Mumbai: New artistes can explore Beatmap that hosts cultural events in unconventional spaces

Beatmap recently organised a poetry reading evening at Kulture Shop in Bandra (W)

Mumbai is regularly churning out new artistes, but it's not easy for these acts to get venues to open their doors to them. Enter Beatmap, a digital platform that hopes to connect artistes with unconventional spaces in the city that are looking to host cultural events.

(From left) Roshan Abbas, Gaurav Kapur, Ankur Tewari, and Harisankar PS, founders of Beatmap

Beatmap is the brainchild of 22-year-old Harisankar PS, who co-owns it with Kommune, a live performance arts collective founded by singer-songwriter Ankur Tewari and TV personalities Gaurav Kapur and Roshan Abbas.

Harisankar PS

Harisankar says, "The idea came to me a year ago, when I was introduced to the city's performance scene by one of my roommates, who is a phenomenal musician.

Beatmap aims to get unconventional spaces to host performers

We hosted some people at home, and it made me wonder, what exactly can be called a stage?"

The platform hopes to change people's perception of a performance space by including everything from the usual bars, pubs and cafés to the more unconventional picks like offices, school auditoriums, and even a museum or someone's terrace. Moreover, it wants to expand the definition of a performance. Beatmap is open to a variety of artistes; so, whether you're a poet, spoken word artist, singer, stand-up comic, painter, dancer, or even a magician, you can sign up to find the ideal venue.

"To put it simply, it acts like an Airbnb for artistes by listing the registered venues they can approach. Similarly, it works like a LinkedIn for establishments, where they can find and book an act. Both parties can negotiate terms and hire each other," says Harisankar, adding that the platform will charge a convenience fee based on the amount being paid to the artiste. Meanwhile, if you're a third party looking to organise an event, you can register as a guest and book either the act or the space.

Although the website and app launch next month, Beatmap already has over 50 venues on board, including a fitness studio and an office space, both in Andheri (W). Currently, it's holding Spotlight Sessions to draw attention to both new artistes and venues. It recently hosted a pre-launch event at Kulture Shop, a Bandra store that stocks works by Indian graphic artists.

Each type of venue, of course, comes with its own set of limitations, but the people behind Beatmap have figured out how to deal with them. Harisankar says that it is important to make sure the number of people a space can
accommodate isn't exceeded.

Secondly, he adds, venues will be able to specify the kind of events they want to host, meaning you're unlikely to find a Death Metal gig taking place in someone's house.

While the platform currently only caters to Mumbai, the founders hope to expand to Delhi, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Pune and Kochi by mid-2017.

Log on to: beatmap.in