Indie Duo Rabbit Rabbit Grows Their Own Indie Music Subscription Service
Experimentation with subscription and patronage models for indie musicians is a big theme at the moment. The duo Rabbit Rabbit have been exploring the terrain since early 2012 with Rabbit Rabbit Radio. For a low fee fans can expect a monthly bundle of music and related digital content that the creators think of as a "monthly musical magazine."
Unique subscription and patronage platforms for indie musicians include the highly successful Patreon and the label subscription service Drip.fm. But instead of relying on a platform like YouTube or an emerging option, Rabbit Rabbit decided to create their own.
Welcome to Rabbit Rabbit Radio
Carla Kihlstedt and Matthias Bossi create music together as Rabbit Rabbit, an accomplished songwriting and performing duo.
Rabbit Rabbit Radio is their "monthly offering of music, films, photos & more" that includes a "new song along with thoughtfully crafted and curated photos, films, and words that invite you to go deeper into the song and the creative process behind it."
Other metaphorical descriptions include:
- multi-faceted liner notes for every song on a record, one by one.
- an organic box of music delivered to your desk each month.
- a monthly invitation into a thought-provoking conversation about music.
- a hand-knit iTunes with a soul.
Subscriptions range from $2 to $5 a month. And, though they revealed in a NY Times profile that they have almost 900 subscribers, they also clarified that they are "barely making a profit."
However Rabbit Rabbit is "taking the long view and giving it three years."
To this point Rabbit Rabbit Radio has been spreading the word through their accumulated fanbase. In the fall they're planning to "spend some time getting the word out in a bigger way, and pushing it to the next level."
I guess the NY Times piece, which does a nice job of discussing Rabbit Rabbit Radio as a business model in the context of their music careers, is a good step toward spreading the word "in a bigger way."
Note: Rabbit Rabbit also released the album "Rabbit Rabbit Radio, Vol. 1" earlier this year.
More:
- Patreon Receives $2.1 Million In Funding, Jack Conte Currently Supported At $6,153 Per Video
- Drip.fm Creates Subscription Revenue Stream for Indie Labels
Hypebot Senior Contributor Clyde Smith (@fluxresearch/@crowdfundingm) also blogs at Flux Research and Crowdfunding For Musicians. To suggest topics for Hypebot, contact: clyde(at)fluxresearch(dot)com.
