NEW YORK (CelebrityAccess) Bandsintown has announced the acquisition of Hypebot.com and MusicThinkTank.com , the technology news outlets founded in 2004 by music industry veteran Bruce Houghton.
The acquisition expands upon Bandsintown’s mission to help musicians grow their careers by offering free tools to over 500,000 registered artists.
Hypebot chronicles with an artist-centric point of view, the rising new music industry and its intersections with technology. With daily editions, Hypebot covers the music business news that matters and serves as a guide to the technologies changing how music is created, marketed and monetized. Hypebot’s MusicThinkTank is an open forum for musicians and music business professionals, dubbed “where the music industry goes to think.”
Hypebot and MusicThinkTank will continue to be run by Houghton, who will also step into an adviser role for Bandsintown with a specific focus on artist partnerships. The site will continue to operate as an independent voice and source of news and information, publishing daily and free to all, according to the announcement. Houghton will also maintain his role in the live touring business in his continuing role as President of booking agency Skyline Artists Agency which books 2000+ live dates annually.
A recent study by MIDiA Research titled ‘Recorded Music Market 2018: Stream Engine’ noted that “artists without record labels are changing the shape of the market, growing nearly four times as fast as the total market”.* With 93% of registered artists on Bandsintown having less than 100,000 followers, Bandsintown and Hypebot will cater to this specific dynamic artist segment with custom content, breaking industry news, exclusive interviews, guest columns, newsletters, tutorials, and more.
“Hypebot was created as a guide to understanding the new music industry – not just labels and tech companies; but more importantly, the artists and music that give it life,” said Hypebot founder and editor Bruce Houghton. “Working with a successful artist-centric team like Bandsintown will give Hypebot the resources to expand on our mutual mission of empowering artists. I look forward to contributing to Bandsintown’s ongoing effort to help more artists and managers build a successful and sustainable
career in music, with live music at its center.”
Houghton added in a post on Hypebot:
I’ll be working alongside this music-loving team to leverage that knowledge and community to improve and build tools that can be as important to artists, promoters and labels, as Bandsintown’s core concert listings have become.
To early cohort Kyle Bylin and long term believers like Chris Vinson and Dave Cool of Bandzoogle, Mike King at the Berklee College Of Music, Marc Gentilella at CelebrityAccess, current teammate Owen Davie and so many others, as well as, our smart and loyal readers, your support in this journey means a great deal to me.
Now, I add Fabrice Sergent, Mickael Ohana, Julien Mitelberg and Jon Ostrow of Bandsintown to my short list of thank-yous.
“We believe Indie and emerging artists are a transformative and a vibrant component of the music industry,” said Fabrice Sergent, Managing Partner of Bandsintown. “We share the same passion for independent and DIY artists. By welcoming Bruce and Hypebot into the Bandsintown family, we enhance the breadth of our support to the artists and further contribute to artists’ career growth and success.”
Hypebot is also the latest property to join the Bandsintown Amplified advertising platform, which provides more than 200 lean-in music properties.
