Huub Kuiper digitizes the local live music scene with Jamr

“I had quite a bit of free time”, tells Huub Kuiper about the period in which he Jamr developed. The 28-year-old data engineer and musician from Groningen was between jobs and also noticed that finding jam sessions had become a challenge after the pandemic. “A few years ago, you could find almost everything on Facebook. Everyone sat there and it was also very organized back then. Now everything is fragmented and hard to find.” That frustration was the start of Jamr, an app that is now digitizing the live music scene in Groningen.

Events were invisible

“If you want to know what's in a bar, you should specifically go to that pub's Instagram. So if you don't know anything, you can't find it either.” For someone who played in a band themselves, this was extra frustrating. “You end up playing in front of a hall with four or five people because no one knows about the event.”

That experience as a musician, combined with his technical background as a data engineer, provided the perfect basis for a solution. “Existing apps such as Bands in Town did work for big venues, but completely missed the smaller initiatives that Groningen is so rich in.”

‍Eight months of programming as a hobby

Initially, Huub started his project purely as a hobby. “I thought: at least I'll be programming a little bit and keeping track of my knowledge. I came up with more and more functionalities and added them.” He worked on the first version for six months, but the real time pressure came when ESNS 2024 was around the corner.

“Why not either? Of course, if I want to launch something, now is the perfect time. There is no time, even in the Netherlands, where there is so much live music in so many places at the same time.” In December 2023, he really went for it, with the help of designer Mart Oosterman who created designs for the App Store. “Of course, ESNS is already in January, so we had to hustle.”

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I think the app already had 3,000 or 4,000 downloads in the first two days. I never achieved that again, such an enormous growth.

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‍The stressful launch

It was a piece of cake. “I think Jamr went live right on time one or two days before the launch. That all just went well.” At the Warhol, he organized a launch party one day before ESNS. “I came there often and I know the owner well. He was enthusiastic about my idea and offered me this stage.”

The launch was a direct hit. “I think the app already had 3,000 or 4,000 downloads in the first two days. I never achieved that again, such an enormous growth.” The app was even number 4 in the Dutch App Store for music. “That was a really great day.”

After the hype comes reality

But like many startups, reality followed after the peak. “It's not like downloads skyrocketed. After Eurosonic 2024, the number of downloads fell immediately. And a few days after that, it went back very quickly.” Yet Huub never threw in the towel. In fact, this relapse motivated him to take the next step.

“When building, I always think: I have to build it in such a way that I have little maintenance.” That smart choice of architecture turned out to be worth its weight in gold. “The updates to the venues are all automated. I have built in APIs from a number of locations in Groningen, so they automatically take over their program. In addition, locations in the city can add their own events. In principle, I haven't been able to touch the app for a year now and it still works.”

From Groningen success to growing adoption

Jamr now has almost all Groningen venues on board. “For example, the Buckshot has been around since the beginning. They put everything in there every week. But also, for example, De Smederij, Martinus Brewery and Sterrenbos. Recently, there was also an expansion to the region, with venues such as the brewery in Loppersum.”

Milan Bos from 3voor12 and Popronde, who became involved with Jamr as a friend, plays an important role. “Milan also saw the potential of this app for the live music scene in Groningen.”

Recently, the ability to follow artists was added. Now you can follow around 1200-1300 artists from the database, if they have a Spotify account. “In the app, you can press “Claim profile”. Then we can assess whether you are actually this artist.”

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They were extremely enthusiastic and would like to actively help roll out Jamr in The Hague.

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Groningen and beyond

The real breakthrough will soon come from the integration with Stager, the ticketing system that serves 70% of all Dutch stages. “These venues will soon be able to simply click on their own Stager account Jamr, so that all their events will automatically go to Jamr.” There is also a pilot with the Pop District in The Hague. “They were extremely enthusiastic and would like to actively help roll out Jamr in The Hague.”

From agenda to platform

Jamr is evolving from a simple agenda to a real live music platform. The next step is to financially support artists. “I also want to make sure that you can not only follow artists, but that you can also support artists.”

The idea is to make it easier for music lovers to support artists directly. “Similar to how you first put a euro in a suitcase. Now, after a performance, you get a message from Jamr saying: did you like this? Get this artist a beer.”

This summer, Jamr will also launch pop-up sessions, where local artists will be programmed to local entrepreneurs. This is how we create our own Jamr events.

Realistic growth

Despite the big plans, Huub keeps his feet on the ground. He still works four days a week as a data engineer at ABN Amro and has a fixed day off for Jamr on Tuesday. “Of course, I would prefer to do this full-time. But yes, as long as no money comes in, it really only stays at one day a week.” This cautious approach matches his northern Dutch character. “I think the most important thing is to start with it. I'll just sit down and start programming. Then I'll see what comes out.”

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I really enjoy creating something myself. And the freedom to move in any direction.

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Constant improvement

For Huub, the strength of entrepreneurship lies in freedom and speed. “I really enjoy creating something myself. And the freedom to move in any direction.” The contrast with his work at ABN AMRO is stark. “If you want to change something there, it just has to go to a lot of people. If I want to change something in my app now, I'll change that and it'll be online tomorrow.”

This flexibility ensures that he is constantly adding new features. For example, when he noticed that there was little country and americana in the app, he built an AI solution that classifies genres based on artist bio's. “Suddenly, there were more than 20 country acts in the app.”

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Just start, and you'll see what comes out.

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Advice for future entrepreneurs

His most important advice for others who are unsure? “I think the most important thing is to start with it and you'll see what comes out. I actually have that for myself as a kind of rule.” That pragmatic approach has brought him to where he is today. What started as frustration with missed jam sessions is now a platform that is transforming the live music scene.

“If Jamr stopped tomorrow, I would miss creating something myself”, he reflects. But for now, quitting does not seem to be the case. With plans for further expansion and new functionalities, Jamr is at the beginning of a new phase in which the hobby project of a data engineer from Groningen may well become the platform for live music in the Netherlands. The future will tell.

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Interview & text by Lars Meijer