Substack is the company that has been helping journalists and other creative folk launch email newsletters and make money from subscriptions – although it also pays some writers itself to use its platform. By November 2021, it had more than one million paid subscriptions across its roster of newsletters. So, it’s interesting to see musicians getting involved with Substack.
Amanda Palmer is one of them: from this February she will be a Substack ‘writer in residence’ with a newsletter called Ask Amanda. “My column isn’t so much a traditional ‘advice column’ as much as it is a community campfire, where my readers and I throw down our feelings in a co-created conversation that the robust comments section of Substack will be able to host,” wrote Palmer, as she announced the news.
Meanwhile, Canadian duo Tegan and Sara are also launching a newsletter on Substack, called ‘I Think We’re Alone Now‘, whose theme will be the pair talking to one another as they make plans for what’s next, after exiting their long-term label deal last year. This isn’t just about text: fans can expect “voice notes, annotations of lyrics, personal essays, video conversations, and unreleased music” in the newsletter.
Both Palmer and Tegan and Sara are using the same pricing structure: basic access to public posts is free, but fans can pay a monthly or annual subscription ($5 and $60 respectively for Palmer, and $6 and $50 for Tegan and Sara) to get subscriber-only posts and access to the community.
Tools: platforms to help you reach new audiences
Tools :: Wyng
Through Music Ally’s internal marketing campaign tracking, we’ve recently discovered an interesting website by the…