What Kind of Community Should You Build?

Free, paid, or a mix? Here's how artists on Single shaped theirs, and how to find the right fit for your goals.

The hardest part of starting a community isn't building it. It's deciding what you want it to do. The artists who get the most out of theirs all started by getting clear on their goal, then shaped the rest around it.

And it works. On average, artists convert around 60% of their existing customers into paying members, and bring in about 30% net-new customers on top of that.

Here's how to think it through.

Start with your goal

Most artists are after one of two things:

Engage and reward your fans while growing your mailing list. A free community is the move. You give fans a reason to join, deepen the relationship, and build a list you own.
Start earning right away. A paid community lets fans support you directly, with exclusive perks in return.

Not sure you're ready to charge? Start free. You can always add a paid tier later and bring your free members along. A free community now is the easiest on-ramp to a paid one down the road.

The free path

A free community is about access and connection, not revenue. It works especially well around an album cycle, when you want to bring fans close and learn who they are before a release.

Bob Moses and Flatland Cavalry both ran free communities leading into an album cycle. They gave members early access to songs, music video visualizers, and livestreams, collecting fan data along the way, so they knew exactly who to reach when the record dropped.
My Morning Jacket used their free community to grow their mailing list. For an album anniversary, they turned the moment into a seven-week run of content looking back on the record, rewarding fans and pulling new ones onto the list.

The paid path

A paid community turns your most invested fans into recurring support. How you structure it depends on how much you want to offer, and how often.

Nickelback runs the standard model, built around presales.
Johnnyswim is paid-only, the most Patreon-style of the bunch, with tiers fans subscribe to for ongoing access.
White Lies keep theirs ever-evolving, with presales, tour diaries, and content that grows over time.

How to price a paid community

If you go paid, a few patterns we tend to see (not rules, just what's common):

Monthly or annual. Around $5/month is typical for monthly. Many artists lean into annual, since fans commit once and don't think about it month to month.
Annual price points tend to run from about $30 to $80. The lower end (roughly $30 to $50) usually covers early access and some exclusive content. Higher tiers often add presale codes, and sometimes a welcome gift.
Don't underprice your top tier. When artists offer a few price points, a lot of fans reach for the highest one, at least early on, before it settles toward the lower tiers. Your most invested fans want to support you, so give them a way to.
Cadence. You don't need to post constantly. Checking in about once a month, or whenever something's happening, is enough to keep fans engaged.

Whatever you pick, you can change it

There's no perfect first choice. Plenty of artists start free and grow into a paid club, or start small and expand as they learn what their fans respond to. The best community is the one you'll actually keep up with.

Questions as you set yours up? Reach out to our team anytime, we're glad to help you think it through.