We caught up with Tim, a percussionist and member of the Fat Llama team, to find out how their innovative new sharing platform is making it easier than ever for musicians to borrow and lend instruments and equipment.
Encore members get £25 free credit to spend on their first rental! Click here to redeem the special offer.
With the growth of peer-to-peer rental platforms like Fat Llama, we’re creating a future where almost any item you can think of – from hedge trimmers to camera gimbals – is accessible within minutes.
The benefits for musicians (international tourers, semi-pros and hobbyists alike) are clear.
Not only are they able to earn a passive income by lending out their underused equipment; they will also have round-the-clock access to a global inventory of instruments and PA/recording gear.
Some musicians are earning over £2850 a month through the Fat Llama platform. Not bad for renting out amps, DJ equipment and guitars which were gathering dust!
DJ Equipment Rental: Jennifer and Adam
We recently spoke to Adam and Jennifer after she borrowed his CDJ Nexus 2000s on Fat Lama in South London.
Jennifer:
“I was renting them for a private party that I was putting on. It was good because I was able to sort them out at really short notice.”
“Adam really kind of saved the day! The equipment I wanted to use was pretty close to my house as well; travelling to pick up something is definitely a big factor.”
Adam:
“I’m actually a DJ myself. Fat Lama was quite appealing to me because I’ve got all of this expensive equipment but I’m not always using it and it’s just sat there collecting dust probably about 50% of the time, so to be able to make money off that while it’s sat there is great.”
“When I found Fat Lama I was actually looking for a means of selling them. I thought, ‘hang on a minute, I can make my money back and also keep my equipment.’”
Last Minute Gig Emergencies, Studio Sessions and Music Videos
For musicians, one of the biggest draws of peer-to-peer instrument rental is that it provides on-demand access in hours of need. A global inventory of gear could in the near future provide a safety net of instantly accessible musical equipment. Instant access is one of the key drivers for users of the Fat Lama; in fact, a third of platform bookings are made on the same day as the rental period starts, and more than 3 in 5 booking requests made on Fat Lama are processed in under an hour.
Musicians are already capitalising on other rental opportunities on the platform, too. Raylo and DMO Deejay are two artists who’ve recently made the most of the cheap camera hire rates peer-to-peer allows. The former hired a drone to film a rooftop music video in West London; the latter a Sony AS7 video camera for his vlog.
Encore Member? Get £25 Free Credit
If you’d like to take advantage of what others are renting nearby, good news: we’ve teamed up with Fat Lama in order to give every Encore member £25 free credit.
If you’ve got a studio session, tour or even just a jam coming up which you’d like to bring to life with some new gear, sign up here with the code ENCORE25.
