How the band used a livestream Q&A to sell out their new album formats — powered by Single and Big Cookie.
When Black Country, New Road went live for their new album Forever Howlong, it looked like a simple Q&A — just the band chatting with fans, answering questions, and talking about the record. But behind the scenes, it was a fully-planned direct-to-fan moment.
During the stream, the band quietly dropped exclusive physical formats — CDs and cassettes — available only on their own store. Within minutes, every format was gone. Fans were watching, chatting, and buying in real time, turning a conversation into a sellout.
The Setup
Using Single, Black Country, New Road streamed the Q&A directly through their Shopify store. Fans could tune in, ask questions, and instantly purchase limited editions without ever leaving the page.
Working with Big Cookie, the team built buzz ahead of the stream through social posts, email invites, and RSVP forms that doubled as list growth. On launch day, reminder emails and social pushes sent fans straight to the stream, where the drop and the Q&A ran side by side.
The Results
Every exclusive format? Completely sold out.
Demand was so high they had to start offering standard formats just to keep up. Speaking with their manager afterward, they had just one regret: not having more stock ready to go.
Built with Single Partners
This project was powered by Single in collaboration with Big Cookie, part of the Single Partners network — a community of creative teams helping artists, labels, and creators launch their biggest ideas direct-to-fan on Shopify with Single.
If you’re looking for help building or scaling your direct-to-fan setup, Big Cookie works with artists’ teams to bring it all together — from creative strategy and fan relationship management to first-party audience growth.
→ Learn more about Big Cookie and our partners at sn.gl/partners
