HALIFAX – It can be much harder today for musical artists to make a living at their craft. Digital technology was all but wiped-out album sales and, unless you know the right people, finding venues to play at can be frustrating.
But a Halifax-based business is making it easier every day for artists to find venues and venues to find artists. In 2017 Laura Simpson and Juno award winner Dan Mangan launched Side Door, an online platform that matched artists with places to play.
They are fast becoming the Airbnb of the concert scene in Canada. With Side Door, artists who don’t have an agent, manager, or industry connections, can find an audience.
“Most of the revenue artists earn these days is from touring because streaming really diminished the ability to sell music. So, the touring element is essential to earn an income,” says Simpson.
“Most of the folks who play, like 97 percent of them…don’t have representation. It is with representation that you can get into gigs and you can get on tours. And, beyond that, you’re really fighting for the off-nights and just trying to prove yourself to the bar managers. It could be a real struggle.”
Side Door, which makes its money by taking just under 10 percent of ticket sales, also encourages people to use their own homes and properties as concert venues. Side Door’s philosophy is anywhere can be a stage for music. Side Door has helped accommodate concerts in such unique places as goat farms, barns, and even a National park.
“People who have a space to offer can create this ecosystem. You can be an active participant in a tour route to help artists come out East and play,” says Simpson.
“The environment is really the third character in the scene. You’ve got your audience and your artist, but the place where you’re seeing something – it’s exciting and it can really add to the vibe.”
Simpson and Mangan met through a mutual friend in 2016 when they discovered they both had a similar idea for hosting a house-concert series. From there, the duo’s partnership formed and Side Door became a reality.
Simpson’s love of music and time spent in the music industry also formed the foundation of her business. In a previous career, Simpson was an export development officer, helping run a fund for Music Nova Scotia that helped artists go on tour. In that role, she saw how often artists struggled to make money.
“Oftentimes, people who go and do all the right things still come back having lost money because it’s just such a risky endeavor,” explains Simpson.
The music entrepreneur also discovered years ago how joyful it is to turn one’s home into a concert venue. Side Door now gives her a way to spread that joy to other people.
“My husband and I have been hosting house concerts at our place since 2011. And I do remember there was one night back in 2015 when I was watching a show happening in my backyard and thinking to myself, ‘this doesn’t get much better than this,’” she recalls.
Right now, Side Door hosts 5,000 artists and 2,000 venues and they will be looking to expand more into the United States within the next year. The expansion will be made possible by a $3- million in seed money recently raised by a series of investors. Side Door hopes to put on 100 U.S. concerts in the next six months.
The group that led this big investment is a Vancouver firm called Rhino Ventures. Peter Hung, one of Rhino’s investors, became sold on Side Door after seeing the passion Simpson and Mangan had for their product.
He was particularly impressed with the two’s ambitious goal of helping 100,000 musical artists earn $100,000 a year.
“When we met Dan and Laura for the first time, we were absolutely blown away by the way they conveyed their story and their passion,” recalls Hung. “We do a lot of founder calls every day and Dan and Laura definitely stood out. We felt the emotion they shared with us.”
Hung became emotionally invested in the product when he attended his first virtual concert hosted through Side Door.
“The artist was connecting directly with the audience…people were crying – there were tears, people were singing along,” recalls Hung. “And I was just so captured by that experience. I don’t think that time could ever be erased from my memory.”
The rise in virtual concerts during the Covid-19 pandemic proved to be fruitful for Side Door. Using Zoom, the platform hosted more than 900 concerts, and Simpson believes virtual concerts are here to stay.
“One of the reasons we wanted to do that was so that the audience and the artists could all see each other. People were really turning on their mics and having good communication with the audience.”
“For us and the artists that we worked with, this was our biggest time to date.”
Right now, Side Door is hiring more technical staff and preparing for a world where people will want both in-person and virtual concerts.
“We had to pivot once with the in-person to online last March. And now we are going through another pivot and now the world is changing again, and we have to adapt to going back to in-person and infusing the online with that,” she explains.
“And we really see a bright future for the hybrid model.”
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was down more than 200 points in late-morning trading, weighed down by losses in the technology, base metal and energy sectors, while U.S. stock markets also fell.
The S&P/TSX composite index was down 239.24 points at 22,749.04.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 312.36 points at 40,443.39. The S&P 500 index was down 80.94 points at 5,422.47, while the Nasdaq composite was down 380.17 points at 16,747.49.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.80 cents US compared with 74.00 cents US on Thursday.
The October crude oil contract was down US$1.07 at US$68.08 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was up less than a penny at US$2.26 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was down US$2.10 at US$2,541.00 an ounce and the December copper contract was down four cents at US$4.10 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 6, 2024.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 150 points in late-morning trading, helped by strength in technology, financial and energy stocks, while U.S. stock markets also pushed higher.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 171.41 points at 23,298.39.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 278.37 points at 41,369.79. The S&P 500 index was up 38.17 points at 5,630.35, while the Nasdaq composite was up 177.15 points at 17,733.18.
The Canadian dollar traded for 74.19 cents US compared with 74.23 cents US on Wednesday.
The October crude oil contract was up US$1.75 at US$76.27 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was up less than a penny at US$2.10 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$18.70 at US$2,556.50 an ounce and the December copper contract was down less than a penny at US$4.22 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 29, 2024.
The crypto market has recently experienced a significant downturn, mirroring broader risk asset sell-offs. Over the past week, Bitcoin’s price dropped by 24%, reaching $53,000, while Ethereum plummeted nearly a third to $2,340. Major altcoins also suffered, with Cardano down 27.7%, Solana 36.2%, Dogecoin 34.6%, XRP 23.1%, Shiba Inu 30.1%, and BNB 25.7%.
The severe downturn in the crypto market appears to be part of a broader flight to safety, triggered by disappointing economic data. A worse-than-expected unemployment report on Friday marked the beginning of a technical recession, as defined by the Sahm Rule. This rule identifies a recession when the three-month average unemployment rate rises by at least half a percentage point from its lowest point in the past year.
Friday’s figures met this threshold, signaling an abrupt economic downshift. Consequently, investors sought safer assets, leading to declines in major stock indices: the S&P 500 dropped 2%, the Nasdaq 2.5%, and the Dow 1.5%. This trend continued into Monday with further sell-offs overseas.
The crypto market’s rapid decline raises questions about its role as either a speculative asset or a hedge against inflation and recession. Despite hopes that crypto could act as a risk hedge, the recent crash suggests it remains a speculative investment.
Since the downturn, the crypto market has seen its largest three-day sell-off in nearly a year, losing over $500 billion in market value. According to CoinGlass data, this bloodbath wiped out more than $1 billion in leveraged positions within the last 24 hours, including $365 million in Bitcoin and $348 million in Ether.
Khushboo Khullar of Lightning Ventures, speaking to Bloomberg, argued that the crypto sell-off is part of a broader liquidity panic as traders rush to cover margin calls. Khullar views this as a temporary sell-off, presenting a potential buying opportunity.
Josh Gilbert, an eToro market analyst, supports Khullar’s perspective, suggesting that the expected Federal Reserve rate cuts could benefit crypto assets. “Crypto assets have sold off, but many investors will see an opportunity. We see Federal Reserve rate cuts, which are now likely to come sharper than expected, as hugely positive for crypto assets,” Gilbert told Coindesk.
Despite the recent volatility, crypto continues to make strides toward mainstream acceptance. Notably, Morgan Stanley will allow its advisors to offer Bitcoin ETFs starting Wednesday. This follows more than half a year after the introduction of the first Bitcoin ETF. The investment bank will enable over 15,000 of its financial advisors to sell BlackRock’s IBIT and Fidelity’s FBTC. This move is seen as a significant step toward the “mainstreamization” of crypto, given the lengthy regulatory and company processes in major investment banks.
The recent crypto market downturn highlights its volatility and the broader economic concerns affecting all risk assets. While some analysts see the current situation as a temporary sell-off and a buying opportunity, others caution against the speculative nature of crypto. As the market evolves, its role as a mainstream alternative asset continues to grow, marked by increasing institutional acceptance and new investment opportunities.
