At American Public Media’s “Marketplace” program on Thursday (9/25), Tobin Low writes about a company called Groupmuse, referred to by co-founder Sam Bodkin as “the Airbnb of classical music…. Groupmuse—started in 2012 and run by Bodkin, Ezra Weller and Kyle Nichols-Schmolze—matches Groupmuse users looking to host a concert with willing musicians needing a venue to perform. Once a match is set up, other ‘Groupmusers’ are invited to attend, creating an event that’s part house concert, part party, part social platform…. It’s a melding of some of Bodkin’s experiences: his travels through Europe using online platform couchsurfing.com to find people willing to host him, and his love of classical music…. Members interested in attending a Groupmuse connect through Facebook, sending a message to prospective hosts to introduce themselves before the event. Additionally, musicians who regularly perform have access to guest lists of people who come to their performances and are regular Groupmuse attendees…. Groupmuse is currently up and running in three cities (New York, Boston and San Francisco)…. Bodkin would like to see it turn into a tool for musicians to manage their careers…. He even has a startup buzzword for it: ‘Micropatronage.’ ”
Posted October 1, 2014
