Loft concerts — intimate venues for MySpace bands

Photos by Leroy Schulz. Who says you need a full-size concert hall to present live musical acts? Mini music moguls like Canada’s 7 Street Lofts are serving up cozy concerts in a surprising new choice of venue—their own homes. Located in the warehouse district of downtown Edmonton, Alberta, 7 Street Lofts hosts small performance concerts on Friday nights up to 8 times per year in an intimate space that holds just 35 guests—some seated, others mingling around the kitchen island. Admission is by reservation only and is negotiated via email. Events are promoted via MySpace, so fans can log on at their convenience to see what acts are coming up and to get further details about events. There’s a suggested donation of CAD 15-20, and guests are urged to bring an additional CAD 20 or so to purchase CDs, when available, to further support the artists. Once expenses for hosting the event are paid, all proceeds go directly to the performers, so the loft concerts obviously aren’t profitable in and of themselves. However, the notoriety of hosting such exclusive events might build a nice reputation for music-loving entrepreneurs in any region who want to get in on their local music scenes. Similar to the Polish ‘home theatre’ concept we featured early last year, loft concerts feed into—and market via—customers’ need for intimacy. They also create an accessible stage for a new generation of artists who skilfully promote themselves and their concerts through their own websites, blogs and MySpace pages. And though small-scale is the name of the game here, if this trend continues, one might wonder if there be opportunities to partner with some big name sponsors? How about MySpace, for starters? Spotted by: Tracy Hyatt