by Dave Mainella

Concert curator and all-in-one ticketing app WillCall announced additional funding last week, a round of investing that brings on talented industry experts and positions the company to make a push into the pockets of concert-goers.

We had the opportunity to talk with co-founder and CEO Donnie Dinch about building relationships with music venues, the social aspect of concert attendance, and how the mobile app (for both iOS and Android) aims to facilitate and amplify going to shows.

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SoundCtrl – How did the idea for WillCall come about?

Donnie Dinch – We were sitting around listening to KEXP, a great radio station in Seattle when the Shout Out Louds, easily one of my favorite bands at the time, played a set in the studio. I was pretty upset that I didn’t know until that moment that they were in town — and of course it was way too late to buy a ticket. This sparked a whole discussion on why we didn’t see more shows, and we wondered if lack of awareness was an industry-wide problem.

SC – In addition to concert tickets, the WillCall app also includes options to tip artists and purchase merchandise and custom packages – a one-stop shop to pay for everything. Is that the intended appeal for the concert-goer, ease of use and functionality?

DD – Absolutely. We think the entire experience of going to a concert should be completely seamless. Payments create a lot of hassle during a show, and that hassle can suck up a lot of brain power which saps the fun out of a night out. Anything we can do to make things easier is a good thing.

SC – WillCall incorporates social media by sharing purchases on Facebook and Twitter and by notifying users of friends’ activities. How do you hope to grow the social component of the app?

DD – People rarely go to concerts alone, so there’s a lot of opportunity for us to make the process of getting together with other people easier. For example, the use case of buying more than one ticket to a concert and not knowing who you’re going with yet  is extremely common. We can build out social features that support this behavior.

SC – You’ve mentioned the importance of working with venues, offering venue owners analytics about attendance and ticket sales as one way of recognizing that importance. Are there other things you hope to offer venues in the future?

DD – Admission to a show is just the first part of a larger experience. We’re interested in optimizing every transaction and interaction that takes place during the course of attending a show. Drinks, merch, food, transportation — there’s a lot of friction to reduce inside and outside of the venues.

SC – Can you describe the process of working with venues? Is it a matter of establishing a relationship and partnering with a club, or is it more of a concert-to-concert basis?

DD – Building relationships within the existing music scenes in San Francisco and New York has been an area of strong focus for us. We work very closely with the venues, promoters, and artists themselves on each show.

SC – Do you find some venues to be reluctant to work with you?

DD – Once venues understand the value we’re adding, they’re really excited about working with us. We bring very focused marketing and amplified event awareness. It has an additive network effect that venues really appreciate.

SC – Have venues sold more tickets by selling through WillCall?

DD – Absolutely. Not only are we helping venues grow their audiences at the shows they’ve already booked, we’re creating an environment that facilitates more people going to live shows more often. Streaming services like Spotify have surfaced so many more incredible musicians. While there may be fewer artists that can sell out 10,000 person rooms, there are many more that can sell out 500 person clubs. The club level is what interests us right now. We’re creating a casual use case that facilitates people seeing a show as often as they go to a bar or a coffee shop.

SC – This round of funding includes investments by music industry “heavy weights” Sean Parker, Oliver Luckett, Coran Capshaw, John Frankenheimer, and Bruce Flohr. You must be excited to work with such a talented group, who’s experience includes, but is certainly not limited to, artist management and A&R. What else do these people bring to the table, and how will they help WillCall yield tangible results?

DD – It’s pretty exciting to have so many smart people with deep industry experience involved with WillCall. They bring insight and perspective on the intersection of music and technology that few other people have access to. Beyond that, they bring a passion for innovating music that lines up with our mission to make live music a bigger part of everyday life.

SC – WillCall is currently available in New York City and San Francisco, with Los Angeles coming in the near future. Does this round of funding provide the opportunity to expand regional markets even further?

DD – Absolutely. We’ll be in LA next, and some other cities soon after that. We’ve been lucky to see great interest from cities with robust music communities domestically and in some international markets.

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