The Fan-Centric Strategy Behind Futurebirds' Free Shopify Fan Club
With intense pressure on artists to chase vanity metrics and ticket sales, Jamericana band Futurebirds and their team at Red Light Management are taking a different approach—putting fans first.
We recently spoke with Red Light's Griffin Schwab about the free fan club they set up on Shopify for Futurebirds called BirdFam. He gave us an inside look at how they went about cultivating true superfans by making fan love the focus.
Watch our full conversation here or read on for key takeaways!
Meeting Fans Where They Are
Many artists view fan clubs primarily as a way to monetize their audience. But Futurebirds saw theirs as a way to boost engagement - not sales.
As Griffin said, "The band doesn't want to set up too many barriers." So they opted to make it free to join, removing obstacles for fans sign up.
This fit with the band's welcoming ethos. It also met fans on Shopify - a platform they were already using and familiar with for merch and music sales.
According to Griffin, "You want the experience to be as best as possible." Integrating the club directly into their existing Shopify store achieved this by creating a seamless experience fans already knew.
What It Looks Like to Cultivate True Superfans
Instead of guessing what fans want, Futurebirds and Red Light actively double-downed on the specific elements they knew fans were most excited by.
"We want to cultivate true super fans, and so we feed (members) what a super fan would want." - Griffin Schwab
As Griffin explained, "The initial idea for fan club content was just concert footage. We're expanding past that - you can get an exclusive demo, like not the final song but a demo version of a song on Birdfam." He elaborated that they think about what a true fan would want, not a casual fan, but a supporter who wants more than just following on Instagram and attending a couple shows.
Activating Core Fan from the Start
Red Light strategically rolled out the fan club to email subscribers first before wider promotion. This let them immediately activate their most loyal fans and make them feel like insiders from launch.
For the team, reaching those already on the mailing list represented at least "one layer of fandom" before sharing the news on socials.
This core supporter foundation helped drive organic growth through word of mouth. It also highlights the value of a mailing list to engage your biggest supporters and capture fan data.
Superserving with Exclusive Access
While Futurebirds maintains an inclusive social presence, their fan club provides a dedicated space to cater to diehard supporters.
By offering old concert footage, exclusive vinyl – even BOGO deals to events – all powered by Single, they give biggest fans special access casual listeners don't get.
According to Griffin, having a fan club in place helps them go a layer deeper and superserve those supporters.
Unifying the Fan Experience
Housing their merch store and fan club on Shopify let Futurebirds aggregate all fan touchpoints into one focused destination.
With built-in CRM and email capabilities, they can personalize engagement based on interests and activity. This tailored approach makes fans feel valued.
Consolidating everything in one place also creates a consistent experience across channels versus fragmented campaigns on scattered platforms.
