NYC-based startup Stagedom launched its platform of apps and tools for fans and musicians this week, as a way for fans to connect with artists, and artists to build new revenue streams. The company’s first offering is a free iOS app, with Android and mobile web versions planned in the coming weeks. Ultimately the company wants to provide a comprehensive platform for fans to discover, listen to and share music, while also giving artists and industry insiders back-end tools to promote and make money from their music.
Founder Shahar Nechmad said he has three phases planned for the company, the first of which is the Stagedom mobile app. The app allows fans to track and get information about their favorite artists, from their music, videos, and photos, to concert tickets and general information. Users can watch music videos in the app, listen to songs (pulled from various services including SoundCloud via APIs) and share music with their Facebook and Twitter friends. Fans can interact with other fans, share the music they discover, and get personalized recommendations for new artists and music. The app also features a Smart Feed, which pulls in artists’ social media updates. Though right now most artist info is pulled in automatically, they’re slowly giving artists the ability to manage their data directly. “We believe that artists should be able to control their own brand and we want to provide them the best and easiest tools to do so,” Nechmad said in an interview.
Nechmad said he built Stagedom as a way to enhance the online music experience for both artists and fans. “I’m probably the only one that used to pay for almost every single music service out there at one point. I always felt that there has got to be some way to build a better connection between a fan like myself, and the artist,” Nechmad said. “If you want music you will go to Spotify, Rdio, or Pandora. If you want videos you will do YouTube or Vevo. If you want bios maybe Wikipedia. Tour dates? Live Nation or SongKick. Why can’t I get it all in one place that delivers consistent and great user experience?”
Although he said there are two other phases to the company, Nechmad is tight-lipped for now about what they will involve, but hinted that they’ll look to develop a smarter recommendations and analytics engine (Nechmad was formerly the founder of analytics startup NuConomy, which sold to Live Person for $3 million in 2010), and better communications tools between artists and their fans. In terms of monetization, Nechmad said people already spend a lot of money on music, from tickets, merchandise, hardware like speakers and iPods, and he said they’re building tools to sell “the right product to the right people and just in the right time.”
When asked why people should Stagedom over other online music services like Spotify, Nechmad said it’s not meant to replace other online services, rather to supplement them. “From the user perspective, we are a great supplement to them,” he said. “On Spotify you will find all the original full albums of artists. With Stagedom you will find everything else, from videos and photos, to remixes, mashups and songs to news, updates and other fans.”
Right now Stagedom doesn’t provide a better online or mobile music library beyond what services like Spotify already offer. It’s their approach on supplementing music with other multimedia and updates that sets it apart, though it does have competition in that regard from more established services like TuneUp Media. In terms of discovery, apps like Discovr Music are already focusing on finding new artists, while tools like BandCamp give artists a way to interact with fans, and make money from their music, and BandPage helps artists manage their online presence. Stagedom will have to build on its mobile app and introduce those planned revenue streams if it wants to show music fans, artists, and industry insiders why its the next big thing in online music marketing.