The Georgia Theatre is an iconic Athens landmark. Anyone that has passed through Athens since the late 1970’s, when the building first opened up as a concert venue, or again in the late 1980’s when the Georgia Theatre once again opened its doors to musicians, has memories associated with the theatre. Spring of my freshmen year, I saw Sister Hazel play the Georgia Theatre on Valentine’s Day. My best friend and I were dateless for the holiday and thought it would be a fun way to enjoy the evening. That was my first (and only) concert at the Georgia Theatre before it burnt down in June of 2009. I’ve already started tweeting at Sister Hazel in the hopes that they will return to Athens and the Georgia Theatre before I graduate in May.

The Georgia Theatre plans to reopen its doors in August of 2011 and will feature artists like Big Boi, Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, Of Montreal, Bright Eyes, and The Whigs, just to name a few. Looking over the roster at who has graced the stage of the Georgia Theatre is a reminder of what makes the venue so amazing. For better-known artists, the Georgia Theatre is a great way to connect with fans in a more intimate setting. For lesser-known artists who are looking to get their foot in the door, the theatre is a place to build a devoted fan base.

The Glands: 8:00 PM. August 1. SOLD OUT

Blackberry Smoke: 8:00 PM. August 5, $10

RJD2: 8:00 PM. August 6, $15

J Roddy Walson and the Business, Reptar: 8:00 PM. August 9, $10

Bela Fleck and the Flecktones: 8:00 PM. August 10, $30

Big Boi: 8:00 PM. August 11. SOLD OUT

Drive By Truckers: 8:00 PM. August 12-13. SOLD OUT

Gillian Welch: 8:00 PM. August 14, $25

Colt Ford and Friends: 7:30 PM. August 16, $50

Stockholm Syndrome: 8:00 PM. August 17, $15

Corey Smith: 8:00 PM. August 19, $21

The Whigs: 8:00 PM. August 20, $15

Dank Sinatra: 8:00 PM. August 24, $8

Of Montreal: 8:00 PM. September 1, $15

Bright Eyes: 8:00 PM. September 8, $30

One concert that I am looking forward to is Corey Smith on August 19. As a fan of UGA and all things Athens, Smith’s songs resonate with me. I can’t imagine anything better than seeing Corey Smith performing in the town that has inspired so many of his songs. Check out the Georgia Theatre’s calendar for yourself and decide what concerts you’d like to attend. I guarantee that the theatre has some great things planned for its reopening and you won’t want to miss out.

We’ve spoken to a number of artists about the benefits of Rank ‘em. Even when we’re not trying to sell them anything, many of them remain skeptical of working with us because of the large amount of inquiries they get.

In general, we think the Rank ‘em resource can function as their best friend. While they’re not doing any work, we’re allowing the prospective fans to lean on the knowledge of the existing fanbase.

As I mentioned in my previous post, we already get a good bit of traffic from fans who seemingly rely on Google to help embrace a new artist.

In terms of our actual collaboration with artists, we think there’s four easy steps necessary, and only one minor step falls on the artists:

1. Artist mailing list [and Facebook & Twitter followings] encouraged to check out the existing fan favorites on Rank ‘em.
2. Fans disagree with the existing list so they want to rank their own.
3. Fans share their rankings across the social networks.
4. Potential fans see these lists and check ‘em out (everybody loves lists!).
5. Potential fans become new fans and repeat steps #2 & #3.

More than anything, this cycle is especially effective when artists have nothing new to share. How can they keep the fanbase engaged when they’re not (e.g.) releasing a new album or announcing a new tour?

For the artists, we’re trying to keep their name in the public consciousness, and minimize the troughs that come with the downtime. Rank ‘em gives fans an outlet to interact with the content in a unique way.

If you’re an artist and you dig what I’m describing, I’d love to talk and help make you leverage your fanbase to your advantage.