Be the first to know. Get our weekly newsletter.

newsletter_popup Join 25,000 of your peers. Get our stories delivered to your e-mail inbox every week.
Edit Interests

Articles Selected for You

No unread stories
 
ViralBlog Logo
Close this box

Sign-up to get the content you like


Our readers can personalize ViralBlog in Zite alike ways, and schedule e-mail alerts to get the most relevant answers to their specific questions.

Choose your sign-up method:

Could not connect to Twitter. Refresh the page or try again later.

 

By signing-up you agree upon our terms and conditions

 
17/07/2014 by
10533 views

Sparkplug: Airbnb Clone That Helps Musicians Rent Out Gear

Go big, go niche or go home is a cliffhanger in one of my keynotes. Sparkplug is going niche by helping musicians the Airbnb way. Will they go big as well?

Sparkplug: Airbnb Clone That Helps Musicians Rent Out Gear. Story by pro speaker Igor Beuker

Sparkplug puts a sharing-economy spin on musicianship, letting bands and musicians rent out their instruments, amps and other gear.

After Spotify and Soundcloud yet another disruptive innovation comes from the music industry. In a very Airbnb-style site.

Let’s discover if Sparkplug will be ‘jammin’ soon.

Sparkplug the Airbnb for Music Gear?

Sparkplug is a new matching platform. But this time not villa’s or relationships. The site brings together people with unused musical instruments with the ones that need specific gear.

Sparkplug: Airbnb Clone That Helps Musicians Rent Out Gear. Story by pro speaker Igor Beuker.

Sparkplug could be a mash-up of Airbnb (design + engine) and Craigslist (classifieds). Anyway, their goal is to match peers and rent music gear.

What did Sparkplug do very smart? Go 360 in service and trust. When you list with Sparkplug, you’re renting to our identity-verified users.

When you transact through their system, they take a deposit for your instrument, gear, or space and hold it for 24 hours after the reservation is complete.

From the stringent security measures to their 24/7 expert customer care, they’ve got you covered.

Try Sparkplug here.

My Opinion

I have referred to Airbnb to Tesla and Uber. Although last 2 claim their role in mobility, Airbnb disrupted the travel industry and is valued at $10 billion. Not bad for a firm that has no products.

If I stick to my cliffhanger: Go big, go niche or go home.

In case of Airbnb, they own the niche. And they disrupted the travel marketplace. Okay, and they are pretty big now too.

Sparkplug is definitely an interesting proposition, clearly build on the trend called the networked or sharing economy. Why should we own our music (Spotify), films (Netflix) or cars (Zipcar)?

If Sparkplug catches fire, it just might drastically change the way musicians think of instrument ownership and touring.

Their solution for service and trust is what most brands would neglect, being in their advertising mode.

What About You?
What’s your opinion on Sparkplug? We all get smarter from peer discussions, so share your ideas.

Follow & Share
Want more stories on breaking with the status quo? Browse our category Viral & Social Video, join us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, GOOGLE+, RSS or get our weekly e-mail newsletter for updates and free bonus content.

About the Author
Igor Beuker is an acclaimed trendwatcher & pro speaker, serial entrepreneur, marketing consultant and board member at several disruptive media, technology and entertainment firms. Book Igor as keynote speaker, follow Igor on Twitter or contact him via LinkedIn.

 

Follow Category?

Follow Author?

Igor Beuker
16 more

Follow Tags?

airbnbFollowUnfollowcraigslistFollowUnfollowdigital marketingFollowUnfollowdisruptionFollowUnfollowlifestyleFollowUnfollowmarketingFollowUnfollowmediaFollowUnfollowmobileFollowUnfollowmusicFollowUnfollowmusic industryFollowUnfollowmusiciansFollowUnfollownetworked economyFollowUnfollowrent music gearFollowUnfollowsharing economyFollowUnfollowsparkplugFollowUnfollowtechnologyFollowUnfollowteslaFollowUnfollowtrendsFollowUnfollowuberFollowUnfollowzipcarFollowUnfollow