Topspin™

A few days ago, Hypebot published a piece about the Topspin approach to empowering artists with the tools to create high-margin, premium music offers for their fans. The story comes complete with “unboxing” videos of Metric, Beastie Boys, Byrne & Eno, and Beck Deluxe Editions hosted by our head honcho (and resident hand model) Ian Rogers. The only thing missing is a glimpse into the making, packing and shipping of these goods, so we thought we’d share a few words and behind-the-scenes photos of the Eminem “Relapse” Deluxe offering.

The key to a compelling and successful premium direct-to-fan product is to make it as unique and personal as possible. Simply bundling a CD and vinyl is easy to do and is different from what casual fans may find at retail. However, with a little extra effort and investment in items like hand-signed merch or custom packaging relevant to the theme of the record, you can offer your fans something of much greater value and price, and your true fans will jump on the offer. The Deluxe version of Eminem’s Relapse sells for $129.99 and includes a few collectible items like a high-quality 24×24 print of the “Relapse” cover art hand signed by Eminem (he signed 1,000 in one sitting), a Marshall Mathers prescription pill bottle, and CD and vinyl versions of the record. Fans can also upgrade their Relapse Deluxe purchase with one of five t-shirt and hoodie designs, including a limited-edition Eminem+Undefeated shirt.

Once you’ve assembled your premium offering, the next step is finding a fulfillment partner to ship the goods to your fans. In some cases, the manufacturer of the products can ship individual items direct, but with premium offerings containing items from multiple sources, you’ll want to partner with a fulfillment house that understands the logistics involved in assembling and shipping product to fans in a timely, cost-efficient manner. Eminem’s management is working with Topspin partner Kufala on fulfillment of Relapse physical products in the direct-to-fan channel. Kufala receives Relapse items from three different sources, assembles the items based on a list of 300 product configurations, and emails the customers when packages are leaving the warehouse. (Kufala also specializes in on-demand CD and DVD production for artists like Pearl Jam, Counting Crows, Phish and Smashing Pumpkins, to name a few)

Packaging for the Relapse Deluxe product (see above) is somewhat non-traditional in that the 24×24 high-quality print is shipped flat instead of in a tube. Kufala built a custom box to protect the print and house the rest of the Deluxe package items. Shipping the print with the rest of the Deluxe items is more cost effective than sending two different pieces separately and it makes for a much better out-of-box experience for the fan.

Relapse Deluxe packages began shipping today to Eminem fans. If you’re one of them, watch your mailbox. If you didn’t get one yet, there’s still a few left so drop by Eminem.com to pick one up. And, keep an eye out for the Relapse Deluxe unboxing from Ian’s picnic table in the coming weeks.

Gary Brotman
Topspin

The future of the music industry is hard. No one does it for you. No limos, no fancy dinners, and (almost) no million dollar marketing budgets after a bidding war over your 3-song demo tape. So what next? Will Topspin ride into LA, London, Nashville, and New York to save this industry? No – we won’t, but some of you will. Topspin’s direct-to-fan marketing, management, and distribution technology just sits there until someone uses it. For the last year or so, the Topspin Artist Service team have been the expert pilots. As of Wednesday, June 3rd 2009, that begins to change after our first class of Topspin Certified marketers and web designers left the building after an intense residency with expert Topspin trainer Adam Bates (Thanks, Adam!).

So yes – the future is hard – but fortunately we are lucky enough to have some amazing (and hearty) managers, marketers, and web designers helping us all grind our way forward. Our goal is to find and train as many of you as we can both via our residency programs and through the Berklee.com certification course “Marketing your Music with Topspin” starting 9/28/2009. As the first crew of Topspin certified users trained last week will tell you, 75% of our training had nothing to do with using the app. It’s marketing in this new world that is hard. Topspin’s app simply makes executing easy and efficient. So many thanks to all of you early believers. We will keep writing code, testing new ways to create demand for your music, and educating in every way we can. You need to do the rest or, if you need help with marketing or web development, hire one of the Topspin’s certified marketers and developers.
 

The Topspin Class of June 2009 is
(Top Row Left to Right)
Justin Travis, Topspin Intern from Berklee College of Music, Marketer
Patrick Woodward, Topspin Intern from Pepperdine MBA Program, Marketer
Bob Cahill, Partner, Bigger Picture Group Nashville, Management
Parker Todd Brooks, Principal, We Are Everywhere LA, Web Developer
Jay Coyle, Principal, Music Geek Management Nashville, Marketer
Kami Knake, Topspin Artist Relations Nashville, Marketer
“La Professora” Adam Bates phD2F, Director, Topspin Artist Services NY
(Bottom Row Left to Right)
James Lamberti, Vice President, Topspin Artist Services San Francisco
Nicole Fields,Topspin Artist Relations Boston/NYC, Marketer
Jason Feinberg, President, On Target Media Group LA, Marketer
Mike Nelson, Two Minutes for Music Toronto, Management