Taking music fans to the next level
An avid music fan from an early age, Julie Warmington wanted a cool way to display her concert memories online and in an interactive way, this sparked the idea of Fantale. Fantale is an online social platform for music fans to connect, share, and plan what shows they will attend.
“I have been a huge fan of music for years,” says Julie “having worked at record companies in London and ending up at MySpace. As a result I have an impressive collection of ticket stubs, photographs and autographs from all the concerts I’ve been to over the years. I planned to create a timeline to represent a map of my gig going history, however I then started to think about how this content would be represented online and that was when the idea for Fantale was born.”
Fantale’s an ensemble of photos, videos and reviews- creating a collection of concerts, past, present and future. It’s an interactive website for fans to rate shows and other fans content, and will soon be able to buy, sell or swap merchandise. A mobile app, once released will really bring Fantale to life, allowing fans to find and connect with each other while at events.
Julie saw a gap in mainstream social networks with music content just blending in with the general stream of activity. “Fantale’s aim is to create value for fans by aggregating their content in a community where fans with similar interests can engage with the content and each other around their shared passion,” says Julie.
The launch of Fantale didn’t just happen overnight. “It was just an idea before I started the Activate course. The course really helped me nail the idea and encouraged me to keep focused and not to give up. Through Activate I received some great mentoring from individuals as well as the whole Grow Wellington team,” says Julie. “Grow Wellington were such a great help by connecting me with Tech NZ and giving me advice. I also entered the 2011 Bright Ideas Challenge and made it to the top twenty which kept me focused and was an invaluable experience.”
The website is just the first step for Fantale. Julie is now working on getting the mobile app up and running, “I am focusing on finding funding so I can get it built quickly. The app is crucial to Fantale's success.”
Having only launched at the end of April, Fantale has already exceeded Julie’s expectations, having received great support from the music industry and media, and even getting retweeted by a Britpop star! “The most exciting thing was seeing a guy from Palmerston North posting a review and photos on the second day of the site going live!” says Julie.
“If I could give advice to those thinking of starting a business, do the Activate course or a similar business course. There is so much more to a business than you would think. It made me question what I was doing and why. At the end of the day though, I think you have to follow your passion.”
Check out Fantale's website for more information.