Startup Helps Users Book Entertainment and Artists Get More Gigs

Booking the perfect entertainment can be one of the main challenges of a child’s birthday party, a house party, a corporate event, a wedding, or any one of numerous kinds of events. Conversely, an artist or performer may be extremely gifted and simply not have the exposure or name recognition to book a gig. Fortunately for everyone involved, now there is a startup called SparkGig that helps all of this come together. Essentially, SparkGig is a platform that allows users to book talent based upon review systems and the type of event while giving people with special skills a way to utilize them and receive payment for it. In doing so, the startup ensures the best match between the host, his or her guests, and the performer. Read more »

Though we can communicate with more people than ever before, our communication seems to have become less personal through the Internet, making collaboration and community key to developing relationships and expressing ourselves online.  Creator Republic is, in its creators’ words, a leading source of the most popular independent web videos that focuses deeply on surfacing the best video content before anyone else and connecting fans with the content creators.  From posting photos and videos on the Internet to collaborating on ideas through email to communicating on social media and much more, almost anything we enjoy can be shared online.  The real appeal, and one of the app’s more unique aspects, is the ability for fans to communicate with the people who create the entertainment they enjoy. Read more »

Checking different news sites and blogs is quickly becoming the daily morning routine for many professionals.  More often than not, one can catch many people going through popular entertainment blogs and news sites on their phone over breakfast or coffee in the morning.  However, despite the fact that someone can do it all on a device that fits in his or her pocket, there is still an aspect of inconvenience to this process.  One must always stop what they are doing in order to check new postings or read articles on their favorite blogs.  Outside of those people who use public transportation and have a specific time where their hands and eyes are free during their morning commute, stopping work or travel is necessary for people to check these websites on their phones.  Cool person in technology Espen Systad wants to make it easy for people to get the information they want from entertainment and news sites without taking more time away from them.  Systad’s company Capsule.fm accomplishes this feat by automatically converting the text from blogs and news sites into a personalized audio feed for smartphone users. Read more »

Two of the most common uses for the web are getting news and finding entertaining content.  Most people bookmark sites and use search engines to find the content they want to consume.  However, cool person in technology Dan Olsen believes it can be even easier to for people to find content on the web.  Olsen refers to his company YourVersion’s main product as a “discovery engine”, which detects a person’s preferences and interests in order to deliver them new content every day automatically.  YourVersion uses two methods to find content that users will enjoy on the Internet: bookmarks and interest tags.  Users can add interests to their profile manually and YourVersion will find content related to those interests.  However, YourVersion also supports website bookmarking and any sites that a user bookmarks for later use on YourVersion also inform the product when it retrieves new content for the user.  People who have trouble signing up for Olsen’s service online can get assistance from a home tech support company. Read more »

Finding bookings as an independent musical artist has always been on one of the biggest struggles of the profession.  Even if artists use the Internet to promote themselves, building a solid, loyal fanbase pretty much requires playing constant live shows.  Live performances are also one of the best sources of income a band or artist can count on, assuming they get bookings frequently.  Without finding a manager or agent and paying them a significant amount of money, most artists struggle to find venues and promoters who will hire them to perform.  However, cool person in technology Danny Fiorentini is working to change that reality.  Fiorentini has created a platform named Muzeek that artists can use to connect with many promoters and venues without the need for an agent or manager.  This cool person’s startup looks to make it far easier for independent artists to find opportunities to perform live. Read more »