VEM (Venue Entertainer Marketplace) In progress

Currently working with a team on a startup and app concept that connects entertainers with venues to make the process for booking gigs easier, faster, and more transparent.

What’s the problem?

Everything is left to chance

Both performers and businesses struggle to connect with each other in order to bring live entertainment to the public, especially at a local level.

What’s the solution?

Deliver the value of time, ease, and security to both segments, bridging the gap and saving energy for both parties through an online platform.

What’s the end goal?

Establish a community and marketplace for live entertainment in local areas.

What’s the process?

1. Literary Search
2. Primary Research (Problem Validation)
- Interviews with Field Experts
- Interviews with potential customers
3. Prototyping
4. Generative Research (Solution Validation)

Demographics
- Young adults
- 18-30
- Pittsburgh Musicians

Psychographics
- Just starting to market themselves
- Diverse styles and backgrounds
- Side Hustle Focused
- Open to gigging full-time

For venues

Demographics
- Mid-life adults
- Restaurant/bar owners
-Pittsburgh local

Psychographics
- Believe live-entertainment improves customer experience

A lot of competitors are band focused, some like Band Pencil are band management focused, others like sonicbids are not only band focused, but also agency and promoter focused from the business side. In other words, the competition is not catering to small local venues and artists, which are the ones that need the most help.

Interviews with field experts

Each of our team members inteviewed one field expert, in other words, someone with a lot of experience and knowldege about our problem and solution area. Some of the experts we interviewed included:

- Musician, professor and producer.
- Entrepreneur and radio broadcaster.
- Entrepreneur 
- Booking agent

Insights from experts: 

1. The best thing an artist can do is have someone move for them; to study their work and present it.

2. Trust and rapport are key factors in securing bookings and facilitating successful events.
   

3. Venues do not typically care about whether the musician is actually good enough. Their potential for sale increase is the most important for the venue.
   

4. The goal is to keep artists artists.

5. Many artists wait a day or even a week to get their cut of the door fees and ticket sales and they don’t know if the venues are being honest

6. Starting a business is more like running a marathon over a sprint- it’s a matter of survival. Throw every idea against a wall and see what sticks. Never try to force anything.

   
   
   
   

Interviews with customers

Each of our team members inteviewed at least 5 potential customers to try to understand their priorities and how they made buying decisions. Some of these potental customers included:

- Singers
- Bands
- Student booking agent
- People that used to play gigs.
- Musicians
- Bars and restaurants with and without live entertainement.

Insights from customers:

1. Networking and presenting yourself is one of the hardest parts of booking gigs. 

2. If an artist has a body of work that they can share it makes them seem competent and serious about their work.

3. Venues tend to already have a set way of booking artists, but could use help in organizing all of their bookings.

4. Venues are looking for ways to create unique and memorable experiences that set them apart from competitors.

5. Artists are looking to Facebook Groups and other online pages to find gigs now, but it has A LOT left to be desired.

6. Artists are told they’ll be paid a certain amount and at the end of the day are undercut. Example: agreeing on $500 for their performance and getting paid $200.

   
   

Generative Research

Like: What do you like about the current prototype?

Wish: What do you wish was different or a part of the prototype?

Wonder: Do you wonder about any scenarios with the prototype?

Venue Learnings

• Find the app easy to use and fairly helpful to their business

• Venue owners already have the network to book musicians, and get many inquiries from entertainers. Therefore, they would be using VEM more for the logistical features (schedule, payment, possibly messaging).

• Like the scheduling feature of VEM as it keeps their bookings in one place.

• Wish that VEM could do an internal review to verify musicians’ profiles and reviews by other venues.

• Wish that bigger artists would be on VEM.

• Wonder if switching to VEM is worth it over just continuing the way they are

Entertainer Learnings

• They are really excited to have a tool that is so helpful coming to the market.

• They have lots of feature suggestions, including profile features, reviews, and ways musicians may connect with each other to create bands.

• Like the secure form of paymentlike the layout of the app, it is streamlined and easy to use.

• Wish the design was a bit lighter in color and easier to see, more contrast.

• Wonder how we are going to market.

• Wonder how we are going to make reviews secure