A timely boost

It is fair to say that the music industry, artists and fans don’t always pull in the same direction, whether it’s on the issue of illegal downloading of music or TV talent shows.

But one Northern Ireland-based website hopes to bring artists, fans and the industry together. Boost The Music, the brainchild of Jennifer Cairns and her partner Sean, went live in July. The site allows bands and fans to register a profile and build up interest in their local music scene, while labels have a one-stop shop to get a clearer picture of how up-and-coming bands are doing.
“We were just looking for a way to help the music industry to regain more scene-based local musicians,” explains Jennifer.
“There seemed to be a real gap for musicians who were doing well in their local scene but not able to break out of that scene. Also from a social media point of view, there is a lot of good stuff on MySpace, Facebook, Twitter but a lot of that information is scattered.”
Boost The Music allows bands to keep track of all the information that exists about them on other sites like Facebook and Twitter. For example, they can find out how many fans they have on Facebook or how many Twitter followers they have, all in one place. They can also post their YouTube videos and songs from iTunes and SoundCloud onto the site.

Revenue can also be raised on Boost The Music via the sale of cheap virtual merchandise.
“It’s a two-fold system. It’s good for industry and bands to have everything in one place and it’s also good for them to have a good connection with fans. It gives an outlet for fans who can go in and write a review of the band and post it onto the band page,” says Jennifer.
“Especially in these economic times that we’re having, fans can’t afford to spend 15 quid on a band T-shirt. So what we’ve done is to allow fans to buy something virtual for a couple of pounds, with the proceeds going to the bands. There is also a points system for bands and fans depending on reviews and interviews. It gives the industry a truer picture of all the social contacts and interactions bands have with their fans.”
Fans can write reviews or comment on their local bands on the website, gaining boost points for themselves and also for the bands. The more points a fan earns, the more activities he or she can take part in on the site, such as uploading interviews and videos.
It is still early days for Boost The Music. So far, the Belfast music scene has been put up on the site with Dublin’s on the way soon. But rising stars from Northern Ireland like Kowalski, Henrietta Game, In Case Of Fire and Yes Cadets have embraced the project by setting up their band profiles.
And although Boost The Music is currently focusing on the Irish market for the next 18 months, Jennifer hopes to take the project beyond Ireland and into the UK. She believes that it could be key to rebuilding bridges between fans, artists and the industry.

“If you look at things from a scene point of view, there is a balance between fans, bands and the industry. The artists obviously have a big influence on the scene and how they promote themselves,” says Jennifer.
“Fans also have a big influence because they will write reviews and they are going to be socially active. They are going to tweet about local acts and have a huge impact as well. With industry feedback, bands are going to get more gigs and more label interest so it’s a catch 22, chicken-and-egg scenario. One can’t exist without the other.”
If fans, bands and artists do end up pulling in the same direction off the back of projects like Boost The Music, then that is something to celebrate.

See boostthemusic.com