Music Ally Focus

Making money as a local venue in 2024: Dhruv Chopra, founder of Brooklyn venue Elsewhere, talks memberships, building community, and how Gen Z gig-goers want more than cheap beer

Aug 30, 2024

Dhruv Chopra, founder of the innovative Brooklyn venue Elsewhere, shares insights on redefining local music spaces for 2024. He discusses the shift towards subscription memberships and a vibrant community through digital platforms. Chopra highlights how Gen Z gig-goers demand richer experiences beyond cheap drinks, prompting venues to adapt to new audience expectations. He explores the ongoing struggles of small venues in a competitive landscape and the importance of fostering connections within the live music ecosystem.

42:01

Creator website

Episode guests

Dhruv Chopra

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Episode notes

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Local venues like Elsewhere are innovating with membership models that foster community engagement and enhance live music experiences for Gen Z.

The small venue ecosystem is challenged by rising costs and evolving consumer expectations, necessitating a focus on community connection and enriched experiences.

Deep dives

The Evolution of Live Music Venues

Live music venues are adapting to the changing landscape of music consumption and performance. Smaller clubs focusing on dance music are becoming more prevalent, with a notable decline in traditional live stages. These shifts reflect a broader trend where the boundaries between artists and audiences blur, reshaping how music is experienced. Venues like Elsewhere are pioneering new business models, emphasizing community engagement and local culture while navigating financial challenges in a post-pandemic era.

Intro

2min

Evolving Music Venues: Community and Change

6min

Struggles of Small Music Venues

6min

Rethinking Community in Live Music Venues

21min

Navigating the Challenges of Subscription Models for Local Venues

2min

The Enduring Impact of Jazz and Community in Music

4min

Ep. 159: Dhruv Chopra, co-founder/CEO of Brooklyn venue Elsewhere, joins Joe Sparrow to talk about finding new ways of running local independent venues. Dhruv and Elsewhere are reaching around to find a new business model in a new gig-going world. Today, music is consumed, created, performed, played, discovered, experienced and valued differently – and yet, the basics of live music are the same: a group of people in a room while some music happens.

So Elsewhere is trying something that is both the same, and yet different – by exploring what a local live music venue can be in 2024, and how it can make money. The model that they have landed on involves a subscription membership, a digital Discord community, and a real-life “cultural epicentre”. It’s perhaps all the things that local venues have always been, but with more explicitly-defined models and platforms.

Dhruv also talks about the state of the small venue ecosystem in a post-pandemic era, when young consumers are demanding more from their live experiences than cheap beer, and $150 stadium show tickets are monopolising the budget of gig-goers.

Elsewhere: https://www.elsewhere.club

Dhruv's music pick: Herbie Hancock, Michael Brecker & Roy Hargrove - Directions In Music - Live At Massey Hall https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8nB_kzUf2w

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