A former broker has ploughed his savings into a web site he claims will revolutionise the music business.

Philip Nuttall launched renta-gig.com from his Eastbourne home just last week but the site has already stirred up a wave of interest.

The father-of-two from Upperton Road has spent the past year setting up Renta-gig, which is aimed at helping musicians and bands find venues, management companies, record companies and recording studios on the internet.

Managers and record company representatives can also log on to the site to watch videos of bands and hear samples of their music without trekking across the country to see them play.

Philip, 39, who set up renta-gig.com with his business partner, Paul Stanistreet, said: "It's early days. We're just getting it out on all the search engines so people can look at it all over the world. At the moment, this sort of information gets learned through word of mouth but we're hoping to change all that."

The idea for the web site came from Philip's mother-in-law when the family were living in the Middle East.

Philip, who plays drums and guitar, said: "She was trying to book a band to play at my brother-in-law's wedding but it was impossible to find one. I thought 'wouldn't it be good if she could find one on the web' and then the idea took hold."

As the concept grew, Philip decided to move back to England with his wife Stephanie, ten-year-old daughter Charlotte, and son James, six, to set the wheels in motion.

He said: "I never wanted to be a famous musician myself but I've met so many struggling musicians and bands I wanted to do something to make their lives easier. Our aim is to centralise the music business.

People tend to be suspicious of anything that's free but we believe, once they get used to it, the site will really take off."