Sofar Sounds
 |
|
| Industry | Music |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2009 |
| Founder | Rocky Start, Rafe Offer, Dave Alexander |
| Headquarters |
London, E1 United Kingdom |
|
Area served
|
Worldwide, over 350 cities |
| Website | https://www.sofarsounds.com |
Sofar Sounds (an acronym for Songs from a Room) is a music events startup company, based in Shoreditch, founded in 2009. The company calls itself a global community where guests and artists come together to experience music in an intimate and respectful setting at a secret concert.
The events started in London in March 2009 by Rafe Offer, Rocky Start and Dave J. Alexander who went to a Friendly Fires concert and became annoyed by people talking over the music, gazing into their Smartphones or hearing the clanging of beer bottles. As a consequence, they decided to put on their own gig in Alexander's North London flat and invited eight friends over to listen to him play five songs in his living room.
For the second gig in London, more people showed up because the word had spread. Soon after, Sofar expanded (mostly by word of mouth) to Paris, New York City, and other cities, arriving in Los Angeles in early 2011.
What started as a grassroots movement in London has eventually grown into a global community. In early 2017, Sofar Sounds claimed that they are putting on about 500 gigs per month in more than 300 cities worldwide.
Typically, three artists perform at each Sofar gig with no "opener" and no "headliner". Performers apply to be considered via a form on the website. Musicians of all genres as well as spoken word poets, comedians and even dancers are welcome to apply. Local Sofar Sounds lead ambassadors / bookers and their review committees and music scouts curate the evenings.
The line-up for a concert is not disclosed until the event starts; the location (often a private living room with an average size of 70 people) is announced 24 hours before the show. Guests arrive on time for the first act and are encouraged to stay for the entire show. Events are normally BYOB, and emphasis is placed on the crowd being respectful – switching off their phones and listening. Sofar Sounds also claims that highlighting headline acts encourages people to turn up late and not respect the other performers, so that is why all artists are being treated equal.
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