Encore wants to make it easy to book a musician or band for your event

Encore, a U.K. startup and graduate of Entrepreneur Initially, is one more case in point of a corporation attempting to disrupt the classic agency product. Targeting scheduling companies, it lets you come across and reserve a musician or band on the web for your celebration. The marketplace has now attracted about 18,000 musicians, and I’m instructed thirty for each cent are lively every thirty day period.

To additional mature the corporation, Encore is disclosing that it has lifted just about £560,000 in Seed funding. It ideas to use the new cash to broaden its group and commence compensated marketing in a bid to enhance the need aspect of its marketplace.

Noteworthy is that Entrepreneur Initially by itself has participated in the round. The expense is the initially produced community from the corporation builder’s new £40 million “Next Phase Fund”, which it set up to back alumni organizations with follow-on funding.

“Finding wonderful musicians for your venue or celebration is a nightmare,” states Encore co-founder James McAulay. “The scheduling procedure is clunky and slow, frequently requires weeks, and after you have finally observed the correct team or musician, confirming the scheduling will involve a minefield of contracts, invoices and aged-university payments. Following this, the telephone calls and textual content information commence, alongside with organising the logistics of the venue and deposit payments… the checklist is endless”.

In addition to building it simpler to reserve musicians and bands, McAulay states that Encore aims to increase pay out and disorders for the musicians them selves by reducing out (and replacing) the classic agency center man or woman. “Musicians are tired of getting ripped off by classic brokers who acquire a significant lower and frequently do not have the musicians’ ideal pursuits at coronary heart,” he states. “Encore provides transparency to an business that desperately demands it”.

The website is effective as follows: all those putting on an celebration just post the form of musician or band they want to use, furnishing specifics like instrument, style, and time and area. Encore then requires that facts and sends out an alert to matching musicians and bands who are registered on its mobile app.

Musicians that are readily available and interested then answer with a quote and the booker can verify their profile and Soundcloud back links etc., and ask any follow up questions just before building a scheduling. Payment is then processed by way of Encore, which requires a fifteen for each cent scheduling fee alongside the way.

“Instead of forcing clients to browse directories of musicians who may perhaps not be readily available, we ask for one particular enquiry that is then despatched to community performers,” points out McAulay. “Available functions answer with a tailor-made quote for the celebration, commonly within 20 minutes, supplying the consumer a shortlist of suited functions to decide on from. Fast, straightforward and efficient”.