Local Web Sites Give Live Music Fans "a Voice" 
Voting Uncovers Demand for Artists to Take the Stage

BALTIMORE, MD (Nov. 4, 2003) – That hot new band from California - the one you discovered online a few weeks ago – will be performing, live, on stage, right here, in your town. And it's because of you – and many other local fans – that they are coming. You personally requested the show. Because of that request, you were among the first to find out about the gig and to have immediate access to tickets. Sound too good to be true? Not to Demand ID Systems, a Baltimore / DC startup running a service dubbed "TourVote" that connects music fans with the live performances they want to experience. 

Thousands of Maryland, DC, and Northern Virginia residents already are casting their TourVotes – requests for live shows by the artists they want to see – on live music venue sites like those run by The Black Cat, The Funk Box, Mother's Grille, The Recher Theatre, Fletcher's, The Velvet Lounge, Jaxx, Galaxy Hut, and Jammin' Java. TourVotes are being cast on music sites like MusicMonthly.com, OnTapOnline.com, 411Party Zone.com, and RadioMojo.com as well as on musical artists' own sites and those run by fans of the bands – sites like Oddbox.info, RushPetition.com, NinaStorey.com, and FromGoodHomes.com, to name a few.  Walther Productions, a leading Mid-Atlantic concert promoter, was one of the first to enable live show requests on their web pages. Other local web sites – recent partners in The TourVote Network – will install TourVote buttons on their web pages in the coming days.

"We're proud to have some of the region's most progressive live music venues, music publications, and online music sites participating in The TourVote Network," said Skip Daly, partnership manager for Demand ID. "They are very customer-focused companies that jumped at the chance to establish two-way interaction with their site visitors – helping them to get the live music they want." In the future, TourVote-enabled sites will also benefit from the ability to publish live music "Top 25" charts, akin to those published by Billboard for musical recordings, and other features that build traffic, revenues, and repeat visits. 

When live performances are scheduled, TourAlert emails containing the relevant details will be sent to the music fans who requested them, often with a link to the site where they can purchase tickets online. "When the TourAlert system is fully operational, music fans – those who cast TourVotes – will never again complain that they missed a show because they didn't find out about it until it was too late," said Cruz. 

The complete system is offered free to any entertainment-related web site, from daily news sites and alternative newsweeklies to concert calendar sites and radio stations.  “TourVote adds a new dimension to online music sites by empowering their visitors with respect to live music,” said Ben Cruz, co-founder of the company. “Music fans now have a 'voice' – a chance to deliver their wish-lists to musical artists, promoters, and venues rather than silently scanning the event listings and hoping, often in vain, that the acts they want to see get booked locally." 

The company plans to introduce its DemandIntell service in a few months, enabling live music venues and promoters to see comparative levels of local demand for shows by any of the thousands of artists in the database.  "DemandIntell helps entertainment buyers to uncover opportunities to stage shows they might never have considered otherwise," said Jay Bartlett, VP of Product Management at Demand ID. "The demand for live shows by an increasing number of artists is greater than ever before as millions of consumers discover new music on the internet. Until now, the live music industry has had no means to take advantage of that market growth." 

"TourVote and the DemandIntell service promise to be a boon to all participants in the music industry – artists can tour more profitably; venues and promoters increase audience attendance with reduced promotion and advertising expense; A&R and talent agents can spot rising talent at a grassroots level; and more recorded music is sold,” adds Carl Freed, a leading national concert promoter. “The revolution begins with web sites that believe that the key to sustained success on the internet lies in delivering the power of community – that their site visitors will delight in having a collective voice in shaping their own local music scene.”

About Demand ID Systems (www.demandid.com) – Demand ID Systems is the developer of a unique market intelligence and audience acquisition system for the live entertainment industry. The company’s mission is to bring Choice, Control and Convenience to consumers of live entertainment and greater profitability to all players in the live entertainment industry. .

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For more information or to set up interviews, contact:
Ben Cruz
410.466.7467
bcruz@demandid.com