ROSTR Announces New Live Performance Showcase Series, EARLY

Connects emerging talent with the industry’s key decision and tastemakers

ROSTR, Inc. has announced EARLY, a new live showcase series designed to connect emerging artists with industry decision-makers and tastemakers. The initiative — which will debut at a ROSTR event in LA this October — is a collaboration with global live music discovery platform Bandsintown.

The idea:

For years ROSTR’s world-leading music industry directory has connected agents, managers, promoters, labels, publishers, brands and more.
Across its conversations with these behind the scenes professionals ROSTR has identified two key industry needs:
- Artists are crying out for credible stages where the right industry people show up with intent to scout.
- Industry pros need curated, time-efficient ways to discover talent that is stage-ready and has momentum.
EARLY is that event – a live A&R environment that pairs an independent, curated lineup with a room full of decision makers, and converts one night of performances into weeks of industry attention and follow-up.

The benefits:

Via the collaboration with Bandsintown, EARLY artists will receive promotional support that reaches millions of fans globally via promotional placements and custom campaigns on Bandinstown/
An online content series around EARLY will also showcase the artists to tens of thousands of industry professionals across ROSTR’s global online audience.
Costs + a small fee to ensure that artists are compensated

The details:

EARLY will debut on Thursday October 16 at El Cid in Silver Lake, Los Angeles.
The evening will feature three acts performing 30-minute sets in front of 400 invited industry guests. There will also be a 45-minute headline DJ set.
During 2026 ROSTR hopes to roll out EARLY as a regular event.

What they said:

Mark Williamson, ROSTR Co-Founder and CEO: “ROSTR’s mission has always been to support the people who work with artists, so that they can better support the artists they work with. With EARLY, we’re hoping to extend this mission into the live space, creating independent opportunities for emerging artists to connect directly with the industry professionals who can help them take the next step in their careers.”
Fabrice Sergent, Bandsintown co-founder and Managing Partner: “Establishing meaningful industry connections is a real challenge for developing artists, and EARLY embodies the kind of independent showcase platform that we champion—one that creates value and equal opportunity for artists to get discovered and grow their careers.”

How to get involved:

Artists can apply for consideration by completing the EARLY submission form by 11pm PT on Sunday, September 7, 2025.
The ROSTR team will curate the lineup based on fit for the room and the night.
The debut edition of EARLY is looking for acts that will fit an upbeat, high-energy bill.
Artists should be at a stage where they’re ready to perform in front of industry, and can provide private links to past live shows.
Unsuccessful submissions may also be considered for future EARLY events.

The idea:

For years ROSTR’s world-leading music industry directory has connected agents, managers, promoters, labels, publishers, brands and more.
Across its conversations with these behind the scenes professionals ROSTR has identified two key industry needs:
- Artists are crying out for credible stages where the right industry people show up with intent to scout.
- Industry pros need curated, time-efficient ways to discover talent that is stage-ready and has momentum.
EARLY is that event – a live A&R environment that pairs an independent, curated lineup with a room full of decision makers, and converts one night of performances into weeks of industry attention and follow-up.

The benefits:

Via the collaboration with Bandsintown, EARLY artists will receive promotional support that reaches millions of fans globally via promotional placements and custom campaigns on Bandinstown/
An online content series around EARLY will also showcase the artists to tens of thousands of industry professionals across ROSTR’s global online audience.
Costs + a small fee to ensure that artists are compensated

The details:

EARLY will debut on Thursday October 16 at El Cid in Silver Lake, Los Angeles.
The evening will feature three acts performing 30-minute sets in front of 400 invited industry guests. There will also be a 45-minute headline DJ set.
During 2026 ROSTR hopes to roll out EARLY as a regular event.

What they said:

Mark Williamson, ROSTR Co-Founder and CEO: “ROSTR’s mission has always been to support the people who work with artists, so that they can better support the artists they work with. With EARLY, we’re hoping to extend this mission into the live space, creating independent opportunities for emerging artists to connect directly with the industry professionals who can help them take the next step in their careers.”
Fabrice Sergent, Bandsintown co-founder and Managing Partner: “Establishing meaningful industry connections is a real challenge for developing artists, and EARLY embodies the kind of independent showcase platform that we champion—one that creates value and equal opportunity for artists to get discovered and grow their careers.”

How to get involved:

Artists can apply for consideration by completing the EARLY submission form by 11pm PT on Sunday, September 7, 2025.
The ROSTR team will curate the lineup based on fit for the room and the night.
The debut edition of EARLY is looking for acts that will fit an upbeat, high-energy bill.
Artists should be at a stage where they’re ready to perform in front of industry, and can provide private links to past live shows.
Unsuccessful submissions may also be considered for future EARLY events.

The idea:

For years ROSTR’s world-leading music industry directory has connected agents, managers, promoters, labels, publishers, brands and more.
Across its conversations with these behind the scenes professionals ROSTR has identified two key industry needs:
- Artists are crying out for credible stages where the right industry people show up with intent to scout.
- Industry pros need curated, time-efficient ways to discover talent that is stage-ready and has momentum.
EARLY is that event – a live A&R environment that pairs an independent, curated lineup with a room full of decision makers, and converts one night of performances into weeks of industry attention and follow-up.

The benefits:

Via the collaboration with Bandsintown, EARLY artists will receive promotional support that reaches millions of fans globally via promotional placements and custom campaigns on Bandinstown/
An online content series around EARLY will also showcase the artists to tens of thousands of industry professionals across ROSTR’s global online audience.
Costs + a small fee to ensure that artists are compensated

The details:

EARLY will debut on Thursday October 16 at El Cid in Silver Lake, Los Angeles.
The evening will feature three acts performing 30-minute sets in front of 400 invited industry guests. There will also be a 45-minute headline DJ set.
During 2026 ROSTR hopes to roll out EARLY as a regular event.

What they said:

Mark Williamson, ROSTR Co-Founder and CEO: “ROSTR’s mission has always been to support the people who work with artists, so that they can better support the artists they work with. With EARLY, we’re hoping to extend this mission into the live space, creating independent opportunities for emerging artists to connect directly with the industry professionals who can help them take the next step in their careers.”
Fabrice Sergent, Bandsintown co-founder and Managing Partner: “Establishing meaningful industry connections is a real challenge for developing artists, and EARLY embodies the kind of independent showcase platform that we champion—one that creates value and equal opportunity for artists to get discovered and grow their careers.”

How to get involved:

Artists can apply for consideration by completing the EARLY submission form by 11pm PT on Sunday, September 7, 2025.
The ROSTR team will curate the lineup based on fit for the room and the night.
The debut edition of EARLY is looking for acts that will fit an upbeat, high-energy bill.
Artists should be at a stage where they’re ready to perform in front of industry, and can provide private links to past live shows.
Unsuccessful submissions may also be considered for future EARLY events.

ROSTR

EARLY

Bandsintown

El Cid

Music Industry Networking Events

B2B Music Service Integration

Artist-Fan Direct Engagement

Monetizing Live Performances

Company Launches

Artist Development

Music Discovery

Brand Partnerships

Artist Showcases

United States

Los Angeles, US

👋 Disclosures & Transparency Block

EARLY is a ROSTR, inc initiative and New Industry Focus is also owned and operated by ROSTR.
While this is the kind of news we might have covered anyway, NIF editors specifically asked our writers to cover this. As EARLY is a ROSTR initiative there is clear self-interest in publishing this news.
The article itself was written based on a press release from ROSTR. Editors on the ROSTR team did make some tweaks to the article but for the most part the article was written by Rod Yates (one of NIF's freelance writers).