Topspin’s Latest Release Adds VIP Access

This week we’re adding a new product type, VIP Access, to the catalog. VIP Access allows you to sell or give away membership to a group will receive special access to offers (early access to tickets?) or content (streaming, downloads, etc). Also, instead of asking fans to create yet another username they login with their Facebook, Twitter, Google, Yahoo!, AOL, MySpace, or other existing login method. It’s a simple and powerful new feature which continues to distance Topspin from other direct-to-fan marketing and retail solutions.

What is VIP Access?

Topspin’s VIP Access is a much better version of what has been called “membership” or “fan clubs”. The problem with most implementations of any sort of “fan club” is that it’s either a true/false attribute on a fan, or it’s been baked into an oversimplified notion of tiers. As we’ve seen in the last few years, there’s no limit to the ideas people come up with. We built our VIP Access product in the spirit of not letting software get in the way of creative business ideas.

For example:

You’re fortunate enough to have a devoted fanbase who doesn’t hesitate to support your efforts. You want to run a multi-tiered fanclub with different benefits and access by level.

Simply set up your VIP Access products:
Bronze Access
Silver Access
Gold Access

Price and sell them.

But wait, you need to give the press access so they can give you a favorable write-up. No problem – create a VIP access product called “Press Pass”.

Oh, and you can’t forget Mom, Dad, your little brother and a handful of close diehards who helped when things were getting started. We’re not going to ask them to *pay* for access, are we?

Of course not. Create a VIP Access product called “Friends & Family”. Or “Mom & Dad”.

VIP Access products can be created and bundled like any other product in Topspin — but hold that for a minute, we’ll come back to it.

The real magic is in step two of the VIP Access lifecycle.

Once you’ve sold access to fans and gotten access to friends, family, the press, etc, you can then require membership to purchase future campaigns. So, for instance, if you wanted to offer a ticket presale and only allow Gold members to buy it, you can do that as of today. Simply create your purchase button, scroll down to “Require VIP Access”, check the box and choose the levels that get it. You can change them at any time. (Want to give press limited access to fanclub content and then revoke it a week later? You can do that, too.)

And instead of forcing fans to create yet another username and password combo they may forget, they simply associate their login credentials with an existing login of their choice. Twitter, Facebook, Gmail, Yahoo, AOL or an OpenID – all valid options. Simple, easy, modern.

So when is all of this functionality available?

Today.

You can create access, bundle access, sell access, and require access on any buy button as of now. You can change access requirements, and you can adjust access requirements to widgets as you go.

And what if you run a more traditional fan club – one level, with various goods available? Totally possible.

Say you wanted to recreate a traditional fan club offering.

– Physical Merch: 7″ Christmas Single
– Physical Merch: Spring Newsletter
– Physical Merch: Fall Newsletter
– VIP Access: Fan Club Access – duration: 1 year

Bundle and sell for $20. Feel free to add digital download exclusives, other access passes, etc. As with any other product, you can bundle and sell however you desire in the catalog. As many levels as you want, as much control as you need.

Look for a couple of large artists to roll out large-scale fan clubs with Topspin’s VIP Access product underneath over the next couple of weeks. But also expect to see offerings which aren’t called “membership” or “fan club” but have VIP Access underneath (think “everyone who buys direct from the artist’s Web site gets b-sides and live recordings over the next 12 months!”). Have a creative use? Let us know, we’d love to hear about it.

Tim Read
Topspin