We Need Your Help!
Side Door built a platform that empowers an endangered species for which we care a great deal: middle class musicians.
We’ve run more than 3000 shows and paid out more than $3 million to artists. The platform is ad-free and free to use. We don’t give or sell our users’ data to anybody.
Our vision is to make performing live easy, rewarding and sustainable. We envision a world where live music is accessible in all spaces and communities, where the shared experience of art connects humans and makes the world a better place, and where artists are fairly compensated for their offerings.
Traditionally, businesses operating in our space have preyed upon the hopes and dreams of artists to extract money from the very cohort they’re serving. Our ethos has always been to be a different kind of company. Currently, Side Door only makes money when artists make money - by charging ticket holders $3 a pop as a surcharge. Artists and hosts retain 100% of the ticketing proceeds.
OUR CHALLENGE
As a startup, we’ve been very fortunate to build and operate as a result of private fundraising efforts, but we’re nearing the end of that runway. We’re trying to make the critical leap to sustaining ourselves through revenue alone.
In the last quarter (April-June), we had the most shows booked that we’ve ever had, all over Canada and the US. We even hit our revenue goal! This means that we’re closer to profitability, which will allow us to grow and adapt sustainably.
Over the past two years, we’ve drastically reduced our budget to make every dollar count. Once we cover our basic costs, we can start reinvesting into Side Door — making the platform better and creating more show opportunities for artists.
We just need a little boost to get there.
So we’re asking you to help, and here’s how:
If you need to ticket a show, please use us. Side Door ticketing has served hundreds of thousands of happy customers. It’s simple and powerful. You can create affiliate links to track which platforms or partners are most effective. You can even have Side Door remit to SOCAN on your behalf if your show is in Canada. And it costs you nothing to set up!
If you can host an artist in your space, please host with us. There are SO MANY incredible artists on the platform who want to play for you and it’s really easy to book them. Our platform has easy revenue splitting, so as a host you can take a cut. We have so many great examples of shows giving success to both the artist and the host.
If you know of someone who SHOULD host with us, send them our way. Your favourite café, community space, someone’s epic barn - a place that can book shows regularly is ideal, and a host that cares deeply about artists’ wellbeing is a must.
Buy tickets to a show. There are so many! And they are everywhere! Buy a ticket and send it to a friend!
Share what we do with anyone who will listen.
We want to change the way the live music scene works. We want the artists to be in the driver’s seat. We want art to be valued and artists to be paid. We want people to be connected in their neighbourhoods by art that means something to them. We want middle class musicians to make a living doing what they love, even if they’re not famous.
We’ve always tried to be transparent and will continue to be so. We hope that this call to action will help Side Door thrive and continue to serve you. Thanks for listening.
Laura Simpson & Dan Mangan
Co-founders of Side Door
