SMS is one of the most direct ways to reach fans. If you have collected phone numbers through an Openstage landing page or a previous data import, SMS broadcasts let you reach fans instantly with updates, presale access, exclusive content, and more.
⚪ Note: If you do not have phone numbers set up in your Artist Settings, contact your Openstage account manager or email support@openstage.live.
🟡 Please note: SMS broadcasts require SMS credit before they can be sent. Once credit runs out, broadcasts stop sending. See Top Up SMS Credit for more detail.
Create an SMS Broadcast
Navigate to Messages > Broadcasts and click + New Broadcast.
The Broadcasts page displays all your broadcasts with the following status tags:
Draft - not yet sent
Complete - finished sending
Pending - currently sending
Scheduled - queued for a future send time
1. Choose your channel
Give your broadcast a name and select SMS as the channel. The description is internal and not visible to fans.
2. Design your message
Add your message content. SMS broadcasts have a 160-character limit without a link.
Links use 29 characters regardless of length and can point to an Openstage landing page or any external URL. All links are shortened automatically and cannot be customized - short links are optimized for maximum deliverability.
Use {{fan_first_name}} and {{fan_last_name}} merge tags to personalize messages for fans already in your database.
🟢 Top tip: If your phone numbers come from a previous data import or a text and voicemail campaign, make your first SMS broadcast to those fans an invitation to join your world via a landing page link. Engaged fans can opt in and provide additional data for future audience segmentation.
Send welcome SMS only
Selecting Send Welcome SMS Only replaces your custom message with your welcome message, a link to download your contact card, and opt-out options for fans. Your welcome message is the same as your GDPR message and can be edited under Settings > Artist Settings > SMS & Phone.
3. Choose your audience
Select from recommended audience cards or choose Other to browse all saved audiences.
Selected audiences appear as pills in the Added Audiences section. The Recipients column on the right updates as you refine your audience.
To apply more complex filters, open the Customize Audience dropdown. To create a new audience from scratch, click the link at the bottom of the dropdown.
⚪ Note: For more on building audiences, see Audience Builder.
4. Review your broadcast
Review all broadcast details in a single view before sending. The review step flags any issues:
Yellow warnings - worth reviewing, but the broadcast can still send if left unresolved
Red errors - must be resolved before the broadcast can send
Click Edit to return to the relevant step and make changes.
From the review page you can also:
Send a test SMS - sends a test to your 2FA phone number. If no 2FA number is set, enter a number manually including the country code.
Delete - removes a draft broadcast. Sent broadcasts cannot be deleted.
Clone - duplicates the broadcast with the same design and settings.
🟡 Please note: SMS credit must be topped up before test SMS broadcasts can be sent.
⚪ Note: Your contact card image is pulled from your Fanpage profile picture. Click save in Artist Settings before sending.
5. Schedule and Send
Click the Schedule button in the bottom right to set a send time, or click Publish Now to send immediately. The broadcast will not send until Save & Schedule is confirmed, regardless of the scheduled time.
🟡 Please note: If you created this broadcast by cloning another, the original schedule time will have carried over and may be in the past. Clicking Save & Schedule in that case will send the broadcast immediately. Check the schedule time before confirming.
🔴 Please note: Do not edit a broadcast while it is actively sending. Deactivate the broadcast first, make your changes, then reactivate or create a new one to send to any fans who did not receive the initial broadcast.
Performance
Once your broadcast has sent, access performance metrics in the Performance tab. See Broadcast Metrics for a full breakdown of available metrics.
SMS Costs
The cost of your broadcast is calculated based on your chosen audience. The cost breakdown includes a per-country split and your current credit balance.
Outbound SMS cost varies by country. Inbound SMS is priced at £0.0123 for all countries. Inbound calls cost £0.0246. See current SMS pricing by region for a full breakdown under usage charges.
Initial Contact SMS
When a fan receives their first ever SMS from you, Openstage includes a digital vCard with your artist name, phone number, and profile picture, plus a brief GDPR compliance message outlining the fan's rights and the reason they are receiving the message. Due to character limits, this initial message requires more than one SMS and is charged at double the standard rate.
The same process, including the double cost, repeats every 20th message sent to an individual fan in line with GDPR requirements.
⚪ Note: For more on how data control works at Openstage and GDPR, see How Data Control Works at Openstage.