The single most valuable thing you can do to ensure the success of your release, is simply to stand behind the Pressing. You’re creating an incredibly exciting new way to deliver deeper musical experiences to your audience, but without clear and confident communication, there’s a chance your fans won’t understand how great the offering is.
And it is great. Fans are converted from the mob of faceless streamers in an affordable and convenient way to…
Learn more about you and your music
Gain access to a community of like-minded fans and artists
Be recognised for their support
…all the while knowing their purchase is going far further than a stream or a t-shirt for keeping you doing what they love - making music.
So, how should I think about communicating this new format to my existing fans?
Fans care about you, not the tech.
We’ve found that artists who do a good job at communicating the Why behind releasing in this new format, have much better buy-in from their audience. This is an opportunity to share your motivations for doing something bold, new and refreshing with your audience - and trust us, they’ll appreciate being brought along for the ride.
Below are a few Why’s to help get you thinking about what this new format means for you and your music;
Releasing Physical is expensive and risky
With Digital Pressings, fans can get the same experience of owning a limited piece of your music, representing their musical identity and accessing bonus material. What’s more, they know that you’re being better compensated, you’ve avoided taking on overheads and you’ve skipped agonising over order numbers months in advance.
Existing monetisation options all require significant upfront investment
Fans have no idea how expensive it is to produce music, let alone manufacturing/production costs, tour overheads, merch and other physical orders… imagine knowing that there’s a way to support an artist that actually goes to paying for their next album and not just offsetting the costs of the product you’ve purchased.
Looking for more sustainable release formats than traditional physical
As collectors of physical merch ourselves, we’re painfully aware that existing physical products aren’t the shining examples of sustainability that we’d like them to be. Digital Pressings offer a way to deliver the same awesome experience as physical formats, whilst including fans who are conscious of their carbon footprint and plastic waste. Each digital pressing has a carbon footprint of 0.000364g.
Streaming is my only (limited) recurring revenue stream
The hardest thing for a fan to hear is that their favourite artist feels more like a t-shirt manufacturer than a musician. The royalties embedded in Digital Pressings empower artists to build sustainable careers off the back of the music itself, and give fans a way to support their favourite artists in doing what they do best - making music.
Limited visibility to serve my most supportive fans
Socials are great for discovery, existing D2C allows for a transactional relationship - but the technology that powers digital pressings allows for a far deeper and reciprocal relationship between artists and fans. The more transparent data lets you learn far more about your fans and reward them directly for their support.
Leveraging my archives is difficult and expensive
Until now you needed a massive audience to justify releasing additional material through the creation of a full documentary or a high-quality edited live show, which came with all the overheads of putting it on a DVD for distribution. With Serenade, it’s as simple as uploading the content. No editing, no printing, no postage. What greater way to give back to fans than by opening up the archives and creating deeper narratives around your work.
Traditional release formats limit creativity
Digital Pressings open a world of story building opportunities previously unseen through traditional release formats, and enable you to real-time release music without delay.
What language should I use when talking about Serenade and Digital Pressings?
Our platform and product are designed so that fans don’t need to know anything about the tech that powers it - your communication should reflect that. Focus on the music and the wonderful fan experiences that come with it; bonus content, inclusion on the product page, ownership of a limited product. Use familiar language and avoid NFT jargon at all costs.
Don’t use | Instead use |
Drop | Release |
Live | Available |
Alpha | Information, details |
Mint | Press |
Airdrop | Send reward, gift |
Blue chip | Headline |
Diamond hands, holder | Collector, fan |
Devs | Tech or engineer team |
Floor | Minimum price / cheapest available |
White list | Pre-sale, early access |
Utility | Rewards, bonus |
Wallet | Collection |
Whale | Avid collector |
Space | Industry |
Where should I direct my audience to before my Digital Pressing is released
After your product is approved, a 'Pre-Release' page will be created for your Digital Pressing, including a countdown timer to the exact moment when it will become available for purchase.
This is the page that you should drive your audience to in the lead up for the release.
Encourage them to sign up through the 'Notify Me' button to receive direct updates (by email or text) about the product such as the moment it goes live.