How Artists Can Validate Fan Demand Before Booking Shows

13-Jul-2026 By Meagan Clements

Independent musician Taylor Hanson performs at The Hotel Cafe,
an intimate, 250-capacity venue in Los Angeles, Calif. on March 20.

Published: July 2026 | Reading Time: 8 minutes | For Independent Artists, Managers, Booking Agents & Touring Musicians

Introducing the youbloomConnect audience validation pilot:

Artists spend thousands of dollars and countless hours trying to figure out where they should play next.

What if fans could help answer that question?

That’s the idea behind youbloomConnect, a new platform that helps artists identify where genuine audience demand exists before committing to venues, travel costs or tours.

youbloom supports:

Independent Music
Venues in the 50-500 space

Part 1: The Problem

youbloomConnect Pilot

youbloom is inviting a small number of artists — roughly five to 10 — to participate in a youbloomConnect pilot focused on turning fan demand into real, confirmed shows. The pilot reduces booking risks, identifies stronger markets and supports smarter routing decisions.

youbloom CEO Phil Harrington is optimistic about new things on the horizon.

The only way that artists can make money at the moment in any consistent way is playing live, he said.

The pilot is designed to help artists, managers, and booking agents better identify where meaningful audience demand exists before committing to shows, travel or venue costs.

Part 2: How the Pilot Works

The Power Within the Fans

The concept is simple. Fans request the cities where they want to see an artist perform. As demand builds, artists gain visibility into audience interest by city, fan engagement levels, sharing activity and local momentum and potential early ticket intent.

Harrington thought for a moment.

Artists are very, very stuck to be able to get gigs and tours, he said.

Where strong demand exists, fans may later be invited to place a refundable pledge toward a potential event. The purpose is not crowdfunding, but rather validating genuine purchase intent before moving forward with a show.

Part 3: Why it Matters

Reducing Risk

Harrington weighed in on the importance of the pilot in reducing risk.

What we’ve got for [artists] is gold dust, he said.

Picture this — you’re a German hard rock band signed to an independent label. You have fans in The States, but you don’t know where demand is strongest. Why guess when you can see where fans are actively requesting a show? Momentum is building. Before committing to venues and travel expenses, let youbloomConnect solve your touring dilemma.

In a recent blog aptly titled, A Sit-Down with Sam Lewis on Career Longevity and Creative Control, the independent songster praised youbloom and the upcoming pilot.

“There’s a great place right now for youbloom and what it has to offer,” Lewis said.

Part 4: Who Should Apply

We Want You!

Youbloom is interested in speaking with artists who have an engaged audience, are currently touring or planning to tour, are open to actively engaging fans during the pilot and see value in audience and market validation tools.

Harrington paused.

We just have to communicate clearly [to artists] what we’ve got for them, he said. They’ll do the rest themselves.

The pilot will involve a small number of selected artists and campaigns over approximately six weeks.

Part 5: About youbloom

Building on Experience

youbloom has spent years working with artists, audiences, showcases, festivals, and live events internationally. This pilot builds on that experience and explores new ways to connect audience demand with live event opportunities.

Harrington reflected on the current state of the music industry, speaking to concert promoters, tour managers and booking agents.

They need to get the picture that [touring] is the biggest problem that artists have at the moment, he said.

Once demand is validated through youbloom’s pilot program, artists will need to prepare their performance — check out youbloom’s Ultimate Concert and Live Show Planning Guide for step-by-step tips on how to deliver a great show.

Interested in participating in the youbloomConnect pilot and discovering where demand already exists? Apply for the free youbloomConnect Audience Validation Pilot by July 31. Selected artists will test fan demand by city before committing to shows.

Apply for the youbloomConnect Pilot.

How to Hook the Super-Fan

07-Jul-2018 By Josey Dunbar Leave a Comment

Contrary to popular belief, a super-fan is not always a crazed group of followers or a die-hard groupie. All brands have super-fans. They’re a key component in building and sustaining a successful career by enagaging a solid fanbase.

The question then becomes: what classifies as a brand and how do you build one that attracts enough super fans.

Dreaming of Jupiter at Musikmesse 2018

The term super-fan refers to an individual who supports a brand and everything that brand produces. Artists depend on super-fans as a bedrock of support. When on tour, a band can trust that their super-fans will show up, buy merch, and be tweeting about the show long after it’s over. When band’s establish a healthy base of super-fans, they are establishing a continuous body of support that can last throughout their careers.

From Starbucks to your local coffee shop that plays nothing but bluegrass, all brands attract super-fans. This comes down to the fact that people are drawn to originality. Every brand needs its own niche to attract a sustaining number of super-fans.

Who will your super-fans be?

Before a company, artist or individual can successfully attract, engage, and retain super-fans they must have a well-established brand. At the end of the day, there are billions of different people in the world with trillions of different interests; this means every brand who successfully markets a clear and individual niche has a high likelihood of attracting super-fans.

Building a brand comes down to three things: intended audience, clarity of product, and quality of service.

Whether you’re trying to market your sound or attract a wider demographic of ticket-buyers, your brand begins with your unique offerings and intended audience. Detecting what sets you apart is the quickest way to identify the basis for your brand.

After establishing a solid brand with individualized characteristics that will attract super-fans, the task becomes maintaining engagement from those fans. This maintained loyalty is often seen when artists create personal relationships with fans and release a steady flow of their branded product (shows, recorded music, etc.).

In addition to establishing these bonds, the branded product must retain its super-fan as the brand grows.

Joining a community with inter-industry connections can make a huge difference too. Today, a lot of artists are finding security in artist networks, like youbloomConnect, which help bands grow their fanbase and develop their brand through artist-partnering and co-marketing tactics. Definitely check out our guide to how youbloomConnect works if you want to learn more about our strategy.

Ultimately, developing a brand comes down to originality. Pursuing what sets you apart and working to maintain relations with super-fans as your brand-base expands will ensure your success in the future marketing of your music.

Indie Artists: Be Your Own Booking Agent

27-May-2018 By Guest Blogger 3 Comments

Time to Drop the Booking Agent, Here’s How to Book Your Own Shows

No one knows better than an indie artist how frustrating and stressful it can be to book shows, tour, and perform. The struggle, when it comes to getting in touch with venues, managers and bookers, is quite real. Hiring a booking agent may seem like the easy answer, but if the royalties aren’t exactly flowing in yet, you might not be in the financial position to do this. What to do, then? Let’s not forget that we are the DIY generation, we do it ourselves. Here’s how to book your own shows.

Photo Courtesy of The Magnettes

Perhaps you’ve made a list of all the venues that would fit your music, sound, and style, and yet it’s nearly impossible to get them to give you a decent time slot. You will most likely get an 11pm weeknight spot or a 3pm Sunday afternoon one, and we all know that no one is going to miss brunch to catch your new band at what promises to be an empty, desolated venue.

When you ask for a better, higher profile slot, the booking agent usually says: “Well, how many people can you draw?”. If the answer is more than 20, then you’ve got yourself a Friday night show. However, if your response is anything less, you’ll have to wait patiently in line until your following is bigger.

Which brings us to our next point.

Book Others, to Book Yourself.

How is a band supposed to grow a fan base if the only shows they can play occur when people are watching Netflix or in a yoga class? Good question indeed. Those who manage to bring a good crowd are those who are either already established or have a lot of friends in town. Venues are not going to bet on a new indie artist nor are they looking for the next big act to feature before they blow up. Venues want to break even. They want to see the money they spend on a typical Friday night come back in full, and if possible make a little profit.

Be your own booking agent. Look for an equally unknown band that shares your ambitions, ethos, and sound and put a show together. Perhaps, pick a less reputable venue in your town; smaller and more intimate is ideal. Make sure you market the show as a party; a night to have some fun and enjoy some live music. Startups like Sofar Sounds have built a brand around this exact experience and platforms like youbloomConnect match local indie artists with one another, making it easy for bands to come together and book.

Each band will bring their friends, and if you advertised the event properly, their friends will bring other friends looking for a fun night.

Play the show, distribute some t-shirts, have a beer and repeat.

One of two things will happen. You will either get a call from the bigger venues looking to book your band or you won’t need them anymore because your fan base has been growing without their help.

You should hope for the latter.

Photo Courtesy of The Magnettes

About the Blogger

Luca a freelance writer, blogger, musician and songwriter. Born and
raised in Italy, his passion for Rock n Roll made him move to London where he
lived for one year and gained a certificate in Songwriting from ICMP.
Luca relocated in NYC in 2014 to pursue jazz music and liberal arts at the
The New School from which he graduated in December 2017. Luca currently
resides in Nashville, TN

Jessica Meuse Is Halfhearted On New Album

21-May-2018 By Robert Loustaunau Leave a Comment

American Idol’s Jessica Meuse will have her first full-length album, “Halfhearted,” released on August 3rd via Warrior Records/eOne.

Penned by Meuse, the 15-song album is a retrospect of her life, loves, and breakups, which is aptly being released to coincide with National Girlfriend Day.

“I am thrilled to release my debut album, ‘Halfhearted!’ It’s my first major release since my time on American Idol, and it truly embodies who I am as a singer, writer, and musician,” commented Meuse. “My dedicated fans have been waiting for a while, and I’m happy to say the wait is going to be completely worth it! This is my best work yet, and I hope everyone loves it as much as I loved creating it. This is only the beginning!”

Jessica’s song, “Love Her Better,” has risen for 14 weeks up to #2 currently on The Iceman’s Top 40 New Country Artist Chart and is also #1 this week on the Euro Academy of Country Music Chart, with over 100k views of the music video on YouTube. The track will become available June 1st, along with the album preorder, on all retail outlets. Subsequent songs from “Halfhearted” will also become on June 15th (“High”), June 29th (“California Dream”), and July 13th (“Thank God It Didn’t Work”), with the full album releasing on August 3rd.

Thematically, Meuse’s collection of songs delves into the heartfelt dedication that has always driven her to succeed.

“The album is titled, ‘Halfhearted,’ which can be interpreted in several ways — which was also my intent,” said Jessica. “For me, ‘Halfhearted’ is about the duality of everything, from the macro-cosmic concept of good versus evil to the darkness and light within each and every one of us. It’s about taking the two extremes…because they are a part of something much, much bigger.”

The album also features a guest appearance duet by friend and fellow American Idol alumni, Bo Bice, on Jessica’s composition, “Without You.” Commercially, Meuse became the first person in the history of American Idol to perform her own original song, “Blue-Eyed Lie,” during the show’s finals.

“I wrote most of these songs after Idol, and they are a direct reflection of everything I have gone through emotionally and mentally in the time that’s followed,” relates Meuse. “It means the world to me to be a songwriter and be able to take a thought — a simple line or even just a word — and turn it into something real. A lot of the songs on “Halfhearted” came to me like a slap in the face. They just happened. Music has always been a therapeutic and healing power for me, so writing this album was what has held me together. It’s my heart and soul opened up for the world to see.”

Jessica Meuse’s Halfhearted Release

The past year has been a busy one for Jessica with the new album production, increased touring, a 2017 Female Vocalist of the Year Nomination (Texas Country Music Awards), and 2018 Best Female Vocalist Finalist (14th Annual International Acoustic Music Awards). The summer will see Meuse in concert at various festivals and an extensive radio tour through the fall, beginning Memorial Day Weekend with a May 27th performance at Brat Fest in Madison, WI, where she and her band go on before Black Stone Cherry.

Jessica Meuse – Socials:

Website || Instagram || Facebook || Twitter || YouTube || Tour Notifications

Crowdsourcing: Will it Really Shape Your Music Career?

15-May-2018 By Josey Dunbar Leave a Comment

What is Crowdsourcing?

“Crowdsourcing” can be defined as a sourcing model which enables individuals to gain a particular good or service through an exchange. Today, crowdsourcing is quite prominent between artists of all disciplines. Musicians, sculptors and designers connect through crowdsourcing sites where they can gain exposure as well as promotional opportunities. Naturally, there are hundreds of platforms out there where an artist can get connected but the trick is finding the two or three platforms that are actually good.

What about Crowdfunding?

So, now you understand crowdsourcing, hopefully you’re familiar with crowdsurfing – I’ve got one more for you: crowdfunding. Crowdfunding is often a group of people coming together to fund some business venture through small financial intakes. This could be a musician whose revenue for a show comes from ticket sales sold through a crowdsourcing platform. This brings us right back to the quintessential issue of how to choose the right connection agency to help you crowdsource.

It all comes down to what you are looking for.

Crowdsourcing conference at youbloomDublin Music Festival & Summit

Though crowdsourcing and crowdfunding originate in the same place, focusing on one can help artists when narrowing down their options. There are organizations that have been around for years, such as Kickstarter, which are strictly for crowdfunding inquiries. This means that musicians can connect with a community of like-minded creators and build funds around their passions. Similar sites include Pledgemusic and Patreon.

On the other hand, crowdsourcing platforms, which cater more towards a direct exchange of goods or services, can be equally effective to the artist. These connection agencies include youbloomConnect and Songkick. Rather than simply giving artists a platform, companies like youbloom play a central role in providing artists exposure and fans. Youbloom is unique as it pairs artists together, connecting the two fan bases, and broadening an artists fanbase beyond the band’s origin. Contrarily, a regular complaint among Songkick users is its lack of connection and community between artists.

At the end of the day, it’s hard to go entirely wrong with any of these hardworking crowdsourcing platforms; it all comes down to whether your art needs support or more clearly laid-out instructions and opportunities.

Josey is a content writer for youbloom as well as a member of the marketing team. She is music obsessed and a diehard Tom Petty fan. Josey currently lives outside of Los Angeles where she enjoys excessively sunny days, train adventures and organic chai (yes, Josey is high-maintenance about her chai).

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