Singer-songwriter Emma McGann is planning a 20-date US tour and is offering fans the chance to follow it even if they physically can’t be there.

It costs £20 and is valid for three months – and you get a lot for that. On top of being able to live stream her shows, you get your name added to her guitar case, a tree planted (to offset carbon emissions), a handwritten postcard from the tour, access to a collaborative road trip playlist, wallpaper artwork from every city on the tour merchandise discounts and a “roadie” role (i.e. access to chat from the tour).

Where it gets really interesting is in the gifting of passes, with increasing rewards (beyond the standard pass perks) the more passes you gift friends. For example, buying five passes will get you a tour pass lanyard, 25 will get you a video call from the tour, for 100 you can get Emma to make a recording of a cover version of your choosing, 250 will see her write an original song for you and, right at the top, 500 will get you a weekend in the studio as she records an original song for you.
You can also buy a pass as a gift to a member of the fan Community Pot that will be awarded at random. This is a nice touch to make fans feel part of a genuine community by letting others who might be strapped for cash join in.

At the time of writing, it is unclear if the tour will still go ahead due to coronavirus. We can only hope it does (or is only postponed slightly) as this is one of the most interesting things we have ever seen an artist do around live music. Given she already built her following on live-streaming app YouNow and was early in developing a ‘skill’ for Alexa, she has an incredible understanding of both digital opportunities and community. Something like this, which brings everything together in a really creative way, is setting a new benchmark for how acts think about touring and online marketing.