Exclusive: Aus start-up GiggedIn secures $500k seed round funding
GiggedIn,Australia’s only crowdsourcing platform devoted to live music, has secured $500k in a seed-funding round,TMNcan exclusively reveal.
The Sydney-based company is preparing for global expansion and today announced that it has closed its funding round with investments from BlueChilli Venture Fund, Blacksheep Capital, QUT Creative Enterprise Australia, Dominet Digital, Social Family Group and a number of individual angel investors, among others.
GiggedIn founder and CEO Edwin Onggo said: “This investment round has shown that some of the best people in business, technology, the creative sectors and music industry believe in the vision of our company as well as our management team. We’re excited about the impact we’ve had so far as well as working towards rolling out our offering on a global scale.”
GiggedIn launched as a crowdfunding and ticketing platform in November 2012; it was marketed as a ‘Kickstarter for live music events’ but fast caught the attention of artist and festival promoters.
In October last year GiggedIn announced its partnership with Sydney-based independent music company Social Family Group (Social Family Records / Jaden Social / George Said MGMT) and the appointment of its advisor, former Warner Music and BMG Managing Director Ed St. John.
Social Family Group CEO Jake Challenor said GiggedIn’s model was used on the label’s recent She Who Rocks tour – GiggedIn enables fans to activate their friends and social network to influence the locations, supporting acts and viability of events.
“We are proud to back up our partnership with an investment in GiggedIn,” said Challenor. “Our first activation together was the national support slot campaign for the multi-night She Who Rocks tour, with The Superjesus and Baby Animals, that just wrapped-up in Hobart at the weekend. Over 250 bands registered, resulting in over 30,000 unique votes from their fans. This activation was undeniably a key driver in awareness and direct ticket sales. The tour was a sell out as a result.”
Anna Rooke, CEO of QUT Creative Enterprise Australia, said: “We love how GiggedIn has adapted to leverage the elements that work with crowdfunding and geared it towards unlocking the one of the most powerful connections that exist – the one between an artist and their fans.”
Onggo has today also announced its upcoming ‘Netflix for concerts’ service, GiggedIn Infinite. Set to launch mid-year, fans will be offered unlimited access to live events via a $25 per month subscription.
“We’ve had strong interest from market with this subscription model so far,” said Onggo. “Our testing has shown it’s a win-win for fans, event owners and artists as it encourages fans to attend a greater amount of shows each month and to discover new acts. Anything that connects more fans to more artists excites us and so does the potential to drive this globally.”
GiggedIn Infinite’s promoter and venue partners are expected to be unveiled in the coming weeks.
Onggo added: “We understand where the biggest inefficiencies lie and we’re using technology to grow the sector by getting more fans out of their homes so they experience more of the artists and events they love.”