Service Design Proposal: Performe by Hope Lenhart

SERVICE DESIGN PROPOSAL A design proposal catering to a demographic with specific service needs.

DESIGN RESEARCH FALL 2012

KILEY EVANS, SINGER/ SONGWRITER

CONTENTS 5

OUR IDEA Demographics, and our goal.

USER NEEDS Research on our demographic and user interviews.

STATISTICS Full- time musician statistics.

USER PROFILES Meet Dave and Kiley.

OUR SERVICE An introduction to Performe.

HOW IT WORKS Audience ecosystem.

PROTOTYPICAL NARRATIVE Kiley â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;s story.

FINAL THOUGHTS Conclusions about Performe.

WHAT’S THE BIG IDEA?

CHOSEN DEMOGRAPHIC We decided to create a service that would aid up-and-coming musicians as well as restaurant/ club owners. This would include a wide variety of musicians, ranging from those who play music as a part-time income, full-time income, those who play for fun, to those attempting their shot at fame and fortune. Musicians and clubowners alike must do a lot of work in order to book one gig or show; something that many others do not realize. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d like to same them some time so they can spend more time playing and enjoying music, and less time on the phone and internet.

Our goal is to create a service for the music community; ranging from musicians, to venue owners, and even to fans. OUR IDEA Musicians need a service that specifically aids them in networking and showcasing their talents as much as possible. Our main goal is to connect the musician to the venues they can perform at. To do this, weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve decided to create an iPhone application called Performe. This app is accessible to musicians, venue owners, and fans. It is an online community for these people to connect to one another, as well as see whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s going on around them. It facilitates and shortens the booking/ gig planning process by providing appropriate venue suggestions, allowing venue owners to search through musicians, and offering simpler communication between the two. It is also a place where fans, (musicians and non-musicians) can find where others are playing without logging onto Facebook, searching through events and sending mass text messages. This application offers solutions to a number of struggles musicians face on a weekly basis, to be explained further in the coming sections.

WHAT ARE THE NEEDS OF THESE PEOPLE?

“For the person arranging a gig, there’s a lot involved in booking the show; a lot of phone calls back and forth between you and the venue, you and your musicians, making sure that everybody is on the same page, everybody is rehearsed and knows what the plan is…” -Kiley Evans MUSICIANS The above quote is a perfect example of just how much work a musician must put in before even setting up for a show. Their main goals are to book gigs, play music, draw in a crowd, and hopefully make money. A musician’s main needs are as follows: Finding proper venues to play at, taking their genre of music into account. For example, a country music artist wouldn’t be found playing at an over-the-top sports bar. Playing at an appropriate venue not only helps a musician perform in their comfort zone, but also invites the right fans to enjoy the music— potentially leaving the musician with a new fan base. Contacting venues to book gigs without spending hours doing research and on the phone. When musicians travel, unless they have contacts in an area, booking a gig involves hours of extensive research, asking around, e-mails, phone calls, and appearances— which sounds nearly impossible. Musicians face some of these same issues even when booking gigs in the area they are from, unless they have played there before. Booking is an extensive process, and we believe it can be made easier. Solving booking issues such as accidental double booking, cancellations, finding replacements for absent band members, and finding proper equipment for certain shows. Finding replacements for such issues requires many, many phone calls and asking around. It is not easy to find a reputable musician to fill in for you when you lose your voice the day before a gig. Contacting fans and keeping them posted as to where you are playing, even at the last minute, without having to create a new page for an event on your Facebook or post updates on various social media websites to inform them of the change. Musicians are also very supportive of each other, so knowing where their friends are performing is important. When someone goes to support someone else, they will get that support in return.

VENUE OWNERS/ BOOKING At times, venue owners are faced with the same problems as musicians. While musicians have to find proper venues to play at, venues must find proper musicians to play at their venues. Booking appropriate bands/ musicians for the venue is important to the clubâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s business. Certain bars typically host specific genres of music, and must seek out multiple bands and singers to play on the same nights that sounds fitting together. For example, there are country bars, sports bars, techno clubs, indie coffee houses, etc. that offer only certain kinds of music.

Musicians must find proper venues to play at, and venues must find proper musicians to play there. MUSIC FANS Fans of music are at times underappreciated, while they are very important to a musicianâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s career. When fans come out to see a musician or band play, they are helping them impress the venue. If bands and musicians bring out a large crowd to a place, they will be asked to come back. Keeping up with the bands so they are informed about new CD releases, updates, and merchandise keep fans excited and checking back for more. Knowing where bands are playing so when people go out, they know what their options are instead of fishing through Facebook trying to figure out where people are.

WHAT ARE THE NEEDS OF THESE PEOPLE?

USER INTERVIEWS We interviewed three full-time musicians from the South Shore of Massachusetts to get to the heart of their struggles, and begin solving the issues they face in this business.

JEFF HILLIARD

JACKSON WETHERBEE

STEPHEN MAZZETTA

How do you find out where other bands/ musicians are playing? Stephen: “Word of mouth. Facebook also, I get a lot of messages throughout the day from musicians and friends who aren’t musicians saying, ‘Oh you’ve got to go see this band...’ and blah blah.” Is it difficult finding venues to play at? Jackson: “Well... there are plenty of places to perform. It’s just about finding places that are going to fit you best.” Jeff: “Uh... Once you break into the scene, bar owners will see you perform somewhere, or hear you play there for the first time and invite you back...” Stephen: “It can be. I don’t like dive bars... well, actually dive bars rule, but certain places where people are just there for a meat market and to take tons of jager shots— not my thing. ‘Cause nobody gives a crap about listenIf you were visiting a different state for a week, how would you go about booking gigs? Jeff: “I’d probably give a couple buddies a call, but if I didn’t know anyone.... I really don’t know how I’d do it. Definitely a lot of phone calls.” Stephen: “The first thing I would do is go on the internet. Then I would try to network with people, maybe call my friends and ask them if they knew anyone where I was going...” How do you promote your own gigs? Jeff: “I usually do Facebook for the most part. I have a couple weekly gigs that people sort of know about but other than that I use Facebook. Facebook group messages, texting, and phonecalls. Stephen: “I promote my own gig through flyers,word of mouth, Facebook notices, and lots of texting. Sometimes mass invites on Facebook.

WHAT IS IT LIKE BEING A MUSICIAN?

STATISTICS The median hourly pay for musicians in 2011 was $23.39 per hour. This is not to say that musicians don’t do better or worse than this number. Some musicians struggle, while others book gigs every night of the week they can, and make a very good living for themselves. It’s all about what you do with your talents and how hard you work, like any other job. The highest level of education most musicians have recieved is a high school diploma or GED. While a lot of musicians do go to music-based colleges, many pursue a music career right out of high school and don’t go on to college. A lot of musicians are self-taught, so a college degree isn’t always a necessity to be successful.

Being a musician all about what you do with your talents and how hard you work at it, like any other job. The number of music related jobs in 2011 was 176,200— a fairly large number. These jobs include not only musicians but managers, audio engineers, producers, tour managers, recording artists, songwriters, and many, many more. The average number of shows per week for a musicians is 4— but this number can change depending on how many gigs they like to play per week.

The cities with the most music related jobs are New York City, Los Angeles, and New Orleans. All cities are known to be full of music, however these three cities are where the most record labels reside, and therefor where most of the producing takes place. The employment of musicians is expected to grow 10% from 2011- 2020. With the economy eliminating jobs, people are putting their good old talents to use in order to make a living.

WHO ARE OUR USER PERSONAS?

DAVE BATES Dave is the lead drummer for ‘In Like Lions’, which is a successful rock band based in Boston, Massachusetts. He and his band have been very successful so far in their careers but haven’t been made well-known too far out of the city of Boston. He lives outside of the city , so he travels into Boston for his shows. He and his band spend a lot of time planning and rehearsing for gigs, as well as promoting their shows via flyers, facebook, twitter, and word of mouth. His band has a Facebook page with pretty good fan following, but they are always trying to find more fans through other means.

Dave, along with his band, have some responsibilities in order to book shows and keep a steady income. A lot of these difficulties could be made a lot easier. Some of Dave and In Like Lions’ main needs are as follows: Finding new fans to come to shows. While people can generally look through photos of bands on Facebook, it is not a primary source of discovering music. Seeking out bands to play with that create music similar to theirs. As of now, the band either relies on the venue to find other bands to play with them, or they book gigs with bands they’ve played with before. Finding venues outside of Boston. Now and then they play shows outside of the city, but they’d like to branch out and do it more often. However, since they live in Boston it’s difficult for them to find venues outside of their area without traveling and making lot of phonecalls.

WHO ARE OUR USER PERSONAS?

KILEY EVANS Kiley is a musician based in Boston, Massachusetts who is persuing a career playing Pop Country Music. She plays throughout New England, and has played at a variety of venues ranging from small bars to the House of Blues, Toby Keith’s I love that Bar & Grill, and UMASS Boston’s summer concert. She’s been following her dreams for almost two years now, and her fan base is continuously growing. While she is passionate about playing country music, it is often times difficult for her to seek out appropriate venues to play at around the Boston area. Country music is popular in Boston, but there is a specific crowd that goes out to see these shows. Kiley needs help connecting these people to her music.

There is a specific crowd of people who go out to see country bands play. Kiley’s main needs are as follows: Seeking out bands to play with that are country, pop, or a genre that makes sense for her to play with. Finding venues to play at that cater to her kind of music. Country bars around Boston aren’t extremely well-known, but there are in fact many if they are searched for. Keeping fans up-to-date so they know where she is playing is essential to maintain a growing fan base. If fans know where you are playing, they will follow you. However if your shows are not advertised enough, they might not go out of not wanting to search far for the information they seek. Replacing missing bandmembers when they cannot make it to a show is crucial; everyone gets sick, and everyone has family emergencies. For a band, it’s tough to quickly replace a missing person because they know all of the songs and sometimes it’s impossible to get someone rehearsed in time.

WHAT IS OUR SERVICE?

DISCOVER. Discover is the search and explre mechanism tool. This is where users can: Discover venues to perform at that are accepting to the person or band’s specific genre of music; where they will fit in a draw an appropriate crowd. This search also allows viewer to see what bands have played at venues before them, so they know what they are up against. Discover equipment when needed. Often times bands will need one extra piece of equipment that they don’t want to purchase. Also, when musicians travel it can be difficult to bring PA systems are large amplifiers onto planes, so Performe assists in finding places to rent equipment. Discover new bands to play with. Performe helps connect musicians to others by displaying venues who are still looking to fill slots for shows. Performe offers musicians the most appropriate gigs for them, and helps them to confirm the one of their choice.

PLAN. Plan is the preparation tool. This is where users can: Plan gigs or “jam sessions” with friends, other local musicians, or new bands you have never played before. The plan tool helps users organize not only gigs, but practices, open mics, and even informal “jam sessions” where musicians just play for fun. Plan details with clubowners. Once a gig is confirmed, Performe connects the musician to the club or venue owner by unlocking their contact information so they can work out the details. Plan the weekend. Performe allows all users to see a calendar of where bands and musicians are playing. It gives them the option to subscribe to the musicians they like so their schedule will display on their Performe calendar. This helps users, both musicians and non-musicians, to plan their evenings without having to search through social media, make phonecalls, and send text messages.

NETWORK. Network is the connector tool. This is where users can: See what others are doing. This allows Performe users to view the calendar of events and see where their friends, and fellow musicians are spending their nights so they know the best place to go. Plan and attend open/closed mic sessions in the area. This tool allows users to select a radius of their area, and find every open and closed mic session within those specifications. Join music and voice lessons. Performe not only shows lessons offered by other musicians they may know in their area, but provides itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s own music and voice classes, offered by teachers in many various places.

Our main concern is helping the musician/ singer feel as a part of this service as we do.

WHAT IS OUR SERVICE?

TOUCHPOINTS Closed-Mic Sessions high-contact Performe gives the artists options to get in on closed-mic sessions. Closed-mics are a way for artists to have a set time on stage to perform but without the pressure of performing a real show. A great way to network and socialize with other musicians in a laid-back, low-maintenance setting. It is not an open-mic, which is great for musicians who don’t like to sit through karaoke-type singers at bars. Offer Classes high-contact As a service, we offer classes to musicians to learn different things that they don’t already know. Say, for example, a country singer wants to learn about the business side of managing her money and performances. There would also be classes for first time singers, new musicians, musicians who play and instrument and want to learn another, people who want to learn about making the instruments, etc. CARRIER 3G

Kiley Evans

10:00 AM

14k

201

ARTISTS

FANS

VENUES

Kiley Evans is a country music singer songwriter in the Boston area. CONNECT

Hand Stamps low-contact Everyone knows when they enter a show they get a wristband or a stamp when they show their I.D. at the door. We would have clubs, bars, and other venues use our stamps with something creative on it to stamp anyone attending a show’s hand. When they wake up in the morning hungover, they will look at their hand and be extremely curious as to what it is, and ideally proceed to look it up.

LINK TO VIDEOS LINK TO FAN PAGE Connect Promote

HOW DOES IT WORK FOR THESE PEOPLE?

AUDIENCE ECOSYSTEM

User logs onto Performe with one goal:

Musician wants to play a gig

Venue owner needs someone to play on Thursday nights

Searches through a musicianâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s work on Performe and sees fans

Needs to find an appropriate venue to play at

Matched with a venue on Performe and contacts the owner

Owner requests to meet this musician by having him play Thursday

Musician confirms, musician plays gig, he gets hired for Thursday nights.

WHAT IS OUR PROTOTYPICAL NARRATIVE?

KILEY EVANS Kiley wants to find a bar in Boston where she can headline another country act that’s also playing in the city on the same night. She decides to start with Performe. She notices another band from Nashville, TN is playing at a bar called All Asia this coming Saturday. She’s heard of All Asia, but never played there before. Bill, the venue event manager at All Asia logs into Performe. He’s heard from his industry networks that he can find really great musicians to fill spots and play at his club. He already has a great country group coming on Saturday night, but if possible would like to add on another artist so he can have live music start at 7pm instead of 9pm. Kiley decides to ‘Request to Perform’ at All Asia on Saturday night. Now all she has to do is wait for confirmation by the venue. She clicks to view All Asia’s past artists and performances starts looking at photographs of the shows. Bill receives a request from Kiley Evans, a local country music artist from Massachusetts. He goes to her Performe page and sees a link to her music videos. He watches one of her videos and also sees that it has 22,550 views! Bill knows if he accepts her request to perform, she will bring in business to his club. He confirms and gives her a call to work out the details. Kiley posts in Performe that she is playing at All Asia on Saturday night. Flashback to Jeff, who is still looking for a show to go see and recognizes Kiley from an old music class they took together they took together from Performe. He clicks that he is attending, and his phone notifies him to show up on that date and time. On that night, Kiley performs her show. The band from Nashville that also performed that night invited her to join one of their closed- mic sessions via Performe in NYC the following weekend. She logs into the app, and makes a note to attend. She has a good feeling that she has made a very good network connection with this band. Bill, the venue owner is extremely pleased. His sales at the club were higher than they have ever been in 2 years. He knows that he generated a great crowd that night, and hopefully will be the new spot for country music fans in Boston. A lot of people who attended were extremely thankful when they left and he knows this has also generated a great repeat business. He discusses how well the app helped him find talent and promote his club and business with such ease. He expresses interest in using the tool again to service his needs.

AUDIENCE ECOSYSTEM PROTOTYPE

Kiley, an already established local country singer/musician needs to find a place to play music in Boston.

She logs onto Performe and goes under the “Discover” option to find a venue.

She finds a bar named Whiskey’s that is starting to host country music artists every Thursday.

She clicks the option to send the owner a message and request a performance at his venue.

Kiley is booked for Thursday 10/25 and tells all her friends.

WHAT IS OUR PROTOTYPICAL NARRATIVE?

Bill, a bar owner, is unsatisfied with the business in his bar. He wants to bring in local talent.

He decides to post in Performe he has openings for performers on Thursday nights.

Bill gets a message from Kiley Evans about being interested. He clicks the link to her website and videos.

Happy with what he heard + saw, he decides having a country music artist would generate business. She agrees.

Kiley performs and her 400 fans show up and Billâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s bar makes over $10,000 in sales that night. Everyone wins!

WHAT ARE OUR FINAL THOUGHTS?

Performe is a service designed for musicians and singers as a tool for them to solve multiple problems within their performance-based business. This service has a number of functions that weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve broken down into three service opportunities: Discover new venues, find needed equipment, and find new bands to play with. Plan gigs, work out details with club owners, and figure out where others are playing. Network and find where other musicians are, find open mics to attend, and take music lessons.

Our main concern is helping the musician/ singer feel as a part of this service as we do. This app is accessible to musicians, venue owners, and fans. It is an online community for these people to connect to one another, as well as see whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s going on around them. It facilitates and shortens the booking/ gig planning process by providing appropriate venue suggestions, allowing venue owners to search through musicians, and offering simpler communication between the two. It is also a place where fans, (musicians and non-musicians) can find where others are playing without logging onto Facebook, searching through events and sending mass text messages. This application offers solutions to a number of struggles musicians face on a weekly basis. With Performe, we would like to facilitate some of the struggles many every day musicians face as well as create an online community where music lovers alike can feel at home. Performe limits the steps involved in planning a gig by creating a direct connection between musicians and venue owners.

THANK YOU.

VIDEO Kiley Evans, Chris Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Hara, Dave Green

RESEARCH Dave Bates, Jeff Hilliard, Jackson Wetherbee, Stephen Mazzetta, Michael Visconti

FEEDBACK Brian Lucid, our Design Research Class

KATLYN EVANS HOPE LENHART KAT DEVILLIER