When Indie on the Move launched (www.indieonthemove.com) in late 2008, the site was fairly simple: a free online database of music venues and booking information for DIY (“do it yourself”) touring musicians. Add the ability for the users themselves to not only rate and review a venue’s reputation, but to add other venues not already in the system, and suddenly you have an exciting new player in a tired old game.

"For us, there is absolutely no tour without Indie on the Move,” says Justin Stang of the Union, Washington band, Sideways Reign. “I can't imagine a world before this essential tool and outstanding resource existed.”

Over the past couple of years, Indie on the Move has become the go-to resource for musicians nationwide booking anything from a few local shows, to year-long cross-country jaunts. And as the membership has grown so too has the site itself with its cache of venues going from 950 to north of 4,900.

"I can't believe I used to rely on suggestions from friends and Google searches to find venues in other towns,” says Josh Myers of Sad Red (Brooklyn, NY). “[Indie on the Move is] the patron saint of touring bands.”

Between October of 2011 and January of 2012, the company rolled out an array of new features aimed at strengthening the ability for musicians to do business with one another, and for venues themselves to do business with the musicians. These features include the ability for users to post photo and video galleries, streaming audio, and event calendars to their profiles. Users are then able to tag venues in their uploaded photos and videos, allowing others to see numerous real-world examples of what a show at that establishment looks and feels like. Additionally, the ability for venues, bands, and other users to post show/band availabilities to fill empty slots in their schedules as well as classified ads have proven to be an invaluable tool to all parties. Lastly, the forums section has opened the door to numerous, and ever changing, engaging conversations related to touring, self- promotion, and other relevant industry topics.

By February the user experience had been strengthened drastically in just a matter of months, but there was still more to come. The inclusion of a “live streaming module” created the framework for a growing hub of embedded video from venues that stream their shows live on sites like Ustream, LiveStream, and Justin.tv. In conjunction with that, a preference was added to remind bands (and all users) when they have a show coming up at a venue that offers live streaming, thus allowing them to effectively promote that show to out of town fans that would not otherwise be there. More free promotion for the venues and more unique, free content for the musicians to plug for themselves!

Despite the benefit of all these other site-wide additions, Indie on the Move glided into March 2012 with two more features that are arguably among their most valuable assets. With the addition of their press and radio directories, users are presented with a vast and up-to-date list of all the relevant press publications and radio stations in the United States. A seemingly simple addition, the value of which might only be truly appreciated by touring bands who spend countless hours scouring Google, or less complete, confusing publications, to find this information. Now, all of the essentials are presented in one place. For radio: the station name and website; genre, and a direct link to their contact information. For press outlets, pretty much the same: the city in which they are based; the name of the publication; website link; and direct link to their contact information.

For any band or booking agent ready to do the legwork necessary to benefit themselves, their clients, or their own venue, there is no more valuable resource online than Indie on the Move. Between the network of musicians, venues, bookers, agents, labels, promoters, and fans—now flirting with 30,000 strong—and the vast resource of ever expanding contact information for venues, radio stations and press outlets, and the ability for inclusion of all necessary multimedia presentation on individual profiles, there is no legitimate reason for any DIY-minded musician to count on any one resource more than Indie on the Move.