The dramatic collapse of PledgeMusic is something a wide range of artists are still trying to get their heads around as they struggle to find out what – if anything – can be salvaged and if the projects their fans signed up to will ever get delivered.
It is unquestionably disastrous for DIY acts – both grassroots ones and those who came through the label system but are now going it alone. It is this backdrop of uncertainty and recriminations that makes the new project from She Makes War – aka Laura Kidd – all the more poignant.
She is a Pledge alumnus, having done three projects on the platform, including her 2018 album Brace For Impact. For her next project, however, she has created the Supersub Club, using Bandcamp as the delivery platform, for her fifth album due later this year. “I’d love to give you a backstage view of making this record from the ground up, so I’m creating beautiful limited edition music and art packages to be sent from my home to yours four times throughout the year,” she says on the site.
The packages have four tiers: a one-off £10 digital package that is delivered two weeks after the analogue packages are sent out; a £28 “digisub” covering all four quarters, but a fortnight after the analogue packages go out, and access to secret blogs; a £60 “supersub” bundle to get the four packages of analogue music and art sent out in March, June, September and December; and the £80 “Superdupersub” with extra numbering and signed goodies. Every tier also gets access to exclusive blog posts, while the music will include demos, covers and live recordings as well as a podcast-style voice message talking about the songs and the creative process. The top-tier Superdupersub option was limited to 100 places and sold out in 24 hours.
It is by no means the most innovative or groundbreaking fan initiative – but it is, crucially, one that does not over-promise and under-deliver. It also shows an artist who understands what their fans want but does not cook up ideas that are well out of the price range of the audience she has nurtured to date.
