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Business News Digital Labels & Publishers
Digital fan club platform Drip to wind down
By Chris Cooke | Published on Monday 22 February 2016
With the true potential of direct-to-fan almost certainly yet to be realised, one start-up with an interesting approach to that side of the music business has decided to call it a day.
Drip, a platform that enabled labels and artists to offer subscriptions services – so, basically a digital version of the good old fashioned fan club – has announced it will wind down operations on 18 Mar. It will try to find alternative platforms for its clients before then, as well as assuring all the labels and artists using Drip receive any monies they are owed.
Announcing that they had “a tough message to share” on their blog last week, the people behind the popular service confirmed: “We’ve decided to conclude the Drip platform on 18 Mar”.
They then reminisced that: “We started Drip five years ago because we believed existing networks hadn’t yet [met] the needs of creators: recurring income, support from their fans beyond likes and follows, and the data needed to have more control over their careers”.
Noting that labels like Stones Throw and Domino, and artists like They Might Be Giants, had all signed up to the service, they added: “Fans joined these communities; they paid their favourite creators directly; and they got access to high quality, often rare and exclusive music plus more. From live events and guest list spots, to one-on-one hangs and exclusive products, we were constantly inspired by the types of interactions that Drip encouraged”.
But, well, here comes the but. “At the top of the year we took a hard look at Drip, our future, and the various routes we could take to get there. Between timing, funding, and everything needed to realise this future, we made the decision that now was the time for Drip to come to a conclusion. For now, we’ll be taking this moment to regroup and refocus”.
The blog post went on: “There were no subscription services that met the needs of our creators, so we built it. We experimented, we had a great time, and we’ve made some great friendships along the way. In the time since we began, we’ve been happy to see several services emerge to tackle some of the same problems. We like to think we even inspired some of them. Throughout the next month we’ll be looking to partner with these services to help our creators continue”.
Members will also be able to export their music and data from their accounts on the platform before it winds up next month.
