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Brooklyn Bowl’s owner thinks he can build a better social network for music fans

Peter Shapiro's new startup Fans is backed by the likes of early Facebook investor (and musician) Roger McNamee and music marketing company Wonderful Union.

Brooklyn Bowl owner Peter Shapiro is a jam band connoisseur, and he’s looking to find others who are just as hardcore into Phish and the Grateful Dead as he is.

That’s why he founded Fans, which launches today with a website and an iPhone app. On the social network, which is headquartered in Manhattan, where Shapiro lives, music fans can list concerts they’ve attended, tag events they’d like to check out and share photos, videos, news, and reviews of artists.

Mmm, social network fatigue. (We’re reminded of how venture capitalist Charlie O’Donnell expressed skepticism about tired startup models at his most recent #notapitch event.) But according to Shapiro, who previously spoke with the New York Times about his new venture, social networks like Facebook and Twitter aren’t very good places for serious music fans to obsess over their favorite artists. In a letter on Fans.com, he wrote about the moment when he realized that void.

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