A couple of years ago, I met an Artist performing at a local bar. He was very talented, articulate, and driven. You could easily tell he loved, and made very good music. But, he did not make enough money from his Talent. Due to the need to pay rent and generate living expenses, he was forced to work a meaningless full-time job, and he pursued music whenever he had a free moment.
While performing I noticed he was only collecting cash Tips. There were around 30 people enjoying the music and at the end of the night he only made around $100. He said that “was a pretty good night”. As I sat there enjoying his performance, I could not help but ask myself a series of questions. How many people would have enjoyed his performance but could not attend that evening? How much money would he make by opening his performance to anyone with a phone? For the people who Tipped him that night, what was lost by his only cash collection method? For instance, wouldn’t it be helpful for him to accept electronic payments and the Tipper to tell him why they Tipped? Could this information help him to improve his Art? Would more cash Tips plus helpful information encourage him to create more Art the Tipper would enjoy? These questions exploded in my head that night.
Over the next couple of years, I met many more Artists and got more insights into why it’s so difficult for Artists to make a living from their Art. I set out to create a solution for this problem.
The solution I present to you today is TipStars. TipStars is designed to connect people who make, with people who love Art. Artists can obtain valuable insights from their Tippers, and Art lovers can build a Playlist of the Art they love, to enjoy over and over again. Artists can post where they will be performing or presenting their Art, and Art lovers can better plan to attend these events and hopefully, provide more Tips for their favorite Artists.
Tips generated through TipStars are shared among the Artist and the platform (mostly for the Artist). This way both participants have an equal incentive to create and promote the best Art possible.
You are fortunate to experience the minimal viable product version of TipStars. We greatly appreciate the feedback we received from the Proof-of-Concept version. But, we know this version will need improvement too.
Please try our service and send us a note on how well we are doing? Please provide Tips on how well you like and how we can improve the TipStars app. You can provide your candid feedback via the “Contact Us” link below. Your feedback is greatly appreciated and will lead to even better service as we continue this journey of supporting and enjoying Art together.
Thanks for experiencing TipStars. We greatly appreciate your support.
Jim, TipStars Founder
