Gigtimes - The Live Music you Came to See

by Startacus Admin

Ever gone to a concert or a performance to see a band or performer, only to not know when the band you came to see is playing? 
Worse yet, you come to an event but only want to see something specific, and you end up waiting around for hours hoping to hear something familiar. Well...that’s all about to change! Step forward, Startacus collaborator Nick Harland with his new App; Gigtimes. We had a chat and he gave us the full lowdown...

Hi Nick! Let’s get the ball rolling, What is “Gigtimes”?

“Gigtimes is a brand new live music app that sends the stage times of your favourite artists straight to your smartphone. To use the app – which is launching in early 2015 – users first search through our database of upcoming gigs. Then, once you have found the gigs you’re attending, simply hit the ‘I’m Going‘ button. On the day of the gig, the stage times will be sent straight to your smartphone via a push notification.”

So it’s an up to date scheduling app for concert goers? That’s a clever notion, but what inspired you to come up with such an app?

“As a regular gig-goer myself, it came about after on-going frustration with never knowing what time a band would be on stage! It makes planning your evening a bit of a nightmare, when really you should just be free to enjoy it without worrying if you’re going to miss a band or not. Whilst some bigger venues do post their stage times online, for the smaller independent venues it can be difficult getting the word out about it.
I see Gigtimes as a way of both helping attendees getting the information they require sent straight to them and venues getting that information out there as quickly and easily as possible.”

What are your development plans for the app, surely there must be a lot involved in the implementation of an app like this?

“Gigtimes is currently in development. The beauty of the app is that the stage times are sent to you straight from the venue once they receive them. Venues will have the ability to edit them once they have been sent out too, so attendees and venues don’t have to worry as much if there are any late changes to the set times.
From the point of view of the venue it is beneficial in two main ways. Firstly, they can devote their often limited time and resources to the other aspects of the gig, rather than fielding endless calls from people asking what time Band X are on stage. Secondly, for the smaller venues who perhaps don’t have a large social media following, or the resources to man the phone lines, Gigtimes can become a platform for them to get essential information out straight to their customers. And I feel this is why our information will remain timely and accurate: there are clear benefits in using the service for the venue, which is massively important.”

That’s a very convenient format actually, how are you planning on funding the app?

At the moment I’m funding it entirely off my own back!

Wow! That’s a big undertaking. So have you had much success with regards to marketing?

“Considering I only conceived the idea in April this year, I’ve already had a lot of positive feedback from potential customers and venues alike. The social media pages were established in September and the website should be live next month, so although we’re only in our infancy I can already see there is definite demand for Gigtimes.”

If and, it would seem, when, Gigtimes takes off, do you plan to expand upon it?

“Although the app will initially be launching in Bristol, there is definitely scope to expand to other towns and cities across the country. I also have exciting plans to add a feature to the app that could truly revolutionise your live music experience...but I’m keeping my cards close to my chest on that one!”

Well then we’re definitely looking forward to seeing that! Finally then, if someone wanted to collaborate or get involved with Gigtimes; How would they?

You can either like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for the latest updates. With the website and app under construction, potential venues contacted and marketing efforts set to begin, it’s an exciting time to join what I feel is a hugely exciting development for live music.

The Startacus team are looking forward to using Gigtimes in future, and we wish Nick all the best with this endeavour!

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Published on: 3rd November 2014