– JONATHAN WIDRAN
BANDZOOGLE bandzoogle.com
E
mpowering Musicians Since 2003: Over 15 years after its launch, Bandzoogle continues to fulfill its founding mission to be the most effective and wide-ranging platform for musicians and bands to build their websites and EPKs, and manage direct-to-fan sales. Currently powering over 37,000 websites, the all-in-one platform features powerful design components, commission-free options to sell music, merch and tickets, as well as built-in crowdfunding and subscription features; mailing list tools; detailed fan data; integrations with social networks and more. Bandzoogle also integrates with music platforms like Bandcamp, SoundCloud and the event calendar platform Bandsintown. To date, Bandzoogle’s members have sold over $36M in music, merch and tickets, all commission-free. There are three monthly pricing plans: Lite ($8.29/mo., billed annually), Standard ($12.46/mo., billed annually) and Pro ($16.63/ mo. billed annually or $19.95 per month), which all include premium hosting and a custom .com web address. Humble Beginnings: In 1999, Bandzoogle’s founder Chris Vinson built a site for his alt-rock band Rubberman. Grassroots promotion, plus the online community that the website created, helped the band get a record deal. Between tours, he worked at Aquarius Records building websites for multi-platinum artists. To save time, he built a “control panel” to enable managers and artists to update and adjust content themselves. Realizing this could help indie bands and musicians build and update sites, Vinson launched Bandzoogle in 2003.
Brand New Subscriptions Feature: Bandzoogle’s new Subscriptions feature allows artists to offer online fan clubs on their sites, creating stronger fan communities along with additional income streams. Available to all three tiers of Bandzoogle accounts and 100% commission-free, musicians can determine the monthly cost, invite their fans and then create subscriber-only pages that they can customize with blog feeds, music players, videos, photos, a store, or any of Bandzoogle’s extensive library of features. A Word from the CEO: In 2007, Ottawa native Stacey Bedford began working at Bandzoogle as a support technician. As she became more involved in the company, Bedford played key roles in leading the company’s growth. Named company Chairman and CEO in 2018, Bedford—a guitarist—leads a team of 25, who are mostly musicians themselves. All of Bandzoogle’s staff work remotely with no central office, a testament to her technological and organizational skills as well as her commitment to work-life balance. “Our goal at Bandzoogle is to develop relevant tools for our members that build direct-to-fan relationships, and ultimately help them generate income,” she says. “Providing these tools allows them to focus more on their art and less on the business side. We help them take the guesswork out of that. We pride ourselves on a family-like environment that provides exceptional, quick-response customer service. It’s fulfilling to work with artists who are so passionate about what they do.” See bandzoogle.com 16 September 2019
musicconnection.com
September 2019
musicconnection.com
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