Message from SofaConcerts Technical CoFounder and CTO Rob Heinen
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Reasons why SofaConcerts, as a tech platform is cool.

1. Supports smaller / local musicians with more gigs.

Generally, smaller artists only make money when they tour or play shows
(there's not any money from streaming or record sales).

Artists can generally go on tour every so often, and even then, you need
to be a certain size to fill a room.

We fill a niche to bring artists more shows and generally shows they
wouldn't normally get (maybe a superfan would you invite you to play
their birthday party, but it is every unlikely before our marketing
work, that you would be asked to play birthdays or living rooms
consistently).

2. With prepayment, we make sure artists get paid out. We also have a
framework in place so that if the show gets cancelled or the artist gets
sick, that both sides of the transaction are protected. If you're having
a wedding and a band drops out last minute, we're actively searching for
a replacement.

If you're a band and a host has to cancel, you still get paid for the
concert if it's within a certain time range.

3. Listening audiences -- our musicians are appreciative as the
SofaConcert / Living Room concert atmosphere is not like a bar or a club
show. People are there to experience the intimate show. Without sounding
too much like a marketer, these small attentive audiences can really
create magical moments (we get a lot of reviews that mention
goosebumps).

For musicians, this seems to be the best type of audience (but I imagine
can also be nervewracking, since everyone is attentive).

4. We've done a lot of work in our market to bring the idea of a 'Sofa
Concert' or Living room show into the normal parlance. That is House
Shows / Living room shows have always been there in the DIY / punk scene
and people with friends in bands have probably had them play a birthday
or an outdoor event.

But it's becoming more common (we see this also in competitor analysis
where they use words like SofaConcert and Wohnzimmer konzert) to think,
for my birthday, I'm going to invite a musician for a private concert.

Obviously, there are other companies as well that have helped normalize
this (Sofar Sounds for instance, bring smaller musicians to unique
spaces), but our model is gennerally the best for the artist.

5. Culture in smaller towns -- we make it easier for touring artists to
visit smaller villages and towns. They might have an event series, or a
local music lover with a barn or big backyard. When they're on
SofaConcerts, they can be found by touring artists -- so you might have
someone from Ann Arbor touring for the summer and meeting a bunch of
locals.

They generally provide food and accomodation and are excited to have
someone there. It supports a different touring model (most of the time
the listeners aren't fans of the band per se, but fans of live music).
Either way, these can be very fulfilling shows for both sides, and
promote cultural exchange.