The Idea:

From 2012 to 2014 I worked as a whitewater kayaking guide in Costa Rica and Ecuador. I spent my nights off seeking drum and bass events in Quito and San Jose. I met several promoters and started working on a tour for myself which aligned with my kayaking schedule in 2013. I spent many hours googling, Drum and Bass (insert city). One thousand press kits later, I had connected with four promoters and scheduled a total of ten nights of gigs–two in San Jose, two in Quito and six in Bogota.

There is very little economic value for a promoter to purchase a plane ticket, accommodation, and pay for the performance of a distant unknown act. Since I was already in the area, I could bring the appeal of an international act to their events, without extra work or cost for them. The tour went well and I returned to each place to play under contract.

I spent a lot of time and energy creating my first international tour, and afterward, I decided there must be a better way to connect, especially considering the decreasing effectiveness of Facebook in music marketing. I know there are many talented artists who also travel for work, vacation, or gigs, and that there are many venues who book the same second and third tier acts over and over due to budget constraints. How can lesser-known artists connect with promoters in areas they happen to be visiting? How can promoters book more diverse acts without killing their budgets?

My introduction to a man named Clearwater…

In 2015 Clearwater and his partner moved to Asheville after 25+ years of performing and growing a stable of record labels in the state of FL. His background also included travelling for work and we quickly found that the idea of being able to pick up extra gigs in new areas was a shared vision. In his case he’d been planning a multi-year Tour Bus based performance pilgrimage around the USA. During the course of the trip he’d planned on contacting promoters and old industry connects the same way that I had for my first international tour and it was clear this was going to be a massively daunting project.

This is when I discussed my ideas with him and the light went off! We were both highly motivated individuals with a shared vision and the desire to make finding bookings an easier process because life it’s self was already complex enough. On top of the fact that we were both already working on ways to build touring lifestyles, he had the skills to create the tools I envisioned, and the enthusiasm do it! Clearwater had been creating websites for decades out of need for his record labels and as side work on the back of a staunchly DIY work ethic – and I was already a few years into an idea with no clear path to realizing the tools I knew needed.. until he and I started talking.

Enter Beatdrifters:

The site you now see before you is his creation from my vision, and the first stage of what we’re presenting as a usable platform. From here it seems like the possibilities are endless, and since we believe that perfection is the enemy of progress – we’ve just gone for it instead of waiting.

We hope you choose to do the same thing, and use this platform for your own ‘let’s just get into it’ lifestyles 🙂

Who we are: An online platform that helps connect artists and promoters internationally.

What we do: We provide a cross-cultural network of promoters and talent with calendars, mapping system, and high share-ability of electronic press kits. This platform directly links artists to relevant promoters, preventing the wasted time of communication between incompatible artists and promoters.

Performer’s Page: A straightforward and easy-to-use yet informative press kit featuring an artist’s work and biography. This page will include a link for direct download of their press kit which includes logo vector files. The calendar feature uses an artist’s travel dates to connect them with promoters relevant to his or her style in the selected cities.

Promoter’s Page: This is a similar format with locations, types of events, styles of music they support and a calendar of upcoming events.

Beatdrifters Mission: to channel artists to new regions without all the individual leg work and to break up the monotony of opening acts and repeat bookings.

We want to fill those gaps in your tour dates, to turn your visit to grandma’s into some paid gigs, and to support the scene by supporting the passion of artists and the motivation of promoters.

Beatdrifters vision is to create a more diverse and community-minded scene by building success through support.

Thank you for joining. We look forward to co-creating an intercultural community of passionate, talented, respected and incredible people with you.

Versión de Español

La Idea:

De 2012 to 2014 trabajé como guía de whitewater kayaking en Costa Rica y Ecuador. Durante mis días libres de trabajo, buscaba shows de Drum and Bass en Quito y San José. Conocí a varios promotores de música y me hice un tour para 2013. Pase muchas horas en Google, buscando, Drum and Bass (en cual ciudad). Después de mandar como mil paquete electrónicos, había conectado con cuatro promotores y hice diez noches de shows–dos en San José, dos en Quito, y seis en Bógota.

Un promotor no tiene mucho razón económica para pagar el boleto de avión, un hotel, y también pagar por el show de un dj no conocido, pero como yo ya estaria en la region, podria traer el atractivo de un show internacional al evento, sin demasiado trabajo y costo para ellos. El tour salió muy bien y regrese a cada lugar para tocar otra vez con contrato.

Me dediqué mucho tiempo y energía en hacer mi primer tour internacional, y despues, pensé que debe ser mejor modo conectar. Yo se que hay muchas artistas que también viajan para trabajo, vacaciones, o para shows y también que hay muchas clubs que tienen los mismos djs tocando cada fin de semana por no tener recurso de traer otros. Me pregunté, cómo se puede, conectar artistas que son menos conocidos con promotores mientras viajan? Y cómo pueden los promotores contratar shows más diversos sin pagar demasiado?

Bienvenidos Beatdrifters…

Quienes somos: Una plataforma que conecta artistas y promotores internacionales.

Que hacemos: Proveemos una red multicultural de promotores y artistas que tiene calendarios, sistema de mapa y un modo de compartir los paquetes electrónicos de música. La plataforma se conecta directamente los artistas con promotores relevantes a su tipo de música, para no pasar tanto tiempo en comunicación entre ellos que no estarían interesados.

Página de artistas: Un perfil informativo con toda su música, biografía, y link para download todo. Este pagina tiene un calendario para conectar su fechas de viaje con clubs y promotores en su estilo en los ciudades donde estarán.

Página de promotores: Un perfil para ellos con sus ubicaciones, ciudades, clubs, tipo de eventos, estilos de música, y un calendario de eventos

La misión de Beatdrifters es diversificar la escena, con nuevos artistas en nuevas regiones sin mucho trabajo por ellos. La misión es llenar su horario de tour que ya tiene, cambiar a su visita a su abuelita en un mini-tour, y apoyar la pasion de artistas y la motivación de promotores.

La visión de Beatdrifters es crear éxito por el apoyo de amistad.

Gracias por estar aquí con nosotros. Esperamos co-crear una comunidad intercultural de gente con pasión, talento creativo, y respeto contigo.