Music & Production - Warner Bros. Discovery - LA - Apply Here

🎒 Business & Legal Affairs Internship - FOX Entertainment - LA - Apply Here

🎒 Film & TV Creative Internship - Sony Music Group - LA - Apply Here

🎒 Video Editing & Audio Internship - Warner Bros. Discovery - NYC - Apply Here

🎒 Editorial Internship - Spotify - NYC - Apply Here

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