Move over, Ticketmaster

Whether hearing a favorite band rock their number one hit, or cheering a rising football team as they score the winning touchdown, live events create fond memories among fans and artists, only to be intermittently offset by expensive ticket prices, outlandish service fees and the time-consuming nature of booking gigs and organizing events. However, new emerging websites provide clarity in place of the often-frustrating corporate conglomeration that characterizes current event booking and ticketing sites like Ticketmaster and StubHub, while shifting the power back to fans and artists.

One site, FanFueled.com, suggests its concept by the name; it's "fueled" by the "fans." Created by Georgetown graduate and Chicago native Anderson Bell, the site, which is free to join, not only promotes a collective experience gained from attending live events, it actually rewards fan loyalty by sharing its service fees.


FanFueled works with fans through social media sites like Facebook and Twitter to remove the high costs of marketing spent by event planners. It then shares the money with users, while advancing event awareness and attendance. More broadly, the more a fan shares an event, the more money that fan earns.

Half of FanFueled's service fees enter a pool of money, and rewards are earned based on the contagious effect created when events are apportioned through social media networks. So, let's say you buy a ticket to a concert, share the event details on your Facebook, and two friends see it and purchase tickets from your link. You then earn a commission from each, which could be donated, applied to your next ticket order, or be cashed out using PayPal. If those two friends also share the event, and their friends buy tickets, you earn another commission. The money earned depends on the referral's "degree of separation," and the value of an event's ticket price. Already, fans have earned $2,268.35 through using the site.

"Social media is connecting people with unprecedented efficiency. The key to any successful event is strong word of mouth buzz around that event. The fans are in control, by connecting artists directly with their fans we cut out unnecessary costs to putting on a show, increasing the financial upside for all parties adding real value to an event; the artist, venue and fans," said Bell, "The goal of FanFueled is to increase the overall health of the live music business, empowering artists and venues to connect directly with fans."


GigMaven.com also promotes ease in the live event market, specifically making the booking more efficient for musicians and venues. Founded by Howard Han in 2008, GigMaven grew with GigFest '08, the site's 1st annual charity music festival in New York City, comprised of six venues and 26 up-and-coming musicians. The site's headquarters still reside in New York City's East Village, but are now streamlining the booking process in several cities like Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., Austin and Phoenix.

GigMaven is free for users, and allows both artists and venues to fulfill all of their booking and scheduling needs online, eliminating the frustration over booking via phone, in person, or e-mail. It is extremely easy to use, saving all involved time and money, while providing much needed innovation within live booking space.

"We help musicians find and apply to venues across the US and help venues collect, sort and filter gig submissions as well as provide tools for them to ticket and promote their shows online," said Han, "Our goal is to improve the quality of the live music experience by helping more musicians and venues book, ticket and promote shows in an intelligent manner, which we believe ultimately benefits fans. We have over 9,000 musicians and 2,000 venues on GigMaven, but we still have many more tools and innovations that we would like to roll out, including intelligent touring and booking recommendations."


To purchase tickets, share live events, or book a gig visit Fanfueled.com or Gigmaven.com.