What Is This? Why Am I Here?

2008-12-15T06:02:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the Production Stage of PhillyLIVE.

We aim to be a reference, a map, and your best friend. PhillyLIVE wants to help people get back into the art of going to multiple shows a week, supporting local artists, and getting excited in advance for their favorite artists finally coming to town.

All of our newspapers give the weeks advance listings-don't you want to know more than a week ahead? How often has it happened you realize that so-and-so is playing at TLA the day after tomorrow, you didn't know till today, and it's been sold out since last week.

PhillyLIVE wants to keep you in the know, and get you excited for everything in advance. The whole spirit of music is having fun, and more people should re embrace the art of seeing live music.

Future ambitions of this page include:

- MORE READER INVOLVEMENT / READER GENERATED CONTENT
we are completely open to linking to public reviews and photos. we want everyone out there to be involved! got something to say? say it here!

- PARTNERING WITH LOCAL VENUES
we want to get promotions and advertisements from where these shows are happening. If we know information about a particular place ahead of time, we aim to get it out there as fast as possible.

-WEEKLY COLUMNS INCLUDING:
reviews, noteworthy pick of the week (preferably one per venue, as a "what you cannot miss this week" type of recommendation, links to pages for up and coming local artists, etc.

-PUBLICATION
initially, this was not envisioned in blog form (nor a blog this ugly). this ideally would be offered as a leaflet inside local papers, tossed in coffee shops and galleries, free for the taking anywhere people are.
afterwords, it would be offered as a monthly calendar and mini magazine. reviews and recommendations, a calendar per venue, reader submissions. it would be a bible for music in the city, and a physical guide to plan with. online is confusing. so far, all links are now organized in one place but you still have to check via site. getting a physical guide into peoples hands for a larger spectrum of time than just a week ahead would be the ultimate goal.

BUT FOR NOW....
a starting reference point. more to come.....

Keeping You In Touch With What's Going On: Welcome to Philly Live

2008-12-12T11:06:00.000-08:00

Philly LIVE

Mission Statement

Philly LIVE wants to keep readers informed about where they should be in the upcoming months. Readers of Philly LIVE are music lovers, people in the know, and people who love to get excited about things to come. Readers of this magazine will have an encyclopedia of the best things going on in their city in the weeks to come.

Audience

The demographic for Philly LIVE ranges from the 15-18 crowd who are just getting the freedom from their parents to go out to shows, the 18-20 crowd who want to be around older people but aren’t quite allowed everywhere free and clear yet, the 21-35 crowd who just wants to have a fun good time and go places with the best shows, and even hopefully can reach the 36+ crowd, or even just the young at heart.

Reaching this audience can start by being distributed through existing names-as an insert monthly in local papers and magazines, tossed on train seats and in coffee shops, and handed out after shows at participating venues. Hopefully this will bring in enough revenue over time to make a bimonthly or quarterly for-sale magazine, with a smaller distribution still being handed out places. The bimonthly or quarterly pieces would be able to be sold for profit because they would be larger in scale and contain actual articles and photographs.

Information Provided

Philly LIVE is a calendar and index of shows and events. It will give information about things upcoming in various time increments, with stickers and places to mark what shows the reader wants to make sure not to forget about. Hopefully partnerships with venues advertising will also lead to providing discounts at shows for subscribers.

Editorial Calendar

Bi-Weekly / Monthly Free Distribution

-index of upcoming shows, listed by venue or date-in website form, the reader should be able to get information in either way (day calendars and venue lists, based on preference of searching).

- any coupons or deals put in by advertisers (TBD)

-one or two articles on highlighted shows

Bi-Monthly / Quarterly Distribution

-larger-scale calendar, equal to the distribution time of the magazine

-better descriptions of events

-Deals from Advertisers / Potential Sampler cds from venues to give people previews of upcoming artists

-Full Length articles on local venues, shows, music news, artists, etc.

-Venue Spotlight: participating venues give their pick of what their best upcoming show is

-reviews of places to EAT around each venue, fan recommendations

-Photo Section: people can send in photos they took at shows that already happened for free potential printing within the magazine (voluntary submissions, gets people involved and picking up the mag)

FUTURE MILESTONES

How to Get People To Buy A Product that Should Begin As Free:

-Offer DEALS, DEALS, DEALS inside. More information, more articles, reader submissions, more information about places to check out. Hook them in with a good mini sample, and entice them into wanting to buy a larger scale version of the whole thing.

Keeping Venues Involved / Distributing Advertising

-It will be hard not to play favorites towards one venue contributing more money than another. Obviously the people putting in more money will expect more press. Highlighting event articles SHOULD be given to venues / artists contributing more money, but calendars of events should give all the same information per place, not shortchange anyone. More fetails of this would need to be worked out in the future.

Alternative Revenue Streams

Food vendors around music-oriented areas

Merchandise Distributors

Self-supporting artists

Local cd stores

Bars

Alcohol advertising (feels appropriate)

GOALS

WITHIN THE NEXT YEAR:

Distribution Deals with Local Papers / Mags for leaflets and etc.

WITHIN THE NEXT 5 YEARS:

BiMonthly Real Local Music Magazine

Potential Distribution/Expansion to Other Cities. This Idea Can Thrive Places Besides Philly!