Every business has an office in any form where it’s administration is done.
For artists, it’s very likely that this office lies neglected somewhere between guitar tabs, notes, travel documents, ashtrays, empty cans, new and old guitar strings (hey, I found my pic!) and is usually as up-to-date as the magazines in a doctor’s waiting room.
It’s not that artists are always super unorganized (though some stereotypes might still be true), there are simply no set standards.
Additionally, artists usually have to wear several different hats. They have to be creators, managers, marketers, secretaries, etc. With all these functions to juggle, there are no cognitive resources and no time left to put into learning technical details and new tools. And because coordination and communication with promoters and other artists — as painstaking and sensitive to errors as it is — usually works out, more or less, why bother changing anything?
Organization remains a case-by-case task that way. But what work-sciences have known for a long time seemingly hasn’t been established in the music industry: Organization isn’t the enemy of creativity, it’s a driver! Organizing things exposes resources, minimizes risk and makes you more effective at what you do.
Management systems exist for all types of industries and disciplines. Yet, the music industry, with it’s very special needs revolving around collaboration and information, is completely missing an all-in-one solution.
Well, to be frank, not anymore.
Optune: The Office
Within Optune, we’ve built the digital office for artists that connects them with every player in the live entertainment business. And before you think, “Is this another solution by wannabe inventors?”, think again. This solution emerged from a team of musicians, DJs, promoters and programmers with over 50 years of combined experience in the business. We. Know. The. Damn. Pains. And we got sick of them. Optune is our attempt to change that.
The Optune universe provides artist with a framework for their office tasks. There is the office in which all operations are coordinated, the business card to exchange contact details, the webpage to inform the public, and a reception department to direct visitors to the right office.
The core is the web app Optune. It enables artists, agents, promoters and venue managers to collaborate on and organize events together. artists can set their availability, itineraries, riders, are provided with schedules and timetables, and all can create and exchange contracts and invoices with automatic templates. Optune facilitates the sharing and processing of all relevant event details, and every player can view the event and contribute to it.
Artist Profile: The business card
A biography, press kit, downloadable artwork and riders, and a Booking Request form are the standard features that every artist profile includes on Optune. All the bookers out there are probably drooling a bit right now because the annoying “Man, can you finally send me your press kit and rider” email that they have to send out regularly is history.
The artists should be drooling too! Optune keeps everyone in the loop by giving access to files and information to an artist’s crew; they no longer have to bother explaining to their bandmates in which folder on Dropbox they can find them.
Furthermore, an artist can place a link to their profile wherever it’s possible (eg. Soundcloud as “Book me” link) or have it as a footer in their email and draw bookers to the Booking Request button while providing them with exactly the information they need.
Onescreener: The homepage
Excessive Websites are outdated, time consuming to keep the subpages updated and up until this point, it seems that very, very few artists are up to the task of building a webpage on their own… Or they just don’t have the time. A one-pager that directs visitors to social media channels, displays concert information, and includes some powerful visuals is all an up-and-coming artist really needs.
The important and difficult elements, besides design, are mostly technical ones. Search engine optimization (SEO) has become a discipline on its own for a reason. In a world where the top 5 search results harness the bulk of the clicks, it’s important to appear there at the top and get your content seen.
A Onescreener is designed with minimalism in mind, to show an artist’s most important content, and to address technical questions before the user has to ask them. Also, (and here’s what’s really cool about it) it’s linked to the Optune universe. This way, embedding a Booking Request form or an Upcoming Gig Widget doesn’t involve having to write a code line or creating a plug-in — it’s just the click of a button!
A complete webpage within 10 minutes just by signing up, uploading some files, clicking on some buttons and then hitting “Publish”? You’re welcome.
Onstage: The reception
Finally, in this office example I’ve been illustrating, there needs to be something like a reception desk where visitors can ask, “Where do I find XYZ?”.
In the Optune universe, that’s Onstage. An Artist Browser where bookers can search for and immediately book an artist, and where they’ll find *snare rolls* the Artist Profile with *snare rolls intensifyinging* all of the information discussed above AND *snare rolls invoke gods of awesomeness* access to the artist’s Booking Request form. Voila.
Conclusion:
While providing artists with a fully functioning and automatized office, Optune simplifies and standardizes the bookings management processes for the entire live entertainment industry on the way there. Each participant gains a lot of time, and is provided with modern tools to help master the challenges of succeeding as an artist, agent, promoter or venue manager. It’s the digital office that everyone in the business needs.
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