Your Music. Your Store.
Our team has written extensively about how to build album pre-sale campaigns using Shopify + Single Music. But it can be hard to know the best way forward without some strong examples.
That’s why we decided to show you one of our favorite pre-sales this month - so you can see what works. The Rocket Summer has been selling pre-order bundles for their upcoming album “Sweet Shivers” through a Single powered Shopify store.
Take a look at the product tiers we discuss below and be sure to check out the official store. Sweet Shivers arrives this Friday, August 2nd.
Access Pass
The band first created what they call an “All Access” pass - which included a digital album, early access to concert and meet + greet tickets, early single downloads, exclusive video updates and behind the scenes content. This pass is on sale by itself and included with every bundle in the shop. This is a great example of “gated content”, and gives die-hard fans a behind-the-scenes look into the making of the album.
Autographed / Standard Offerings
The band started with some typical offerings to capture fans who were interested in supporting the band, but weren’t looking for top tier bundles or limited products. By offering a signed vinyl / CD, they were able to add exclusivity to even the affordable tiers.
Tour Artifacts
Not every fan will be able to catch the band on the road, but they can still feel like they were there. The Rocket Summer is offering personalized postcards sent from tour stops and signed setlists from past shows. Both of these don’t cost much to produce, yet provide a ton of value to fans.
Personalized Messages
Another low cost but meaningful product category is personalized messages. The band chose two different types, an outgoing voicemail message and a Skype session.
Test Pressing
This is one of our favorites - and extremely limited in nature. We’ve seen a few bands find tremendous success by offering test pressings. And because they’re a necessary part of the vinyl creation process, it makes total sense to include them as part of higher tier bundles.
Signed Instruments
Offering signed instruments is only possible once you’ve reached a certain level of notoriety. The Rocket Summer took this idea one step further and gave fans the option to have Bryce paint custom art on the bass guitar.
In-Person Experiences
House shows and similar experiences are perfect top tier bundles. While only a few fans will be prepared to spend hundreds or thousands, creating this “upper echelon” of pre-sale tiers could really pay off. And for the rest of the fans, it shows that the band members are relatable - they drink coffee and go record shopping too.
Setting up a pre-sale campaign can give your new album the boost it needs to stand out from the crowd. At Single, we’ve written a handful of blogs to help you navigate this process. We’ve covered merch offerings that sell, how to market your next release, examples of Shopify stores, and even automating parts of your e-commerce.
We’ll continue to explore these different topics, but if you’d like to hear about something we have yet to cover - reach out and say hello!
- The Single Team
