Sold-out shows are a blessing 鈥� and, in a way, a curse. Because even for your most in-demand shows, you can鈥檛 adjust supply to attract more fans.
鈥淎s a music club owner, once you sell out a show, you can鈥檛 sell any more tickets,鈥� says Adam Thurston, the Director of Operations at Audiotree, which owns iconic Chicago venues Lincoln Hall and Schubas Tavern. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a ceiling to how many people can enjoy a band live in that room.鈥�
His solution? Livestreaming their shows to a global fanbase online.
Building an online fanbase
Thurston and his co-founders started Audiotree back in 2010. The production company hosted , a popular video series of live performances from more than 750 bands in their studio. From the moment Audiotree took ownership of Lincoln Hall and Schubas Tavern in 2015, they wanted to tap into Audiotree鈥檚 online presence to make shows accessible to a broader audience. 聽
鈥淲e wanted to use Audiotree production skills to stream live,鈥� Thurston says. 鈥淪treaming those shows around the world gets more eyeballs, and those big metrics keep bands interested.鈥�
And it鈥檚 working 鈥� Audiotree鈥檚 YouTube channel has 180,000 subscribers, which Thurston says is climbing by about 5,000 each month. In the process, they鈥檙e attracting new fans (and sponsors) to their venues.
鈥淲e鈥檙e streaming to bring these shows to life and help us get the word out,鈥� Thurston says. 鈥淧eople are consuming the media we鈥檙e putting out, and it鈥檚 allowed us to create a worldwide fan base. As videos from Lincoln Hall get spread around social media, more people get curious about the venue, which is a combo that feeds off each other to build our brand.鈥�
Attracting sponsors through streaming
As they鈥檝e built their online fanbase, Thurston has partnered with big-name brands including Lagunitas, New Belgium, and Lyft.
鈥淲e鈥檙e getting eyeballs from all over the world, in their target demographic,鈥� Thurston says. Their online and live audience is mostly 21-35 year olds, who are in high demand from sponsors.
With 137,000 tickets sold last year, Thurston has also experimented with sponsorship activations at the shows themselves. They鈥檝e featured products in their venues, and offered reduced rates for Lyft trips to and from the shows.
By combining in-person and online streaming experiences 鈥� from the performance to the sponsors 鈥� Audiotree has been able to build their audience even further.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a great way for us to get their brand recognition,鈥� Thurston says.
Want to learn more about Thurston鈥檚 other strategies to expand his venues鈥� audience? Read the full interview here.
