DJ duo The Chainsmokers will play a sold-out, crowdfounded show at Emo’s tonight. The students-only show was made possible by partnering with fundraising app Tilt, which launched a contest among college campuses to sell 800 tickets as quickly as possible. The six campuses that sold the tickets the fastest became the destinations for the pair’s tour. The Daily Texan talked to Tilt’s head of media partnerships, Grace Lee, to discuss the app, the tour and what’s next:
The Daily Texan: How did the tour come about?
Grace Lee: What’s really cool about this is that [concertgoers] have skin in the game — the students made this happen. The Chainsmokers wanted to do something more innovative and groundbreaking. They wanted to do the first-ever fan-sourced tour. What that means is, instead of picking random tour dates, they said, “The first six college campuses to sell 800 tickets is where we will go.” They wanted to go where the demand and their fans were, and UT happened to be one of [those campuses.]
DT: How has it gone so far?
GL: It’s been awesome. Austin is stop number two. We were at [The University of Connecticut] last week, and it was just insane. The energy was so high, so we’re really excited to see how [today’s] concert goes.
DT: How is a crowdfunded tour different from a traditionally funded tour?
GL: [The Chainsmokers] have the opportunity to connect with loyal fans because these are people who put money forward [to see them] come. This is really changing the way artists could tour in the future. What’s cool is that [UT students] made this happen. It’s the power of demand.
DT: How can students still score tickets to the concert?
GL: The concert is sold out, but if you follow the Snapchat @TiltHQ, we’re going to give away tickets all day [Tuesday].
DT: Why is Tilt so popular with college students?
GL: Tilt is growing really quickly on college campuses. I think it’s because millennials are organically so social. It’s an app they need and can use. We’ve all been in those situations when you have to collect money from 10 people for a ski trip or spring break. It’s just an easy way to make things happen.
DT: What’s next for Tilt?
GL: Our Tilters are the future of Tilt. We love seeing how people use Tilt. Anything is possible with the power of a group. This is not the first time we’ve seen students Tilt an artist. We had four guys Tilt the Red Hot Chili Peppers last year and G-Eazy last May. You can make anything a reality with the power of Tilt — something you can’t do on your own, but if you get 10 friends, 100 friends, 1,000 friends, anything is possible. We’re going to look to our Tilters to see what they want to do next.
Who: The Chainsmokers
Where: Emo’s
When: Doors at 7 p.m.
Correction: The first date of Tilt Tour stopped at the University of Connecticut, not Yukon.
