Platform lets businesses swap freebies for artist endorsements

Patrons acts as a matchmaker between touring musicians with free time and companies with free meals and haircuts to offer.

The last decade has seen record sales decrease at an alarming rate and pop stars have often turned to product endorsements as a fruitful alternative income. While a partnership with Pepsi can earn big stars millions of dollars, new app Patrons hopes to bring together touring musicians and companies on a smaller scale — enabling businesses to ‘patronize’ the arts while providing artists with unique opportunities throughout their tours.

Currently in Beta, Patrons posits itself as a middleman between art and business. It provides a platform, in the form of a smartphone app, through which bands can promote their availability and businesses can approach them with customized offers. Whether it be trading a free haircut for a social media shout-out, a free hotel room for an acoustic set or a USD 100 bar tab in exchange for a DJ set, the developers see endless opportunities for matchmaking.

Are any there other services which could monetize the influence of potential ambassadors?