Between live music conglomerates buying up venues and the residual financial and cultural impacts of the pandemic, independent venue owners face more pressure than ever to keep their businesses afloat. Many beloved long-standing clubs country-wide are calling on new tech like AmptUp’s booking platform to keep their doors open and tradition alive.
One such venue is The Boom Boom Room, a storied institution in the club scene of San Francisco. Blues royalty John Lee Hooker opened the iconic live music spot in 1997, naming it after his 1962 hit that crossed over to the pop charts. The building, which stands on the corner of Fillmore Street and Geary Boulevard, has long stood as the spiritual epicenter of jazz and blues–once home to Jack’s, a funky organ bar and located just blocks from where a young Etta James was discovered at the Primalon Ballroom.
Even with the veteran club’s rich history and weekly lineups featuring top musicians, The Boom Boom Room faces the same hurdles most independent venues do. The venue, which has seen legends like BB King and James Brown take its stage, is struggling to gain the decades of momentum it had before the mandated two-year pandemic shutdown. Venue owners are now tasked with reintroducing people to the magic of live music–as if an entire generation missed their teen years of exploring live music.
“Independently owned and operated venues play a vital role in shaping their respective cities’ diverse cultural landscape and contributing to the success of their hometown talent. That’s too much weight for one person to carry, especially considering that talent booking is just one task on a long to-do list,” explains AmptUp Founder and CEO Holly Hagerman.Â
AmptUp democratizes access to advanced booking technology and resources that haven’t been available to independent venues–empowering them to thrive in a competitive landscape and spend less time communicating contractual details and logistics. This opens up more time for bookers to curate killer lineups and focus on getting fans through the door.
The all-in-one booking platform lightens the load for touring musicians too–streamlining the booking process to save them time, money, and any additional stress.
“This is just way more streamlined and user friendly and to the point, any questions that anyone might have had will be answered,” says Tori Roze of Tori Roze & the Hot Mess, a frequent headliner at The Boom Boom Room. “Honestly, if Venues started using this, their lives would be so much easier. Yeah, I dig it, It’s cool.”
“AmptUp is intuitive and thorough. Booking offers are simplified and marketing assets are provided in one neat little package,” explains Zander Andreas, Founder and Owner of The Boom Boom Room. “I’m thrilled with AmptUp.”
Recently launching in Portland, AmptUp partnered with several local independent venues before spreading to other cultural epicenters around the US. Placing great emphasis on empowering the diverse voices of independent artists nationwide, AmptUp looks forward to fostering lasting partnerships with more beloved venues, like The Boom Boom Room, this year.
