Coran Capshaw follow-up

If I was ever to embark on an entrepreneurial venture, I would want to reflect the work of Coran Capshaw. Throughout the program, I’ve learned how Capshaw has had a hand in many of the largely successful large-scale music festivals in the US. How does he do it? We can learn from his success and try to emulate his practices in our own business.

 http://www.fastcompany.com/files/imagecache/panoramic_image/files/feature-musictoday1.jpg

Capshaw changed the industry by simply tackling issues that his industry was facing. He found out that there we’re millions of music fans with a strong passion for their favorite groups. He also realized that even the most die-hard fans would miss concerts with their favorite groups. Thus, he created MusicToday, which linked fans almost directly to their favorite artists. Users of MusicToday were notified when their favorite groups were doing something relevant like releasing a new album, going on tour or making public appearances.

He made this possible by utilizing a fan club system. Much like following a an individual on Twitter or a page on Facebook, you followed an artist via MusicToday which provided all the vital information including upcoming shows and events. This helped shows gain traction in the market.

MusicToday was eventually purchased by LiveNation, who utilized the system to work alongside Ticketmaster to improve the brand, increase sales and overall event awareness.

In order for an event to gain traction, it needs to have as many legs as possible. This includes the event promoters marketing, but also, the artist’s marketing of the show. Services like MusicToday helped events, like Bonnaroo, become successful shows that stand out, year after year.

For my entrepreneurial endeavor, I would need to make sure that the artist’s fans were knowledgeable of an upcoming event. MusicToday paved the way and brought fans closer to their artists. Because of Coran Capshaw’s vision, we see mobile applications that sync with the music libraries of the user and the application will notify when a show is upcoming, all based on the user’s personal library.