Your band's gig is tonight and your drummer is sick. You want to make a website for your music but don't have any professional photos. Your lyrics are great, but you need to find a producer with killer beats for your track.
Artists used to have to take to Facebook or Craigslist to find musicians to fill a last-minute gig or collaborate on a song. But Jammber, a Chicago startup housed in 1871, wants to create an easy and effective way for artists to collaborate and make great music. Say your band does in fact need a drummer for an upcoming show. You can post an "open call" to Jammber and those in the system who are drummers will be notified. If the drummer wants the gig, he or she clicks "I'm interested" and a profile is sent with demos and other information about the artist. If the band likes what they see, they can connect with the drummer and start making music.
It's a pretty simple concept, but it's much more effective that gambling with random artists you find on Craigslist, said Jammber co-founder Marcus Cobb.
"Most of those ads look like serial killer ads," joked Cobb. "There are no pictures. There's no way to qualify that person ... Finding people to create music is harder than finding someone to date."
Jammber set out to create a way for musicians to find other musicians, choreographers, photographers, stylists, producers, you name it. And vice versa. Someone looking for a gig can also post to Jammber in hopes of connecting with a local band. The site is expected to go live in a month and a half, and will focus solely on connecting Chicago artists before expanding into other markets next year, Cobb said.
"We're enabling and empowering artists to make music the way they want to make it," he said. "In Chicago, we have all this talent, just not a place where we're all talking."
Jammber isn't geared toward one style of music, Cobb added. HipHop, Opera, Jam Bands, Punk Rock and other genres will have access to the resources that can accelerate their careers. The hyperlocal element also sets Jammber apart from other social networks, so Chicago musicians know they are communicating with local talent. The company plans to expand to Austin by January and Nashville by April.
The site will initially be free to use, but it could go to a "freemium" model down the road, Cobb said. Another source of revenue could be allowing producers to sell their beats on Jammber, he added.
After a soft-launch last year, Cobb learned that Jammber needed to be less like Facebook--a scrolling list of requests--and more targeted to individuals with specific skills. Cobb credits the mentorship the company has received at 1871 for helping Jammber grow.
"It's accelerated our learning," he said. "I think the most valuable part of 1871 has been their mentors and office hours ... These people come ready to empower startups."
Image via Jammber
