Cash and collaboration

Deprived of the ability to commune directly and in person at gigs (and earning some cash while doing so), musicians have unsurprisingly been seeking out alternative means of engaging with their fans. One such initiative is being trialled by Sheffield band While She Sleeps: a subscription service.

As guitarist Mat Welsh explained to the BBC's Will Chalk, "the subscription model is actually nothing new, but up until now it's mainly been used by YouTubers and podcasters". Those who invest in the band receive an assortment of benefits, depending on how much they stump up - everything from access to exclusive content, to merchandise, to personalised messages. Effectively, it's monetising the old-school fan club concept.

My initial reaction was to scoff at the idea - is this model one that we really want to see creeping into music, and would it not potentially result in more bands playing it safe so as to avoid upsetting their shareholders? In any case, who can afford to shell out to support every act they like in this way?

But Welsh insists that there's no expectation that all fans will want to sign up - or even very few at all. Just a modest number of hardcore subscribers makes the model "sustainable", he claims - and if that means being independent of record labels and also being able to offer financial support to road crew left unemployed by the pandemic, then perhaps it's something that other bands should consider pursuing. Maybe I'll just stick to buying every release from the artists I love, though...

Another approach - one that's not about generating revenue, only fan engagement - has recently been taken by Efterklang. The Developed project was announced with the promise not only of advance access to material from the Norwegians' forthcoming album but also the opportunity to collaborate virtually with them by contributing photos and video footage inspired by the new songs.

Fan-made videos are nothing new, of course - but actively inviting this level of engagement before the material is even released does seem more novel (though I'm prepared to be corrected). Compared to While She Sleeps' subscription model, it represents a more genuine and interesting attempt to bring band and fanbase closer together at a time when circumstances have conspired to drive them apart.

(Thanks to Kev for the BBC link.)