[UK] GigJunkie, a site that helps UK music fans discover gigs and purchase concert tickets, has announced a partnership with AOL-owned Bebo.
The new collaboration sees the launch of the ‘Tour Dates‘ application, which enables British Bebo users to get a heads-up of when their favourite bands are playing nearby and of course purchase tickets. It does this by looking at the artists listed in a user’s Bebo profile.
The app isn’t just aimed at music fans, however, but also record labels themselves who can use it to push tour dates directly to interested punters. Atlantic Records have already begun doing so, along with independent label Visible Noise. It’s all part of Bebo’s play to “build an ecosystem around music”, says David MacDonald, Bebo’s Business Development Director Europe.
What also makes the partnership interesting is that GigJunkie.net offers social features of its own. As well as receiving alerts of upcoming gigs and accessing ticket feeds from all of the UK’s primary and secondary ticket agents, members can find and connect with other fans interested in the same artists and share photos taken at gigs and publish concert reviews. By extending its core functionality of gig listings and ticket availability to Bebo, GigJunkie – a sort of niche social offering in itself – will be able to get access the uber social network’s much larger user-base.