(UPDATED) Sonicbids has added no cost gig opportunities for its members courtesy of a new partnership with catalog and online music gear retailer Musician's Friend. The listings will be introduced gradually over the next few months eventually reaching the thousands. A broader roll-out is planned for the Fall. 

In the past, some have been critical of Sonicbid's pay to submit model. But that has not stopped the site from attracting and retaining an impressive 245,000 paying members who use its electronic press kit to book live performances. To further strengthen its offering, Sonicbids recently acquired  music info delivery platform ArtistData and added former Monster.com and Yahoo executives to its team.

CEO Panos Panay Talks About Sonicbid's Evolution

Paid submissions will still be offered on for SXSW, CMJ, Popkomm, Eurosonic, MIDEM and others. But over time Sonicbids is clearly shifting how it serves its musician members.  Sonicbids delivered almost 71,000 gigs and other opportunities worth more than $10 million last year, according to Sonicbids CEO Panos Panay. “But for the past ten years, we've charged fees for nearly every listing bands applied for," he told Hypebot during an interview on Friday.  "While I still believe and think that we've proven that paying to submit is an effective filter,  we're always looking for ways to better serve our members." 

“We know that it takes on average, about 10-11 submissions for a band to get their first gig on Sonicbids," Panay to Hypebot in an interview Friday. "After that, they get the hang of it. We feel that this move  to no-cost listings will encourage artists to experiment more and ultimately land more gigs." Over the summer, Sonicbids will also be testing other ways to help guide musicians to the most appropriate opportunities.

Since Musican's Friend serves millions of musicians, the partnership also creates a much broader community. "By partnering with Sonicbids, we’re making it easier for musicians to achieve their dreams of playing live," Craig Johnson, Chief Executive Officer, Musician’s Friend said in the statement announcing the deal.