Local Natives: From Album Anniversary to Official Fan Club
Background
An album anniversary brings fans back to the music, but for Local Natives, it was also an opportunity to build something beyond the release cycle.
Rather than stop at a vinyl reissue and a limited merch drop, the band used Single to launch an official fan club on localnatives.com, giving fans more ways to connect with the band and creating new opportunities for that connection to translate into ongoing support.
Strategy
The band launched a two-tier club on their own webstore, so fans could join at whatever level suited them.
- Free tier, email only: An email unlocked tour presales, an exclusive livestream, select essays from the band, merch drops and a digital club card.
- Paid tier, $7 a month or $60 a year: Monthly unreleased music, archival footage and 15% off merch, plus a stamp card for the first 250 annual members.
- Built around the record: Acoustic versions, demos and the stories behind the album gave fans a reason to join at launch, not just a list of perks.
Results
- Paid members spent 7× more on merch than free members, buying physical products at five times the rate on top of their subscription fee.
- 75% of signups had never bought from the store before, reaching a large segment of listeners who had never purchased direct.
- Existing buyers doubled their spending after joining, while non-member customers significantly slowed down over the same window.
Why It Works
An album anniversary gave Local Natives a reason to launch their official fan club, but its value goes beyond the anniversary itself. Fans now have a place to access exclusive music and content, get closer to the band, and engage with the wider fan community between releases.
