Guest
By: Brittany Tuggle, University Of Memphis Entrepreneurial Journalism Student
The creators of ListenUp.fm give users rewards for listening and sharing music with their friends.
“The more times a user listens to an artist or shares what they are listening to on Facebook or Twitter, they gain more points. Depending on the artists, users can earn backstage passes, tickets, or other merchandise,” says CEO Mykas Degesys.
In addition to offering fans rewards or discounts, ListenUp provides record companies with real-time data about listeners’ preferences they can use to develop better marketing strategies and build fan loyalty.
“We want to turn users into paying fans, which increases concert and album sales, [creates a] bigger fan base and more exposure,” said Degesys.
Degesys says the concept for ListenUp came out of learning about the music business and the different royalties artists earn from streaming platforms and sites such as iTunes.
“A song will have to be played on a streaming platform 140 times before making the same amount of royalties on iTunes, for any artist,” says Degesys.
