Why is this Australian trying to ‘build a community’ with a music app in Eastern Kentucky?
There aren’t many places on Earth farther away from Kentucky than the outback of Western Australia, but thanks to a new Android and Apple iOS app, the two are becoming more connected than ever before through the sound of music.
The app at play is JammNation, which promises to connect top fans of musicians to their favorite artists through exclusive livestreams, giveaways, merch drops, song releases and other engagements. It’s spearheaded by Perth-based farmer turned entrepreneur Robert Hillier, who got the idea after being unable to get tickets to see one of his favorite country artists, Cody Johnson, on his recent Australian tour despite being notified by Apple Music days prior of being one of Johnson’s “Top Fans.”
The app held a soft launch last month at Laurel Cove Music Festival in Pineville, where it served as a diamond level sponsor and awarded custom belt buckles to several of the performing artists (including headliners Wyatt Flores and Red Clay Strays) to give out to their top fans. It also served as a sponsor for May’s Sleeping In The Woods Festival in Monticello, open mic nights at Makers Mill in Somerset and is set to sponsor more gatherings in the fall like Manchester Music Fest and the Black Mountain Jamboree. It’s a fierce commitment and doubling down on Kentucky’s music scene, a move Hillier says is because of the similarities of the Bluegrass to his home down under.
“Kentucky and Appalachia remind me of my home in Western Australia in so many ways,” says Hillier.” I view it as the home of country music. There’s also already such a strong sense of community within the music scene here, so I knew that if our work with JammNation could resonate here that we could build something special.”
How does the JammNation app work?
JammNation works by linking with a user’s Spotify or Apple Music account to track plays, which it displays on your profile in various categories ranging from genre to artist, song, play streaks, and more. Once you cross a current listening threshold per artist you’ll be labeled as a top fan, opening you up to exclusive rewards and content. It’s a unique way to leverage streams — which by and large have objectively low payouts to artists — by using them to connect artists with their most devout fans who are more likely to buy tickets to shows, merchandise, and more.
“With Spotify and Apple everyone’s there to take a dollar and not really build a community,” asserts Hillier. “We are a tech app, but the main goal is building that community out and watching grassroots artists be able to grow as creatives while also managing their fan base. We want to give artists the tools to leverage those streams into community-based interactions with their fans that end up benefiting all parties involved.”
Other benefits of JammNation app
Other than artists, fans and festivals, JammNation plans to also work with venues to create a fan club-like experience as well as podcasts to create a comprehensive ecosystem and community of music lovers. That’s in addition to over 2,100 active users in early access (and counting) along with nearly 60 artists on board to engage with their fans through the app like Nicholas Jamerson, Jesse Daniel and Hunter Flynn
Of those, Jamerson is also partnering with JammNation on a mentor program where he’ll help pick five young, emerging Kentucky songwriters to award sponsorships to that will cover the cost of recording their first song. It will also include coaching on everything from songwriting to what to do in the studio, tips for touring, how to find a manager and build a team, mental health resources and more. Added support for the venture will come from the Kentucky Music Hall of Fame & Museum, Bell County Tourism and the Master Musicians Festival. The program is expected to launch in 2025.
The app is also giving back to Kentucky through it’s JammNation Artist Foundation, a non-profit founded using Hillier’s marketing budget for the app. It’s a pay-it-forward approach and all-in bet on word-of-mouth marketing that has already proven to be a homerun for the app that’s already sending reverberations through the local music scene. In May at Sleeping In The Woods it awarded Somerset songwriter Hunter Flynn a check covering the recording costs for an EP, a gift Flynn immediately announced he’d be passing on to fellow artists in need looking to record their first material.
“Rob has opened doors for me and some of my peers that would’ve taken us months, maybe years of financial planning and allowed us to truly just focus on making the best art we can make,” says Flynn. “I cannot thank him and the Jamm Nation team enough.”
The app conceived in Australia and born in Kentucky is expected to fully launch in the weeks ahead as new features are slowly tested and rolled out. New users on the app can expect to find custom news feeds curated with only the artists you listen to and no algorithm featuring an upvote/downvote system, the ability to DM artists, the ability to become verified as a first responder, teacher, student, military, etc., and more. The entire process is one that Hillier promises will be fan-driven, and if the past few months are any indication that’s a commitment that’s sure to not waver.
“We were curious to learn if this was something that not only fans would want, but artists as well,” says Hillier. “It’s been a lot of information gathering so far, but the response to the app has been overwhelmingly positive. Now our objective is to go back, build out its main features and get ready for the full launch later this year.”