Centralising ALL your data can be daunting, but with Openstage's help, you can get all of it in one place and understand the true value of your fans. Through the platform, we allow you to start your fan data collection campaigns from scratch and import all your historical data. Whether it be previous mailing lists, pre-save campaigns, merch and tour sales, or music sales, we've got you covered—you can import all of it into our system.

In this article, we'll show you how to import data into the system in FOUR straightforward steps. For importing SALES DATA, see here.

The one golden rule we have at Openstage is that to have a fan record on the system; we need an email address or a phone number to create a contactable fan record. So, as long as you have that as the essential item in your data set, you're solid and ready to import. Additionally, if you have names, birth dates, sales information, location history, and other important information on your fans, you can also import all that data. All you need to do is allocate the appropriate "tags" while importing. Once you have all the line items labelled the way you'd like, convert the sheet to a .csv format (if you're importing a datasheet) and head over to the Openstage Manager workstation.

Just so you know - While migrating historical data / third-party data, please include marketing permission information, as we will need evidence of when the permission was collected to ensure we are GDPR compliant. If you are unsure of marketing permissions, we highly recommend that the first campaign you do with is an "Opt-in/Data clean" - i.e. a campaign where you ask the fanbase to join your new mailing list and give permission for future communications.

Once logged in, go to the Fans section and click on Import Fans. You will then have the option to Import either Individual Fan Records or Multiple Fan records.

In most cases, we see artists importing multiple fan records at one time, but just in case you have your fan's information written down somewhere and want to import that too - go ahead and click on "Create a single fan" and fill out all the details manually. On the other hand, if you have a datasheet of multiple fan records, click on "Upload multiple fans" - Input the name (Tag) you want this import to be labelled as and select the type of data you're importing from the dropdown if it's some form of sales data. You're now ready to upload the file.

Next, you must map each line item with the appropriate descriptor. Once you've matched all the fields, you can click on import, and the file will be transferred to our system for processing through our validation tool.

Graphic - Field Mapping while importing data

Also, if your screensaver times out, you lose connection, or your laptop battery dies out, Don't worry. You haven't lost anything. Our system will process the data without interruption once you click "Import," even if you leave the browser.

Within a few moments of clicking import, you will notice in the bottom panel of the dashboard that the files are being validated and passed through three levels - "Files getting validated, Files ready to upload, and Files with errors". You can review the records under the errors list, go through the explanation given against them, and see if you can correct any line items so they can be passed through validation again.

Some common errors we have noticed in sheets -

After the validation, you can click "Upload Fan Records", and you're done!

The fan numbers increase as the data funnels through the system. If you'd like to review the list or Tag after the data is imported, go to the Tag Manager (under the Engage section) or segment the Tag through our Audience Filter (Audience under Fan Section).

PRO TIP: If you feel like the numbers don't add up, don't be worried. Most likely, some records might be duplicates, some transactions might be compounded against one fan record instead of duplicating email records, or fan records may not have been imported due to invalid email IDs or numbers. If you still are worried, reach out to us at hello@openstage.live