Sharingear

Touring musicians face high costs and logistics challenges for transporting heavy instruments and gear; owners underutilize equipment at home.

Peer-to-peer marketplace for renting instruments, amps, road crew, and buses locally, saving transport costs and enabling earnings from idle gear.

Focused on a market that was too small; unsustainable business model with small commissions not covering operations costs; lack of product-market fit; reluctance to rent delicate instruments despite insurance; musicians' preference for own gear.

Sharingear aimed to create a peer-to-peer marketplace connecting musicians needing to rent instruments and equipment with owners looking to monetize their idle gear. The platform sought to alleviate the high costs and logistical hurdles faced by touring musicians, offering a convenient way to access instruments, amplifiers, road crew, and even buses locally. By enabling musicians to rent gear instead of transporting it, Sharingear aimed to reduce tour expenses. Simultaneously, it provided instrument owners with an opportunity to generate income from equipment sitting unused at home.

Despite its promising concept, Sharingear shut down in late 2015 after exhausting its budget and experiencing employee turnover. The company struggled to adapt to market realities and failed to achieve product-market fit. Several factors contributed to its demise, including a focus on a niche market that proved too small to sustain the business. The commission-based revenue model generated insufficient income to cover operational costs. Furthermore, musicians exhibited a reluctance to rent delicate instruments, even with insurance coverage, often preferring to use their own familiar gear.