Book Your Favorite Band at Your Next Party With Gigit

Music at house parties and office events usually fails to live up to expectations. Sketchy DJs and co-worker karaoke usually doesn't inspire glass raising and head bobbing. But what if you could book legitimate artists for your private show — at an affordable price? You probably would, right?

That's the premise behind Gigit, a weeks-old Santa Monica, Calif.-based startup bridging the gap between musicians and fans. Music lovers get to book up-and-coming artists. Performers get to play in an intimate setting and expand their audience. Prices are good enough for both to be happy. Plus Gigit has some legitimate talent, including rap legends and Grammy winners Bone Thugs-N-Harmony.

The company founder, Teagan Monique Gaan, met the group's manager and two of their founding members while onboard a Delta airlines flight. They became fast friends and, when Gaan launched, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony played the first official Gigit show.

 

"What I love is that they took a chance with the company," Gaan says. "They didn't act like rock stars."

An in-office show at SHIFT Communications, a PR agency, went well. Then the rappers performed at a Hollywood house party packed with techies grooving to '90s hits like "Crossroads" and "Thuggish Ruggish Bone."

"Within the first hour we got gigs," Lamont Mulligan, the group's manager, told Mashable.

Flesh-N-Bone, one of the group's founding members, is a fan because the platform is increasing his online presence. "I need to drive traffic to my site and hopefully Gigit can do that," says Flesh, who's pursuing a bachelor's in marketing to help grow his brand. "I would love to continue doing business with Gigit."

Sloan Bone, another member of the group, called the partnership an "opportunity to link with true fans."

Gaan, who previously worked corporate stints with Microsoft and SAY Media, flirted with life as an artist, an attempt she admits "made my Asian father cry." She credits that proximity to musicians, and her background in business, with giving her the insight and ability to marry the best of both worlds. She's raised about $360,000 in capital and says she's now being courted by venture capital firms.

Gigit gets paid by charging a host 20% of the artist's fees, and a performer 5% of their show rate. Twenty bands are available (mostly emerging artists in California) and four shows have been played.

So far industry buzz has been positive. Particularly because the shows facilitate a back and forth neither performer nor listener can easily get at loud clubs or packed arenas.

"Sometimes artists don't want to just perform at big concerts," explains rapper Shawn Chrystopher, who next month releases an album executive produced by Timbaland. "Sometimes they want to perform at house partys and birthdays."

Singer-songwriter Haroula Rose who's played at venues across the country, including SXSW, says one of the gifts of playing to small groups is a "truer and deeper interaction with people. You can see and feel how much music is a powerful tool, and meeting friends you didn't know you had out there."

Monina Castillo of Sofar Sounds L.A., a producer of live music performances, calls Gigit "a great opportunity and optional revenue stream, especially for up and coming, working class artists."

Gaan says Gigit isn't an insult to agents and managers. "We're here to say there has to be a better way. The music industry is broken right now. We live in a streaming world. We don't have to pay for music but we will pay for a live experience."

Homepage image courtesy of iStockphoto, dwphotos; Images courtesy of Gigit