02.06.10 -WELSH ‘BACK ROOM’ WEBSITE ROCKETS INTO TOP TEN OF UK MUSIC INDUSTRY
A Wales-based music website which started out as a backroom fan site for the Stereophonics, has rocketed into the top ten of UK music websites vying for position with music heavyweights including the BBC, Kerrang! and Guardian Music and out-performing other famous names including Billboard.com and AOL Music.
According to official figures from Music Week, Stereoboard.com founded by Pontypridd-born Internetpreneur Nigel Sachdev, has leapt into the Experian Hitwise top ten just below established rock giant Kerrang! following an eight-fold increase in traffic over the last12 months.
Over 1.6 million music fans a month are visiting Stereoboard.com to find tour news, merchandise and to buy concert tickets. The site, compares over 200,000 tickets from over 26,000 events every day from its panel of primary and secondary ticket sellers including Ticketmaster, See Tickets, Viagogo, Seatwave and GETMEIN!
The site was started as a hobby in 2002 in the backroom of Nigel Sachdev’s home, having originally been adopted as the official Stereophonics website from 1997-2001.
Since deciding to run Stereoboard.com full time in 2009 as a general music and gig ticket site, the business has exploded for Sachdev, with face value tickets sales currently running at over £5 million per annum.
Nigel Sachdev, who runs Stereoboard.com with a staff of 20 reviewers and contributors based throughout the UK said: “Our unique mixture of music news, reviews and ticket comparison has seen business grow exponentially since last year.
We are moving towards monthly visitor levels of 3 million by the end of the year and we will soon be vying for a top five position with giants like BBC Music, Rolling Stone and Guardian Music. This is a phenomenal performance for an independent website.”
In operation the website tracks the availability and prices from leading primary ticket sellers and fan-to-fan ticket exchanges, enabling users to click through and acquire the most economical tickets for the gigs and locations of their choice. The site also provides constantly updated music news enabling users to find out about the latest tours as soon as they are announced, and before tickets go on sale to the public.
The site compares only the prices of companies that have a registered UK operation and all tickets purchased through Stereoboard.com carry a replacement or money back guarantee in the event of a cancelled gig.