encounter sound

What started as a project for my friend Larry has become a bit of an overwhelming but fantastic project.  Sometime in the fall I plan to publically release a service for independent bands and artists called Gravel Groove.  Essentially, the service will simplify the creation, management, and maintenance of “street teams.”  For those that aren’t in the industry and haven’t heard of what a street team is, they can more or less be described as a group of loyal fans, organized in their efforts to further a band’s presence in their area (both physical and digital, these days).  Putting a street team together is a wild mix of collecting demographic data, giving members things to do based on their abilities, interests, and area, offering incentives for the grunt work, making friends with your biggest supporters, and keeping everyone interested and feeling useful.  I’ve run my own street team for the last couple of years, hacking away at trying to take time to update the site, provide contests, and the like, and it’s exhausting.  What I’ve needed is an all-in-one solution that makes it easy when I have 5 minutes and a great idea, to implement the contest, mission, or whatever RIGHT THEN.  I think that’s a common thread amongst artists, and I’m going to bet my time and braincells that I’m right.  I’m going to offer at least a 3-tiered subscription option with an ad-based (tasteful, I promise) free version at the bottom, and a bells-and-whistles version at the top.  I’ll probably be looking for some beta-testers in the next 3 or 4 months, so if it’s something you’d be interested in, please let me know.  The very alpha version is currently in use by the Crossroads Music Festival, since Larry basically bailed me out of an overdue power bill by letting me program his street team’s backend.