Springwise - Entertainment

Volvo supplies cars for new London drive-in

2010-07-09T16:13:21Z

The concept of the pop-up drive-in movie is not brand-new—we covered a California-based effort back in 2006, after all—but we're pretty sure the involvement of a major car brand has not been seen before. Sure enough, though, that's exactly what's enabled the Starlite Urban Drive-in, which recently sold out a three-night run in London's East End.

Situated in the cultural heart of London at the Truman Brewery, the Starlite featured a full-sized, outdoor screen along with 25 pre-parked Volvo cars, ready for patrons' viewing, reminiscing and snacking pleasure. Tickets were GBP 25 per person, with a maximum of two people per car—included among those were the Volvo XC60, C30 and convertible C70, all wired to play the soundtrack on their radios. Snacks were even available from waitresses on roller skates at the event, which began on July 1 with a specially commissioned short film about the story of the drive-in movie. “Dirty Dancing” was featured the next night, followed by “Grease” on the last of the run. Tickets to the Startlite's events sold out in two minutes, causing its creators to begin planning a nationwide expansion of the theater, which is even carbon-neutral.

“The opportunity seemed to be one that fit well with our brand," a Volvo spokeswoman told AdAge. "It also gave us a fun and unique opportunity to reach a younger audience that may not have been exposed to the Volvo brand before. We've been delighted with the success of the Starlite Urban drive-in." Other car brands and entertainment entrepreneurs: time to embark on your own trip down memory lane...?

Website: www.starliteurbandrivein.co.uk
Contact: info@starlite.co.uk

Spotted by: AdAge via Raymond Kollau

Baseball team recruits local musicians for in-game tunes

2010-06-28T17:37:25Z

Major sports teams and the cities they hail from are essentially two sides of the same coin, which is why team rivalries and city rivalries tend to be one and the same. Aiming to tap into some of that local pride, the Pittsburgh Pirates have begun featuring local musicians for entertainment during their home games.

The Pirates kicked off their local music initiative in April, starting with hometown band the Aviation Blondes. Each band featured gets a song played during the sixth-inning break while its name and song title are displayed on the Jumbotron. All songs are currently hand-picked by Eric Wolff, the Pirates' manager of in-game presentations, though ultimately we wouldn't be surprised to see the effort expanded to include community voting and the preference of the local crowds. In the meantime, however, teams, museums and other local institutions: imagine all the local music, food and other (still) made here entertainment you could incorporate into your own crowd-pleasing (and cross-promotional) efforts... ! (Related: Giant-screen social games for crowds at large events — Grass with a story: New York Yankees seed and sod.)

Website: www.myspace.com/pirateslocalmusicact
Contact: pittsburgh.pirates.mlb.com/help/index.jsp?c_id=pit

Spotted by: Pittsburgh City Paper via Jim Stewart

iPads for rent on Jetstar flights

2010-06-04T15:52:51Z

Hard on the heels of our story about Bluebox Avionics' iPad-based in-flight entertainment system comes word of what appears to be the first carrier to test out the technology: Jetstar, the low-cost subsidiary of Australian Qantas Airways.

Starting later this month, passengers on select domestic Jetstar flights will be offered an iPad for a rental fee of AUD 10, according to Flight Global. Along with the device will come a wide assortment of music, movies, eBooks, magazines and games. The trial is being conducted in partnership with Bluebox and Stellar Inflight; if it goes well, Jetstar may roll out the iPad on all domestic and international services later this year, Flight Global reported.

Now that iPad sales have reached 2 million, it just might be time to think about how this technology could enhance consumers' experience of *your* tech-savvy brand... (Related: Hotel equips concierges with iPads — For £20, a way to try the iPad before buying.)

Website: www.jetstar.com
Contact: www.jetstar.com/gx/en/contact-us.aspx

Spotted by: Flight Global

Analytics tools help music bands uncover local demand

2010-06-01T15:28:17Z

If a music band's fans are essentially its customers, it stands to reason that the band should make every effort to understand and please them. That can include maintaining close contact through a band-specific iPhone app or band-management tool, but sometimes, there's no substitute for good, hard analytics. That's where Finnish GigsWiz comes in, with tools designed to give bands new insight into where their biggest fans are and what they want to hear.

Just launched into beta earlier this month, GigsWiz includes a website, a Facebook application and a software widget. The Facebook app and widget are both for collecting data—specifically, during GigsWiz's beta period, they're focused on asking fans, “where do you want us to play live?” The app is designed for the band's Facebook fan page, while the widget can be installed on the band's own website or MySpace page. Responses to that question can then be viewed plotted on a map or as charts and lists. Either way, the results show where interest is greatest for a live performance, enabling the band to make better decisions on when and where to play. Not only that, but the data can also help sell gigs to gig organizers, who are more likely to be convinced that the demand will be there. GigsWiz statistics and analytics services are free of charge for artists, agents and promoters. GigsWiz is currently in closed beta, so users must apply for a beta code on the company's site.

It's a local world out there, and today's cheap—or free—tools make it relatively easy to amass, regionalize and map out useful data. What other industries or niches could use a little mapmania of their own...? (Related: 'Sex map' reveals erotic-spending trends by city — Nightlife mapping tool uses GPS to reveal hotspots — Import/export intelligence service.)

Website: www.gigswiz.com
Contact: juuso@gigswiz.com

Spotted by: John Greene

Five new business ideas for musicians and their fans

2010-05-28T14:09:34Z

Tolstoy said "music is the shorthand of emotion" and, as marketing gurus insist, people buy emotionally. With an audience that extends to just about everyone, the music business can be a great source for new business ideas. Here are five we spotted recently:

1. MOOD TRAXXER — Traxx.fm's Mood Traxxer aims help users find music to match their mood by getting them to describe their current state of mind, activity, needs and 'drug', and then serving them tunes according to those choices. Options include moods such as "Darth Vader on a Bad Hair Day". Stereomood is based on the same concept.

2. THE COOL TV — Ever come out of a great gig and wished you could relive the experience straight away? As part of its hyper-localised strategy, digital music TV network The Cool TV is selling recordings of concerts as soon as they finish—both online and as CDs and DVDs available outside the venue.

3. CORONA HOTEL — Rock fans at the Rock in Rio event in Madrid next month will get a taste of an unusual promotion from beermaker Corona: a branded, pop-up hotel. Winners of an international contest get flights and tickets to the festival and will stay in purpose-built, luxury accommodation at the festival site. Of course, there's complementary Corona beer for all guests.

4. MIXMATCHMUSIC — MixMatchMusic is a music community featuring a suite of tools that emphasise and facilitate musical collaboration. Content creators upload individual tracks which can be mixed online by fellow musicians and remixed by fans. Royalties are shared by all those involved.

5. CHARTFIXER — Those who habitually complain that the charts are fixed may derive some grim satisfaction from the advent of Chart Fixer in Australia—a service that pledges to get a single into the charts for those who can afford it … and to do so legally. By paying private individuals to download tracks (and taking a cut) the website promises to generate a buzz that may even lead to what it calls 'natural sales.

Spotters: Murtaza Ali Patel, Jim Stewart, Leticia Pérez Prieto, Jake Bishop

In-flight entertainment, starring the iPad

2010-05-20T16:21:16Z

The iPad applications continue to come fast and furious. We've now seen a hotel chain and a trend forecaster incorporate the device into their offerings, and now it looks like UK-based Bluebox Avionics could be first to include the iPad in an in-flight entertainment system.

Bluebox's namesake system already offers wireless in-flight entertainment that's accessible via handheld devices, seatback technology and overhead cabin broadcasting. Now the London company has announced that it will soon include the iPad among those delivery vehicles through its Bluebox Ai offering, which will be fully integrated with the other parts of the Bluebox system. Specifically, Bluebox has ported its PC-based operating and security software to the Apple platform, enabling a full range of iTunes App Store games and eBooks, a full selection of consumer magazines via Zinio, and a selection of some 200,000 commercial apps already available for the device. Airlines can add their own custom apps as well. Bluebox Ai will launch on an international carrier in July, the company says, with availability to other airlines shortly thereafter. In the meantime, it's now on display at the Aircraft Interiors Expo in Hamburg.

With more than a million iPads now in the wild, it stands to reason that consumers will increasingly expect to see the device put to work by tech-savvy brands as well. If consumer-facing technology is at the core of your brand's offering, that should probably include you...

Website: www.blueboxavionics.com
Contact: info@blueboxavionics.com

Spotted by: Cecilia Biemann

Online tool gives musicians one-stop band management

2010-05-03T12:43:36Z

Music bands can tap an increasing number of technology tools these days, from services like Mobile Roadie for help creating a customised iPhone application to internet-enabled crowdfunding options like Sellaband and Kisskissbankbank. For generalized band management, there have been software packages like Indie Band Manager and online services like ReverbNation, but newly launched Bandize aims to offer the best of both words with a one-stop web application that gives bands, band managers and record labels a wide array of tools to help operate a band successfully.

California-based Bandize helps bands take control of their careers by giving them an intuitive, simple way to get organized. The application offers a broad suite of band-specific DIY tools, including accounting, tour booking, contact management, merchandising, task assignments, social-network syncing, calendar, messaging and more. For managing shows and tours, for example, Bandize lets bands keep track of every date along the way, including earnings and accommodation. Printable day sheets and tour books, meanwhile, make sure everyone is on schedule. Its product management tool, on the other hand, helps bands track the merchandise they have and how much they've sold so far; it even alerts them when inventory in a particular product begins to run low. Every band member gets their own Bandize login, making it easy for bands to collaborate and access the tools with maximum flexibility. Pricing for Bandize is USD 15 per month per band, with discounts available for managers of multiple bands.

Similar in many ways to the UK's Band Central, Bandize recently announced a mobile version for the iPhone. Next, who will be first to integrate such tools with the crowdfunding capabilities, the iPhone app creators, the fan-recruitment tools and all the many other tech enablers that bands can use to set themselves apart...? (Related: Web developer focuses on farms — A custom, branded iPhone app for every restaurant.)

Website: www.bandize.com
Contact: help@bandize.com

Spotted by: John Greene

Forging musical partnerships in inspiring locations

2010-02-18T13:55:00Z

A recording project from the Netherlands has introduced a novel way to record music showcasing collaborations between new artists from different parts of the world. Every two months, In A Cabin With invites one or more Dutch musicians to travel to an inspiring location somewhere in the world—a farmhouse in Sweden, a wooden house in northern Thailand or a church in Ottawa, for example—to write, produce and record an album in collaboration with some of the area's own musicians. The recorded material is mixed and mastered in an Amsterdam studio, and an upcoming artist and/or graphic designer is invited to design the album artwork.

Several of the artists involved in the sessions have subsequently been offered their own record deals. The CDs are distributed by V2 music and can also be ordered through the In A Cabin With website. Best of all, the concept comes with a generous side of free love: all the In A Cabin With albums are also available as free downloads. One to emulate outside the Netherlands, harnessing the talent of upcoming musicians or other artists? (Related: Free accommodation for visiting creatives.)

Website: www.inacabinwith.com
Contact: maarten@inacabinwith.com

Spotted by: Marc Frencken

Stock portfolio unites 20 best-loved brands

2010-02-11T17:03:49Z

It's no secret that brands can inspire love, and sites such as Hollrr and Thinglink are built on that fact. Now, starting with a concept much like Saatchi & Saatchi's Lovemarks, MyBrandz has built a virtual stock investment portfolio based on the top 20 “most lovable” brands.

Now in beta, MyBrandz provides an online community to unite fans of the best-loved consumer brands. Aiming to test the correlation between brand love and success on the financial markets, the Brands Love Portfolio is based on the top 20 most loved brands on the web. Those brands were chosen using MyBrandz's proprietary algorithm, which takes into consideration 28 different parameters including the number of positive mentions on Twitter and the number of Facebook fans. Apple is the No. 1 best-loved brand, according to these measures, followed by Starbucks, Google, Playboy and Disney; Nike, Sony and Blackberry are also on the list. Taken together, the Brands Love Portfolio has shown much higher results than the Dow Jones, NASDAQ and S&P 500 indices, MyBrandz says, with an annual return of about 64 percent.

Currently, the Brands Love Portfolio functions only as a virtual one, but anyone can follow, test and compare it with other indices. MyBrandz plans to continue developing it, however, possibly eventually releasing it to the market as a new investment product. In the meantime, the Israeli company recently launched its “Own Your Brand” contest whereby members can win real shares of their favourite brands by submitting related content and winning “hearts” from fellow users.

It stands to reason that consumer love should be a predictor of a brand's financial success, and what better way to gauge that love than through the buzz generated by the online masses? Of course, whereas MyBrandz focuses on the top consumer brands globally, the same model is crying out for application to specific industries or regions. One to emulate on a localized or niche basis!

Website: www.mybrandz.com
Contact: info@mybrandz.com

Music site offers updated playlists in 22 genres

2009-12-15T22:46:08Z

Most dedicated music fans have their favourite genres and playlists, but finding new music can be a challenge. Aiming to keep aficionados up on the latest tracks and trends comes 22tracks, a Dutch site that offers constantly updated playlists in 22 different genres.

22tracks is essentially a jukebox consisting of 22 playlists in as many different genres, each filled with 22 tracks specially selected by DJs from Amsterdam. Upon selecting a genre, users can listen to the current 22 tracks on the site; those they like they can purchase via iTunes or promote via Twitter. Each week those tracks are updated with roughly five new ones, however, giving fans a constantly updated selection. People can also create their own, personal lists of favourites, and a 22tracks iPhone app is slated for release in January/February 2010.

By packaging music in bite-size nuggets for week-long munching whenever the desire strikes—and of course offering instant gratification for those motivated to buy—22tracks provides a lovely example of the "see-hear-buy" model that's part of what our sister site would call today's snack culture. Keep it short, sweet, simple and fleeting—but make it easy for consumers to make it their own—and you'll have them hooked in no time! ;-) (Related: An online music store of one's own.)

Website: www.22tracks.nl
Contact: info@22tracks.com

Spotted by: Stephan Hoberg

Adults-only colouring & activity book

2009-12-07T14:01:14Z

Thanks largely to the anything-goes nature of the online world, audiences in mature consumer societies are not easily shocked. As a result, brands are harnessing ever higher levels of risqué to stand out from the crowd. The Icecreamists recently grabbed our attention by sexing up dessert with their x-rated gelato dubbed The Sex Pistol—touted to have the same charge as a dose of Viagra. For those of you who need added proof that maturalism is rife, look no further than Hot Wax, an adults-only colouring book created by Atlanta-based pin-up artist Tyson McAdoo.

Pushing the boundaries in a traditionally child-centric domain, Hot Wax is a 32-page colouring and activity book (USD 14) filled with raunchy graphic illustrations. The images may be just outlines but the themes are unambiguous. With nudity, tattoos and lingerie featuring prominently, clearly this is not a colouring book for kids.

If you’ve read our sister-site's latest trend briefing, you will know that 2010 is set to be rawer and more risqué than ever. What will be the next plain-vanilla product to be infused with a saucy new twist? Could a side of daringly super-charged seduction be the order of the day for your brand?

Website: www.tysonmcadoo.com/store_book/storeBook_02.html — www.facebook.com/pages/Tyson-Mcadoo/54928786199
Contact: store@tysonmcadoo.com

Spotted by: Cecilia Biemann

Pick-your-price marketplace for music, games & ebooks

2009-12-07T13:19:36Z

Buskers have played on city streets for hundreds of years, working on the premise that people are willing to pay for a decent performance. Operating on a similar model, Anjuno could be seen as returning music to its pay-what-you-want roots. Launched in May, Anjuno allows creators of music, games and ebooks to post their work on the site, which fans can download and enjoy, then pay the artist whatever they think it's worth. The system accepts payments at any level—including free. Anjuno takes a commission of 15% per sale.

Anjuno aims to make the economics of digital media better for both the producer and the consumer. Summing up the advantages for both the artists and their fans, Anjuno urges: “Instead of pirating that new album because you don't feel like paying $15, pay $2 here on Anjuno. And since we don't take huge cuts of the profit like record labels and publishers, the artist ends up making more from your small payment on Anjuno.”

Up until now, similar (un)pricing schemes have predominantly been used as a promotional tool. Does this this mark the beginning of a shift towards pay-what-you-want pricing models becoming more widely adopted as the basis of a business? Will we see more new businesses fundamentally eschew traditional pricing models in favour of letting their customers decide the prices? One to watch. (Related: pay-as-you-want magazines, restaurants, hotels and ad agencies.)

Website: www.anjuno.com
Contact: office@anjuno.com

Spotted by: Cecilia Biemann

Music crowdfunding pops up in France

2009-12-04T22:27:07Z

Netherlands-based Sellaband has already appeared on our virtual pages on numerous occasions, so we were interested to see a like-minded enterprise spring up in France. Much like Sellaband, Kisskissbankbank lets music fans invest in the bands they love and share in the rewards of their success.

Fans begin by browsing through the artists on the site and choosing one or more they'd like to invest in. As little as EUR 10 per band makes a fan an official “KissBanker,” and those funds can be withdrawn or transferred to another artist at any time. Meanwhile, such investments entitle KissBankers to a share in the success of that band's efforts in proportion to their investments, as well as access to bonuses and exclusive content. KissBankers may also get invited to weigh in on decisions their bands make, and they are encouraged to help promote them in their own social networks and communities. Kisskissbankbank, meanwhile, gets a 20 percent commission on the amounts that are invested.

With all the many ways we've seen for bands to collaborate with their fans—whether via financial investments, help with music sales or concert promotion—it's clear the crowdfunding model has struck a “chord,” so to speak, in the world of music. Bands get support, fans get involved—and paid. It's music to everyone's ears! ;-)

Website: www.kisskissbankbank.com
Contact: www.kisskissbankbank.com/contact_requests/new

Spotted by: Raymond Kollau

Crowds map filming locations across the world

2009-11-10T07:55:21Z

Filmaps is rapidly creating a crowd-powered database of filming locations around the world. Users can search by location or film title to bring up a Google Map that features location photos from Panoramio and videos from YouTube. Since its launch in January this year 998 films have been mapped in 2363 locations. Filmaps adds social elements through Facebook and Twitter connections, as well as embeddable location widgets.

We've seen maps used for everything from virtual jogging to erotic spending statistics. As described by our sister-site trendwatching.com, "geography is about everything that is (literally) close to consumers, and it's a universally familiar method of organizing, finding and tracking relevant information on objects, events and people."

There are hints on the website that Barcelona-based Filmaps may have plans to offer film location tours, which would make sense. Its members are already mapping out the routes, and the site would be a perfect marketing tool. What other niches could you map your way into?

Website: www.filmaps.com
Contact: www.filmaps.com/contact.php

Spotted by: Leticia Pérez Prieto

Ticket price forecasting for live events

2009-10-27T07:18:08Z

Seat Geek is a free service that helps users find tickets when they're cheapest. Currently focused on Major League Baseball games and select concerts in the US, Seat Geek employs a sophisticated algorithm to predict whether the price of a queried ticket is set to rise or fall—similar to what Bing Travel (formerly Farecast) does for flight tickets. If the price is expected to go down, users can sign up to receive a free email alert when it's at rock bottom. Seat Geek also scours the web in for the best deals at any moment, linking to affiliated ticket merchants like StubHub, RazorGator and eBay.

Seat Geek's patent-pending algorithm draws on a large pool of data that includes millions of historical ticket transactions. This data is crunched together with other factors, such as, for baseball games: team statistics, the weather, the venue, the price-level of the seat—even who'll be pitching. According to SeatGeek co-founder Jack Groetzinger, the algorithm is accurate 80% of the time, and it's also self-training, meaning it gets better every day.

As our sister-site explains in its latest briefing, consumers increasingly expect instant gratification. Seat Geek and other 'prediction engines' take that one step further, by drawing on the web's informational riches to tell consumers how things will be, enabling them to make better decisions now. The future has never been as near, and opportunities abound for entrepreneurs that can bring it even closer. (Related: Zigabid ticketing marketplace — Real-time pricing error alerts for consumers to pounce on.)

Website: www.seatgeek.com
Contact: admin@seatgeek.com

Spotted by: Cecilia Biemann