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TommyJams: Online networking forum that connects musicians and bands across India

Biswarup Gooptu, ET Bureau Oct 18, 2013, 04.31AM IST
(Founded by Parth Saxena…)

Earning a living through live concerts can be a daunting task for professional musicians in India due to the lack of formal networks that link performers with organisers. It is this gap that two technology entrepreneurs are hoping to fill by creating a virtual forum to connect various members of the music industry.

TommyJams, a 10-month-old Bangalore-based startup originally incubated at Stanford University's Venture Lab, has built an online networking forum that connects musicians and bands across the country with venues looking to hire them.

Founded by Parth Saxena and Nikhil Kapur, both alumni of Delhi College of Engineering, TommyJams has connected more than 700 artists and bands across India with more than 100 venues. This has led to over 400 shows so far.

"Even the more well-known bands find it hard to access gigs, and then there is a problem with financial transparency," said Saxena, 24.

Event managers typically charge a hefty commission from both organisers as well as musicians. TommyJams, which was started with seed capital of Rs 18,000, aims to remove this practice.

The startup's proprietary platform acts as an online marketplace that allows musicians and venues to interact directly. Details such as organiser budgets and artiste biographies are available on the website, making it transparent for all concerned parties in reaching an agreement. "It's a fantastic platform for musicians in India, because it gets rid of the middlemen. Given the website's features, there is much more clarity than anywhere else currently," said Gowri, a Mumbai-based award-winning singer and songwriter, who uses only her first name.

A few artist management companies such as Mumbai-based Only Much Louder, which conducts the NH& Weekender festival, have emerged over the last decade, but the differentiator between them and TommyJams is the use of technology to build a networking platform.

The company's revenue model includes taking a flat 20 per cent commission on every successful booking, and according to its founders, the monthly revenue is now around Rs 1.5 lakh. The startup, being incubated at Microsoft Ventures Accelerator, expects to earn revenue of about Rs 40 lakh for the financial year ended March 2014. Both Saxena and Kapur, who quit their jobs with Texas Instruments and Microsoft respectively in October last year, are currently working to add newer features to the platform, such as ensuring greater fan participation. "TommyJams makes it more personalised. No longer will fans, bands or venues have to scour local listings for news and reviews," said Saxena.

They also plan to launch an integrated ticketing gateway on the website, as well as bookings for musicians outside the country's shores. "There's not a whole lot of competition for them, but if they can do it right, they will create a brand with a high degree of brand equity," said Raj Chinai, cofounder of Harvard Alumni Angels India.