August 8th, 2007
Join The Bayside Army!
Taking a cue from the KISS army of yore, Bayside has established an “online social club.” According to the band (as reported by AbsolutePunk.net)
“You’ll hear Bayside news before anyone else, get special invites to secret Bayside events, get tickets to shows before anyone else can and at discounted prices… Our fans have always been so amazing to us and so dedicated and here’s our chance to give back.”
I clearly think this is among one of the ways to go for bands as labels continue to shit the bed. $25 or $30 per year gets you new music on a periodic basis, recorded live sets, and a special piece of merch, early or exclusive access to performances. As long as they keep up with the content, it could work out well for them.
Following the same thought process, labels with a strong genre specific fan base (Relapse, Roadrunner, Victory) could couple this idea with a Sub Pop Singles Club type deal, and wrap delivery of music in a whole bunch of other, more tangible added-value experiences.
Written by Bill Wilson
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On August 9th, 2007 at 5:28 am
iSynth said:
didn’t Nine Inch Nails play the same trick to their fans before?
and what does “the KISS army of yore” mean at all?
On August 9th, 2007 at 5:43 am
jason said:
i think lots of bands will do this buy how many kids are going to be paying $20 or $30 a year for multiple bands for this kind of thing?
On August 9th, 2007 at 7:53 am
Bill Wilson said:
iSynth,
During the 70’s KISS was the first band to really monetize their fan base in a significant way by doing something called the KISS Army. Search for it on Google. I’m sure there will be tons of info.
Jason,
I agree… how many bands will be able to do this? That’s why it may make sense on an aggregate/ label side. A few bands could also get together to create an exclusive club without a label.
On August 9th, 2007 at 10:38 am
iSynth said:
i get the point now! thanx Bill!
On August 9th, 2007 at 12:10 pm
GregOden said:
Kids get their music for free these days. The value of music is nada. No one is paying anything for a Bayside b-side that will show up on sendspace links across the world regardless.
On August 9th, 2007 at 1:02 pm
Bill Wilson said:
Yes… the value of music is indeed seriously diminished… but there may be a value in having people subscribe to new music via RSS (like a podcast) saves all that searching. As a “stand alone” music service.. this probably wouldn’t work.. but coupled with the exclusive merch/ access angle it might.
You turn it on and wait for new music to be delivered to your inbox from your favorite artists. I believe that has a value, on top of the material goods and other perks from such as system.
On August 10th, 2007 at 11:51 am
beth said:
I somehow got on the mailing list for Camel, they constantly send me crap to try and lure me into smoking. Recently they sent me a cd featuring Bayside. This left a pretty bad taste in my mouth.
On August 13th, 2007 at 11:28 pm
Howdy Doody said:
I think it’s genious, and it’s been working for a lot of bands. Like Bill said, as a stand alone thing, it wouldn’t, but, you throw in meet and greets, exclusive merch, “membership cards,” etc and it’s a great idea.