Member Article

Gig platform launches in Newcastle

Two local musicians have teamed up to launch Newcastle’s first fully-inclusive gig listings site after spotting a gap in the city’s vibrant music scene.

The Newcastle Gig Guide is an online guide to every live music event happening within the city and surrounding areas.

DJs and event promoters Johnny Hedley and Stewart Platt came up with the idea of setting up a comprehensive one stop shop for gigs and events in Newcastle after becoming frustrated at having to search individual venue sites for upcoming gigs.

After nine months of planning, researching gig listings and building the website the duo launched The Newcastle Gig Guide in June.

Johnny said: “We’re both big fans of live music and are fully aware of just how much is going on in Newcastle, but there’s a huge amount of people out there who don’t know how to access it, which means the public miss out and venues and artists lose potential ticket sales. Newcastle has well over 50 live music venues, but we often feel the bigger events get the attention.

“Newcastle has a vibrant music scene covering an eclectic mix of genres and we really felt the need to build a home for it all, to build a community that’s inclusive of all music tastes.

“We’re here to shed light on the whole scene and open people’s minds to the wide range of exciting things happening here.”

The site also features a comprehensive library of reviews written by guest contributors and students and allows gig promoters to submit and list their events free of charge.

Having launched the site and building their users via social media, Johnny and Stewart are now focussing on rolling out the site to other cities and developing a ticketing function, having already secured a partnership with Eventim, the official ticket partner of the Metro Radio Arena.

Johnny and Stewart received advice and guidance from music development agency Generator NE, PNE Group and secured funding through business support providers NBSL to help launch the website. The duo also benefitted from mentoring and support through Teesside University’s DigitalCity Fellowship Scheme.

People interested in submitting an event or joining The Newcastle Gig Guide’s network or reviewers are asked to visit www.thenewcastlegigguide.co.uk

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Amy Watson .