Would you guys "subscribe" to one of your favorite bands on Patreon?

I noticed Stryper has something like this:
Stryper is creating a community for music and ministry | Patreon

What about, for more indie bands, something like this:
$1/month
in depth songwriting notes about all song creations and album recordings
access to vocal cover videos
access to guitar playthrough videos of original songs and cover songs 
rhythm and lead guitar tabs
logo sticker

$3/month
Exclusive song
virtual concert broadcast from the rehearsal room
exclusive updates about new songs:  riffs, song titles, album titles, as they are being developed


plus all $1/month benefits

?

I think for my favorite indie metal bands I would subscribe to something like this.

I might, but I’d have to be very selective. If I subscribed to all my favorite bands, I’d have to stop buying food!

No

Pethead wrote:I might, but I’d have to be very selective. If I subscribed to all my favorite bands, I’d have to stop buying food!

Yeah, I would only subscribe to a few.  And I think most bands wouldn't offer a subscription anyway.

The Stryper prices are too rich for my blood and they aren't thrash so I wouldn't subscribe to them, although I respect what they do.

scottmitchell74 wrote:No

I respect your answer.

Is there anything one of your favorite bands could offer to change your mind?

Honestly as much as I would like to I wouldnt. I like the way Wytch Hazel structured theirs but not enough money to go around so I would stick to album purchases

mothy wrote:Honestly as much as I would like to I wouldnt. I like the way Wytch Hazel structured theirs but not enough money to go around so I would stick to album purchases

Understood.  I'll take a look at what Wytch Hazel is doing too now that you mention it.

I don't think I would.  Videos, insights, and the like are cool and all, but I don't find myself seeking those out even when free.  However, if it gave access to exclusive song downloads, I might do it.  When it comes to music, I am all for buying products, but not so much services.

Kerrick wrote:I don't think I would.  Videos, insights, and the like are cool and all, but I don't find myself seeking those out even when free.  However, if it gave access to exclusive song downloads, I might do it.  When it comes to music, I am all for buying products, but not so much services.

Yeah, if people only want downloads then bands might as well just include them on their albums and charge extra.

^Agreed, or as singles on Bandcamp you can buy for $1 or whatever.  That being said, there is a certain coolness factor of listening to some exclusive song others don't have access to.

Likewise, involving the fans to participate in choosing songs to cover (like Pantokrator has done I believe) would be pretty neat too.  But a passive subscription just doesn't interest me much.

Yeah, letting the fans choose a song to cover would be awesome.  I would definitely enjoy that in ToB and I really think the rest of the band would do that too.  Also to choose whether to play the cover exactly as is or rewrite it, which is a lot of fun!

Kerrick, would you be more interested in subscribing if said band offered exclusive bootlegs of many of their old shows, rehearsals, and song demos that they had recorded?

I like the idea but things are so tight right now I couldn't justify it. I hope this isn't how music goes but I understand bands doing it.

Perhaps!  It'd depend on the quality of those demos and bootlegs for me.  As an example, I remember buying some Judas Priest re-release CDs years ago and some of the bonus tracks were among my favorites off of those CDs.  Others were so bad that they detracted from the "listening experience" if that makes sense.  I'd be stoked to get ahold of exclusive and cool tracks, but quite annoyed if they were all super-rough.  Also, paying for "access" to material you then have to pay extra for is a fine line too.  I've seen fan-clubs with that sort of thing but the exclusive material is so overpriced that I find it a bit insulting.  But if it was reasonably priced and worthwhile, I think that'd be pretty neat.

Kerrick wrote:Perhaps!  It'd depend on the quality of those demos and bootlegs for me.  As an example, I remember buying some Judas Priest re-release CDs years ago and some of the bonus tracks were among my favorites off of those CDs.  Others were so bad that they detracted from the "listening experience" if that makes sense.  I'd be stoked to get ahold of exclusive and cool tracks, but quite annoyed if they were all super-rough.  Also, paying for "access" to material you then have to pay extra for is a fine line too.  I've seen fan-clubs with that sort of thing but the exclusive material is so overpriced that I find it a bit insulting.  But if it was reasonably priced and worthwhile, I think that'd be pretty neat.

Yeah, I think if bands later put that exact same recording on a later release then that is wrong because it is double-dipping in the fans' pockets.  I think if it is exclusive anything goes though.

^For sure.  That'd be pretty lame and disrespectful to their fans.  And there's nothing wrong with releasing some real rough demos or bootlegs - it's still cool to get that insight and history into that band you really like.  I just personally wouldn't pay [much] for that sort of thing for most bands.

Kerrick wrote:^For sure.  That'd be pretty lame and disrespectful to their fans.  And there's nothing wrong with releasing some real rough demos or bootlegs - it's still cool to get that insight and history into that band you really like.  I just personally wouldn't pay [much] for that sort of thing for most bands.

A dollar a month for your favorite bands ain't much.    

This wouldn't be something for most bands.  Most bands don't wanna go through all this hastle anyway.  It would be only for top favorite bands.

I don't believe you guys wouldn't do this for Theocracy at least!

I would do it for probably 10 or so bands, while they are staying active and releasing their best material.

Definitely there would need to be regular content updates.  That just goes without saying.

No. That's not to say I think the idea is stupid or that I generally don't begrudge artists revenue streams. Especially when it's content that's really interesting for the fans. But...

Personally, I find that the music gets a bit drowned in a flood of merchandise, bonus material, videos, documentaries, special editions, extra content... Fan clubs, special merchandise, limited editions - of course that already existed 30 years ago. But in the digital age, it's just gotten out of hand.

In the past, there were only live performances, records and T-shirts. If you had bought all the records from a band, seen a few gigs and maybe bought a T-shirt or two, then you could invest further money in another band and concentrate on that band's music.
Today, you have to decide which limited edition vinyl to buy, which exclusive single to purchase, which crowdfunding campaign to support for which band documentary, which band to buy your coffee or swim trunks from. And if all that is not enough, you can still spend a lot of money on meet&greets.

I don't have ONE favorite band, but for many years Mastodon, High on Fire, Opeth and Primordial were the most important bands for me. For me it was always about the music and maybe a few interviews here and there or a studio documentation. Instead of getting more and more exclusive stuff there, though, I preferred to focus my attention on other music.
The core of the band's activity should be good live performances and great albums. Everything else just clogs up the attention span of the fans for me. And it takes away time and money they could invest in other artists.

I'm a part of The Blessed Resistance, a fan site/comunity made by Demon Hunter. 

We have acess to deep meanings of some songs, early acess to videos/singles/merchandise, play throughts, etc... and this year, the fans made part of the gang vocals to an exclusive song called 'We Are'.

So, If I had the money and like the band, no problem to me.

I know that JPB have a Patreon for years, but I never made part (maybe I need to change this status, LOL)

I don't see myself ever doing so. Or it should be a band that I both heavily sympathize with and has a perfect track record when it comes to the music they have released. But even then...

So all the Nos here are saying they would never support Theocracy like this?

I support the artist monthly who designed the cover of my CD. He's been a friend for 20+ years, a super talented artist, and is working on a Christian graphic novel. I support him $2 a week or something like that. He releases one page of the graphic novel each week. I rarely look at it; I want to read the whole thing when it's released. I support him b/c I know it's very difficult to make money being an artist and I think his work is awesome.

So my answer: yes, I would support a band monthly. I would probably have to have a personal connection to one of the members, and believe in their talent and ministry. I would not desire any weekly or monthly reward. It would be like supporting a missionary or ministry. I'd want to see progress towards albums and live shows and ministry and that's it. 

I wouldn't be able to do this for alot of bands, but I'd do it. Absolutely.

Temple of Blood wrote:So all the Nos here are saying they would never support Theocracy like this?

No, I don't think I would support Theocracy.

I'd support an artist like you, not a larger entity. Someone who will probably never have mainstream success but who has great music and ministry. Someone I know personally. There's a Christian folk singer out of Winnipeg, Manitoba who I have done this for in the past. He is a gem. IMHO, one of the best storytellers and songwriters in the world. But it's a tough sell financially in the middle of the Canadian prairies where the population is very sparse. He relies on monthly supporters. His name is Steve Bell. You could look him up, ToB, to see what he offers monthly supporters.

No.  Never say never, but no.

It comes down to cost per song, especially for a format I don't use much.  I don't have time in my life for exclusive access, merch, "deep meanings of songs," or any of the other benefits that some may enjoy.  For me the only reason for doing this right now would be to get access to exclusive music, and even then, the way my life is structured I listen to CDs 90% of the time, exclusive downloads wouldn't get the listens to be worth the cost.  Hypothetically, if a band cost $1 per month then put out a CD every 12-15 months (a reasonable cost for a CD) I would probably do it.

eatbugs wrote:No.  Never say never, but no.

It comes down to cost per song, especially for a format I don't use much.  I don't have time in my life for exclusive access, merch, "deep meanings of songs," or any of the other benefits that some may enjoy.  For me the only reason for doing this right now would be to get access to exclusive music, and even then, the way my life is structured I listen to CDs 90% of the time, exclusive downloads wouldn't get the listens to be worth the cost.  Hypothetically, if a band cost $1 per month then put out a CD every 12-15 months (a reasonable cost for a CD) I would probably do it.

Interesting.  Thanks for weighing in.

This is interesting...at least the price seem very honest and affordable.

I would like to be a part of it, but I am not sure if a service like this would hold me for mid-long term. I might lose interest within a few months.
Also, I only sign for such a service if I truly believe that the band is going to be very active in the following months. It seems obvious, but how many bands we love that are still active?

It also made me remember the club pass Bloodgood release in 2013 along with their new album. I don't think they have delivered what was promised.