Survey Results

Posted on April 29, 2015 by Keina Shimizu

I collected the survey results to see how potential users view our potential service. This provided us with information that informed the development of our site. The results are summarised below. So far our total response is 94 though only 32 people have completed the survey. You can find the survey here.

Question 1.1 : Age Group

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Ages vary between 16 to over 30 though, more opinions of teenagers would have given a better balance to the survey. This survey may reflect the opinions of adults.

Question 1.2 : Gender

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The balance between men and women is ideal. the survey may reflect unbiased opinions at least from view point of gender. This is useful information as we would like to provide information on the gender mix at events which is useful to party producers but also to users who attend the event, as this sometimes affects the decision to attend, especially for young people. Think Ladies Free Night!

Question 1.3 : What is your country of origin?

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The survey consists of 10 countries. Although those variety will give us international viewpoints, there is no English origin. Although the web site will be implemented in UK, this survey may not reflect the opinions of domestic users, but reflect international views of users living in UK.

Question 1.4 : How often do you attend concerts/parties?

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The average times those surveyed attended concerts/parties is 6 or less. The potential users of the site will be those attending parties at least “1 or more times per month”, which is 9 out of 32. although it is assumable almost everyone will listen to some music, attending music events are different from just listening to music.

Question 1.5 : How do you access music? Select all that apply.

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This is a multiple choice question and people could tick boxes more than once. As expected YouTube is used by 1/3 of people. Highlighting the importance of not just music but video. 40% of people use some kind of downloading service which is a mainstream way of accessing to music today. The ability for people to add their YouTube Videos to the site will be useful as well as the ability for them to upload videos directly from their mobile. Though ensuring copyright is adhered too will be problematic.

Question 1.6 : Do you find these services satisfactory?

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It looks like almost all have no problem with the way they access music, there are only two opinions about previous tools. “it doesn’t help me to discover good songs. It only features and advertises popular songs not the music of my taste.” and “can’t download music and always my favourite videos are erased.” Those are also complaints on the inability to customising music by their own taste. By giving freedom of selection of music taste on miXXerS, we may attract many potential users.

Question 1.7 : How do you discover new music? Select all that apply.

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Here we enjoy variety of answers as it is also multiple choices. Finding new music from social media gained 20%, which is comparatively a rather large share of replies. There is enough potential to enlarge this share by creating a useful site. We also can add people answering “By going to concerts operas.” if we succeed to take them to our site by providing enough concert information. Other reply “Blogs” could potentially be included into our site.

Question 1.8 : Do you find these services satisfactory?

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Written answers are “discovering new music is always difficult unless you have friends who knows a lot about the music.” “Because I still find it hard to find out about good new/ unknown artists” and “It would be nice to have a forum that could make new and innovative music more accessible instead of being lost in the clutter”. This sounds like finding new music is not easy since existing media may provide unfiltered information of new songs only. People need to have customized information which our site may provide. It seems that users are also constantly searching for new artists and new music, so being able to more easily have access to this via the miXXers site would be important. Connecting the dots between music and musical events will be an important component for this and so we believe miXXerS is on the right track.

Question 1.9 : Would you consider using a service that combines the following:

Being able to listen to new and existing music online,

Connecting with musicians and DJs and,

Provision of information about their upcoming events,

Connecting with friends and people with similar music/event taste?

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It is nice that almost 80% people agreed to use the service such that our site will provide.

Question 1.10 : What features would you suggest for such an online service?

The following are replies.

Real-time
Music-oriented social media, like Instagram as being the picture/photo-oriented one.
Less public social connections but more private social connection
if my favourite musician will come to my area, I d like to know that asap to get a ticket. Maybe they should send me an email of notification for events in a particular area.
An online community or forum which show the different genres and artistes for ease of searching. The community would give people a stronger reason to stay connected.
Try before you buy
The tracks, live chat with artistes and dJs as well other fans.
Short impression of the atmosphere, artist and their music. In a short film or so, that can experience right away, and get in the mood. And then book with one clic.
music, gossip, promotion
better sound quality, longer duration of watching/listening youtube.
Spotify, Facebook
Unsure. But an ability to pay and receive music instantly or to trial listening before buying would be good.
Isn’t this similar to Soundcloud and Spotify? It does not seem like a new service.
Suggested bands/artists based on your own tastes
User friendly interface, compatibility with other social networking sites.
Suggesting similar artists according to the music gender
Come out with lyrics
Advertise on YouTube, Facebook and in the MV.
The music sound is clear and high quality
Posts on the inspiration behind musical pieces; feature song or artist of the day
Geared towards getting to know the individual behind the music
Music being played on and on with different music generation.
Ability to download

By examining those 22 answers to 6 categories, it is said that there are two major categories people may concern; “social media function” and “music quality”. As for social media function, people needs other factors to their music site such as “more private”. they prefer a friendly site even it is for music. Another aspect, “music quality” is also important. they concern quality of music when they listen/download. The third popular category “customized music taste” includes “Suggesting similar artists,” “posts on the inspiration behind musical piece” that are not officially provided. Those answers will will influence the future development of our site. The music and social site required now should cover those three factors.

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Customized music taste
Faster flow of
information on musicians
Better music quality
Social media function
Better usability

Based on the results of the survey we will have to continually improve on privacy to ensure the reputation of the site maintains in tack. We will also have to be innovative and explore new ways to integrate the musical experience both online and offline at events, in a genuinely social and integrated and mobile way. We would also like to undertake further research to help us continually improve the service and successfully evolve.

Introducing Networx7 (Video) – Why miXXerS?

Link

We all met in the Mountbatten lunch room to check the demo for our site and take some photos and videos for the introductory video Kay did, which we also hope to use in the Dragon’s Den. You can see the result above 🙂 Liam also did the narration for our web demo and we went through the remaining work that we have to do. Enjoy the video! What better way to introduce us and our project could there be than actually using YouTube to do it! (By Keisha Taylor)

Changing times: how social media has revolutionised the music industry

Posted on April 24, 2015 by Liam Walsh

It is a matter of years since music was generally only available in various physical forms such as CDs, or online in a select few places such as Napster. We have now reached the stage where music is available in a myriad of locations across the web and social media has certainly played its part in bringing the music industry to where it is now, therefore opening up a potential market for a social network like miXXerS.

The advent of social media has opened up an entirely new platform where artists can promote their music to a wide range of people, fans and potential fans alike. Artists can link fans to new music, inform them of upcoming music as well as promote any upcoming live events they may be performing at. We are at a point where you will likely hear any news about your favourite artists on social media before you hear or see it anywhere else. Features like Twitter’s trending topics highlight any recent news that has generated a lot of talk over social media. A big announcement from a music artist is likely to end up on this list. Outside of the music they produce, artists are able to promote themselves by interacting with their fans, something which social media has enabled on a much greater scale.

Case Study: Spor

Spor, the alter-ego for UK based drum and bass producer Jon Gooch, was created in 2006, taking the electronic music industry by storm. After a lengthy hiatus, Spor returned to the scene in February, immediately announcing his new and long awaited album, and sending drum and bass fans into a frenzy all over social media. Moving away from the traditional approach of releasing an album, Spor announced that he would be first releasing the album as a ‘pay as you want bundle’, where purchasers can choose the price they pay for the album, as a torrent through the BitTorrent bundles service. Spor further promoted his return to the drum and bass scene by doing an ‘ask me anything’ thread on the message board website, Reddit. Spor’s use of social media, from announcing his comeback and new album, to his interactions with his fans over a number of social networking platforms, enabled him to generate as much publicity and hype for his new release as possible.

Web maps and Storyboards (revised)

Posted on April 23, 2015 by Keina Shimizu

Following up on the draft web map published earlier here are the revised Web maps and Storyboards that I did. In this map ‘band’ also refers to musician.

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function 1: Function to attend events.

Select Location/Date/DJ/Band/Music genre and narrow down your search to go to the DJ/Band’s personal page to view event information. All events are linked to google map. ticket should be sold online using Paypal or third party ticket sites like Eventbrite or Ticketmaster.

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function 2: request DJ/band

When you would like to ask the DJ/band to play for personal event, use this function. Selection could be by location, data, DJ.Band and Music genre, then narrow down to each event information. When you found the one you wanted, send an email to the DJ/Band to negotiate the detail. Those email exchange will be monitored by miXXerS and miXXerS will take few % of the price.

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Function 3: RSS Function 4: Chat

This is the optional communication site. Members can buddy up to attend an event or chat about their favorite musicians. Those social aspect also is necessary to bound people in the tie of their favorite music.

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Function 6: register DJ/Band

This is the site for both DJ/Band and listeners can have profits. DJ/Band looking for fan base will register themselves to miXXerS.

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Function 7: register (user)

Users also have to register to use any of this service, since information of DJ/Band and members will be confidential and exclusive to members only. It would be dangerous enough to contact/meet a stranger especially at some night club, so registration is important for the safety of users. It also is required to ask users to buddy up carefully, at their own risk.

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Function 8: review Function 5 : Upload music

After attended to some events members may write review and evaluate stars to each DJ/Band page to contribute the trustfulness of miXXerS. The administration staff may upload legal music or video clip but they can also link to 3rd party sites like Spotify and SoundCloud.

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PESTLE Analysis

Posted on April 23, 2015 by Yashpreet Bhangal

We found that the PESTLE Analysis strategy is useful in the development of miXXerS:

Political: In order to run the social media lawfully, the brand has to follow the electronic commerce regulation 2002 (Gov.uk.2013).

Economic: The UK has the 6th largest economy in the world. After the financial crisis hit UK in the face in 2008 today UK continue to struggle. Before the financial crisis the GDP growth rate was around 3% but recently it is only 1.79%. Currently, the law abiding citizens of united kingdom are still struggling but slowly started to recover from credit crunch. We believe social media platform such as Networx7 would be extremely beneficial for musicians, DJs and party producers currently based in UK or anywhere across the globe, as they would be able to see who is getting more rating on social media and spot the talent which will make their life so much easier. (EconomyWatch.2013.)

Social: As this is social media platform and it tends to target a wide range of audiences across the globe with numerous ethnic backgrounds, it is essential to provide the user with an option to translation the whole webpage into their mother tongue in order for them to use the website to its full potential. With the help of this platform, DJ’s from different country can collaborate their music and create something unique and distinctive which is not only beneficial for them as an individual but also beneficial for record labels. Recent statistics shows that 97% of the people listen to music several times a week (Social Statistics.2015), which highly emphasises the point that this website is going to be very beneficial not only for DJ’s but also for music lovers. This platform is going to break through all the social factors and bringing all music lovers whether they be music producers or simply music listeners together through music and musical events.

Technology: As it is going to be an online social network, it is essential to take technical factors into consideration. As this website is going to be operated all over the world it is essential for us to make sure the countries have facilities such as internet and broadband to make sure that they can use this website to its full potential. Differing technology legislation in in countries should also be considered before launching the services. Encryption for passwords and secure system socket layer protocol will also be implemented in order to project passwords from hackers. As a virtual piece of program that means miXXerS will not have to invest in new technology for very long time as the program will be compatible for with future hardware for long period of time. In addition the site must remain a mobile first site. A contingency plan is also going to be implemented in case of disaster.

Legal: There are many Legal issues which needs to be taken into consideration while working online or offline using social media. Issues such as:

1) Third party Content: Anytime an individual is uploading any sort of content including images, videos, music, text needs to be compliant with copyright law. You should have right to post third party content.

2) Content Ownership: who owns the information and media which has been uploaded on the website. Have you read entire terms and condition of the social media website before uploading all your confidential information. When you delete the information about yourself, is it actually delete or is it still property of social media website.

3) Criminal Activities: If a piece of text or a multimedia files has been a potential source of criminal activities online.

4) Information about an individual: Such information on social media could be a potential source of information to third party organisation without an individuals consent. (Ossian.K.,2012)

Environmental: Environmental issues are not applicable as their isn’t going to any waste disposal or recycling procedure taking place.

Reference:
Ossian.K.,2012.Legal Issues in Social Networking.Available from:http://www.millercanfield.com/media/article/200120_LEGAL%20ISSUES%20IN%20SOCIAL%20NETWORKING.pdf [Accessed on 22nd april 2015]

Social Statistics.2015.How often do you listen to music. Available from:http://surveys.pro/statistics/how-often-listen-to-music.htm [Accessed on 22nd april 2015]

EconomyWatch.2013.he Economy of the UK, GB, British Isles. Available from: http://www.economywatch.com/world_economy/united-kingdom/ [Accessed on 22nd april 2015]

Gov.uk.2013. The Electronic Commerce (EC Directive) Regulations 2002. available from:http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2002/2013/introduction/made [Accessed on 22nd april 2015]

What is Social Media?

Posted on April 22, 2015 by Yashpreet Bhangal

Social media, Social media, Social media!!!!

What is this social media and why everyone is always talking about this. Social media is a website, an application or a platform where people can share contents which included pictures, video’s, musics, share similar internet, exchange information on certain topics. Social media is a platform where people feel connected with each other, even if they do not know each other personally. There are hundreds of social media website floating around on internet but there are only few which has literally “broke the internet”. Social media websites such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram seem to be like limbs of human beings these days. It has no limits. Recently this platform has been used by many organisations across the globe in order to keep close contact with their customer, so customers feel more connect to the organisation. Platforms such as Facebook and Twitter are like top of the agenda for many global business as they can interact with individual from anywhere across the globe without inconvenience through these platforms.

Board members of top organisations, consultants are always looking for new social platform which could be used by their business in order to gain more profit. Having so much information knowledge and interest in social media there seems to very little understanding regarding the term “Social media”. With the help of this post i would like to gain attention of my peers who are working on similar project regarding the different between social media and related concept on web 2.0. In order for us to fully understand this concept, we will have to travel back in time when the foundation on social media was laid in 1979 and a big thing called “social media” was created on top this foundation 10 years later. The first social media website was known as “Open diary” which was created in 1990s. Due to the tremendous change in the speed of internet and popularity in the concept of blog writing, in 2003 a social platform name “myspace” was born.

Let’s talk a little bit about web 2.0 now. web 2.0 actually came into existence in 2004 around the same time Facebook was born and this is where the confusion took place. Term web 2.0 was used by academics and researcher in order to describe new ways of utilising the world wide web. This was an era where application and programs weren’t just created by individual but the whole community took part in the process in order to make continuous improvements. Blogs and wikis are the best examples of web 2.0 are often confused with “social media platforms”. In order to use web 2.0 an individual doesn’t have to go through any special training and there aren’t any specific update which are require to use this facility but functionalities such as AJAX, Adobe and RSS are requirements for using the service to its full potential.

Kaplan.A.,Haenlein.M.2009.Users of the world, United! The challenges and opprotunities of social media. Avaliable on : http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0007681309001232, [Accessed on 10th april 2015]

Technology and Social Networks

Posted on April 17, 2015 by chang

Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instant messaging, Video conferencing, Web meetings: These and many other collaboration and social media platforms are now an everyday part of people’s lives around the world. Why this phenomenon happened?

1. People want to change the traditional ways of communicating and chase new and interesting forms.

2. The Internet makes these kind of instant communication possible via social media

3. Computers and smart phones have become necessary things in our life.

How does social media makes our lives different?

1. Building a new culture

2. Making the communication more efficiently

3. Providing more interesting learning experiences

4. Sharing personal opinions

5. Changing traditional way on finding jobs

So, we want to build a new social network including these features to improve people’s lives. What we want to build is a website for musicians/DJs and party information. With respect to DJs, this is a musical subculture; it is an important part of a party. Second, we will provide a platform for DJ culture lovers to communicate. Third, you will learn more about DJs musicians and music through our website. Fourth, you can make your comments in particular zone. Fifth, we provide party information. If you are a DJ, you can find a job through the site.

Because the social networks are based on modern Internet, different new technologies will shape the features of social media. According to the related articles. These technologies shape social networks:

1. Arduio

2. RFID Tags and Transponders

3. Geomagnetic Sensors in Mobile Devices

4. Optical Pattern Recognition and Augmented Reality

5. OpenID,OAuth and Identity Graph

6. Mind Reading

7. Natural language processing

We could adopt these technologies, but we do not have to. Depending on the design of our social network we will adopt the appropriate technology.

Capitalising on Clustering, Triadic Closure & Centrality For miXXerS

Posted on April 9, 2015 by Keisha Taylor

Source: https://blog.pokitdok.com/social-capital-within-social-health-networks/

I looked into how concepts related to graph theory that I learnt could better help us utilise the information on our users successfully. With miXXerS we can look not only at the network as a whole but the clusters and how the individuals in those clusters are influenced by their particular neighbours. With music this is especially true for listeners and can be amplified through the social network site. Our interactions with each other occur locally rather than globally as many times we care more about the decisions made by friends, family or colleagues.

This is important when exploring the link with the Triadic closure concept. This says that if two people in a social network have a friend in common, then there is an increased likelihood that they will become friends themselves at some point in the future. Spotify uses clusters to suggest new songs for its users by taking into consideration the types of genres you list to, which becomes particularly useful when looking for example for suggestions for those that listen to pop music which is very diverse. Using a system that adopts the triadic closure concept music and playlists are recommended.

“If you listen to one artist a lot, they will recommend another song by that artist, or music that has the same feel as that artist. If you only listen to one song by one artist, chances are you just like that song, not so much the artist, so Spotify will recommend a song with a similar feel to that song.” (Cornell University Blog)

Likewise, with respect to users of miXXerS if 2 people in the network have a common musician, DJ or concert they like, there is an increased likelihood that they will also become connected in the future for example through an event that they can be connected at in the case of miXXerS. As a result more targeted suggestions can be made.

In measuring betweenness centrality we will look at the important role of brokers in the network and seek to engage those users. Even if they have fewer direct connections they may be a single point of failure. Closeness Centrality is also important for even if a person have fewer connections the pattern of their direct and indirect ties can allow them to access all the nodes in the network more quickly than anyone else. They have the shortest paths to all others — they are close to everyone else. They are in an excellent position to monitor the information flow in the network — they have the best visibility into what is happening in the network.

Not all network paths are created equally however and more and more research shows that the shorter paths in the network are more important and so the key paths in the miXXerS networks may not be 6 degrees as often sited but 1 and 2 steps through direct and indirect connections. Therefore, it is important to know: who is in the clusters or network neighborhoods and then try to reach them through the influential individuals that lie therein. Some of this type of valuable information will also be available to those that pay for premium subscription.

miXXerS: The Business Model

Posted on April 3, 2015 by Keisha Taylor

“The DEATH of selling music. And the rebirth of live music and parties. When I was younger you played gigs to sell your records and you’d lose money. And now you don’t have records to sell but you make money cos people still want to go out and party.” Fatboy Slim

Source: Business Model Inc. http://www.businessmodelsinc.com/free-drives-paid-the-business-model-of-spotify/

Following extensive background research on existing sites and study of the inner workings of social media based on what was taught in our class I came up with the business model for miXXerS. A number of business models are emerging around music and web based online social networks are the key to success. The increasing dominance of music streaming and the pervasiveness of online social networks combined with the lingering longing to be part of an offline social musical experience can converge through bringing different types of music lovers together through miXXerS. A 2013 report from Rethink Music on New Business Models in the music industry found that digital channels are now major source of income for record labels and publishers. Even Universal Music made a deal with Full Screen and Maker Studios, (2 YouTube Partner Channels) that have 4 billion views a month.

“A broad perspective takes into account the many types of “currency” that have evolved in the digital paradigm to encompass not just money, but amounts of time, attention, personal data and social participation in music experiences. Music consumers appear to be listening and interacting with music more than ever; the total volume of music purchases reached an all-time high in 2012, totaling over 1.65 billion units, up 3.1% from the previous year thanks to growing consumption of digital formats (digital albums were up 14% and digital tracks up 5%).” Source: Rethink Music

In addition, in recent years live music also continues to be important though Live Nation Entertainment continues to be dominant globally. Using a vertical integration strategy they acquired the ticketing company Ticketmaster and some other promotion companies but they also operating about 100 notable live music venues around the world. In addition music festivals have become more popular. (Find out more here)

DJs are now also an important component of both the party and music scene. DJs are ‘the new rock stars’ and Forbes has called them (those who play electronic dance music), “Electronic Cash Kings”. In addition, today more than ever it has never been more productive to be an independent artist. While the marketing might of the industry can be useful Musicians can use social media to their advantage.

Case Study: The EDM Movement

“During the past five years, a seemingly desperate “arms race” has occurred, with many large U.S. conglomerates chasing the ever-growing Electronic Dance Music (EDM) market. This “gold-rush” mentality reached new heights with the recent announcement of the first ever mass market EDM movie from 20th Century Fox and EDM producer mogul Diplo, and the acquisition of Beatport, the biggest online music store and community for DJs, by SFX Entertainment for approximately $50 million. The SFX move is just another step in the $1 billion investment plan announced some time ago by SFX’s leader Robert Sillerman, who aims to extend his empire into the EDM industry, which is now worth over $4 billion per annum and showing huge increases annually in ticket sales and radio airplay. Last year, Live Nation bought Los Angeles-based electronic dance music promoter Hard Events, just a few months after their acquisition of another big popular EDM event organizer, U.K.-based Cream Holdings, promoter of the Creamfields festivals. It is evident that many perceive the growing force of the EDM movement as a road to escape from the darkest era of the music business.Not surprisingly, with the music business shifting toward live events and festivals, wellknown corporate players are seeking a slice of the newly appetising dance music pie. “

Source: Rethink Music

Taking the Long Tail approach as advocated by Chris Anderson we have found that their is a gap in the market for a social network site that combines the elements we have described. We believe that a combination of elements can help such a site to potentially become a very sustainable and viable business in the entertainment industry. According to Anderson the Long Tail refers orange part of the sales chart below, which is a demand curve for the entertainment industry. “The vertical axis is sales; the horizontal is products.” The red part of the curve illustrates the hits but it is in the orange part (non-hits/niches) that growth in the entertainment industry is coming from and miXXerS can successfully fulfil a niche (or a sweet spot), which has the potential to expand tremendously.

http://www.longtail.com/about.html

According EDM the musician today can be considered a ‘company’ not just a brand. So can the DJ. In addition ‘24/7 connectivity’ especially via mobile enables artists and concert/party producers to maintain a direct relationship with the fans and customers. Genuine recognition of fans is important in the development of this site and the digital natives and millennials we target will expect this.

“a new type of fan or client has emerged: always connected, well informed, and more able to select and choose. Fans and clients have become more assertive and less gullible. They demand transparency and claim personal contact with their idol or provider”. EDM

A Nielsen study of more than 4,000 music consumers found that they thought that products and services on offer are not very engaging. They said that they would be willing to pay if the industry offered more.

“Nielsen found there could be potential incremental revenue of $450 million to $2.6 billion if artists, managers and labels offered a better set of products and experiences to fans… exclusive music merchandise, such as signed posters, limited edition tshirts, handwritten lyrics, and even direct personal experiences such as a 30-minute Skype conversation with an artist could generate a potential $450 million to $2.6 billion in annual incremental revenue…offers as mentioned above are attractive not only to consumers Nielsen calls “Aficionados”, (the most active music buyers (53%)), but even to a sizable percentage of what Nielsen calls “Ambivalent consumers” (22%). 5 Billboard.com

E-commerce Revenue model

Given pressure to make money often stifles growth we would need to get Venture Capitalist (VC) funding to be able to proceed with this venture, rather than have a lot of pressure to generate income at the start. This was one of the reasons sited for the downfall of mySpace. We do not want to compromise our vision and therefore make the site unattractive to our users. Technology moves quickly as has aided the downfall of some music sites (e.g. failure to adapt to mobile or the move from proprietary software to open source). Therefore procuring VC funding will be important for our model. miXXers will provide a social network that is free for all music and party/concert lovers to use, through the use of a freemium service. However, given the research we could explore adding premium content/services for users in the future when we increase our user base. DJs, Musicians, party/concert producers and promoters will have to pay for special features like advertising. We will therefore use an advertising business model. If musicians, DJs and Party/concert producers would like additional services they can access them for a trial period of 1 month after which they will have to pay for those service. Premium services will pay for free services to all.

Keeping the service free for the user will enable the site to attract more users and therefore make it more attractive to paying customers. In line with the ‘direct network effect’ the value of our site will increase as more people use it so it is essential to keep access free to increase our valuable user base. This would by extension help to increase advertising revenue through the ‘indirect network effect’ as usage will lead to a larger number of complementary and valuable services to DJs, musicians and party/concert promoters who advertise there which will also lead to a ‘cross-network effect’ as well. In addition to advertising, given users are not just the consumer of information about parties but also the producers of information on the parties they attend and the music they listen to this information is valuable to musicians, DJs as a well as party/concert producers. We will seek popular parties in various regions and those with active social media networks to help create strong local network effects that would be invaluable to the growth of the site.

A formula for potential revenue stream was also created (by Yash).

Business Models: APIs

We will use APIs which provide for 3rd party applications and use which will require some revenue sharing and marketing for our site and those that partner with us as well as some degree of data sharing if necessary. To avoid issues that arise with licensing we will integrate other site offerings into our site. Tracks or playlists from SoundCloud and MixCloud for example will also be able to be be embedded in the site and users will be able to login via their Facebook accounts.

Value to Users

Book DJs
Like music/musicians/DJs/parties
Make recommendations/rate experience (recommender system)
Party notifications
Find people to attend parties with
Connect with others that like similar music
Enter competitions/Win tickets
Follow and Potentially Meet/Chat with musicians/DJs at events and online (including through competitions)
Narrow location search of parties in neighbourhoods all over the world
Find information about events
Interact with other interested in the same events and music
More opportunity to discover new music
See how many men and women will attend a party/concert (gender demographics may be a factor in deciding whether to attend a party)

Target group: Millennials, Initially University Students, Young Middle Income professionals

Based on user feedback and additional research some additional features we will consider adding as the site develops includes

Avatars for users
A reward System for the most active users on the site
Premium membership with additional features based on user demand

Value to Musicians and DJs

Fans want to be close to a musician or DJ and unlike a record no-one ‘owns’ the artist’s or DJ’s fans yet they can also be a much better leveraged tangible asset by the musicians, DJs and party producers they follow. The site will generate valuable data on these fans and their opinions in one place and supports a paradigm shift in the entertainment industry which recognises the importance of this. Musicians no longer have to rely on music publishers for marketing and distribution for self-published content can also launch careers once a fanbase is created and connected.

Gain new followers	Musicians	DJs	Party/Concert Producers
Closer relationship with fans	Musicians	DJs	Party/Concert Producers
Data: Listener/fan/party demographics	Musicians	DJs	Party/Concert Producers
Find information on parties/concerts	Musicians	DJs	Party/Concert Producers(compare party information)
Build fanbase	Musicians	DJs	Party/Concert Producers
Advertise	Musicians	DJs	Party/Concert Producers
Self publish music/ integrate music from other sites	Musicians	DJs

In the future we can also consider

Working with non-music brands to gain sponsorship for musicians and our site
Revenue sharing with party/concert producers for users who purchase tickets through visiting our site.

Premium services for Musicians/DJs/Party producers/promoters

Free	Registration	Mobile Access	Provide prizes/competitions
Premium	Contextualised Advertising	Data Analytics	Personalization

There may be challenges if the users cancel after the trial but as we grow our user base we believe that this can be combatted. We think that this is an exciting time to explore a new path for entertainment.