Robin Rimbaud on music fan clubs

At the end of 2023 I became curious about artist-centric subscriptions that offered exclusive music releases to fans - essentially fan clubs run by independent artists. My assumption was, and still is, that these are a good way to support artists directly, but I wondered how successful they were. And I suppose by ‘successful’ I mean they are sustainable to maintain. Also, I admit to disliking Spotify and was kinda looking for some people in that club to talk about it. Anyway, I decided I would contact a handful of artists to find out if they’d answer some questions about their music subscription models. The plan was to ask each artist to answer the same set of questions, see what came back and then pull it all together into something for the blank mood blog.

Well, things don’t always work according to plan.

After asking four artists for comments, only two turned out to be willing to talk about their subscription clubs. So, instead of pulling all responses together, I’ve decided to publish these each on their own. The first of these, here, is a Q + A with Robin Rimbaud, also known as Scanner. I contacted Robin at the suggestion of a listener of _____ mood.

Robin is an experimental sonic artist based in the UK. His work and many accolades are described in the biography at his website, which you will surely want to peruse as there is tons of good stuff to sift through there. I was not familiar with Scanner or Robin’s work, so for me this was like opening an treasure chest… the tune “Sestinea” from his recent release Alchemeia was the perfect soundtrack for exploring the Scanner treasure chest.

The second of these, not yet published, will be a Q+A with Aaron Snow of Landing. Stay tuned.

If you’re an independent musician with a fan club, or dislike Spotify, I’d still be interested to hear from you.

What was the main reason for starting your subscription club?

Covid kicked in, there were significantly less opportunities to make a living and I was conscious I had a strong audience and a massive archive of recordings, most of it doesn’t warrant a full release, but could still be of interest to folks.

I keep stopping myself from referring to a ‘subscription service’ - do you see it as a service? Or a patronage programme? How do you prefer to describe your model?

It’s certainly not a ’service’ as such but a way for those who are keen and interested to hear more works otherwise unreleased and unknown. I like to call it a Fan Club as I’ve been members of fan clubs when I was a kid and enjoyed that kind of attachment to an act.

Are there non-music benefits of the subscription?

The engagement with fans is always pleasing. Exchanging messages, receiving enthusiastic responses every time an exclusive Fan Club piece of music is issued, etc. The feeling that my 30+ years of music actually can find a place with listeners too.

Do you consider it a success thus far? What has contributed to its success?

Since I began it it’s remained consistent with numbers, and indeed several new ones joined up in the last week alone. Whilst some people who have such subscription services tend to delete old material I leave it all there, so a new subscriber is rather swamped or spoilt, depending on how you see it. That’s certainly helped towards its success. I also regularly update it with new material. I have previously supported two other artists on Bandcamp, one of who never offered a single new item in an entire year!

What has been an unexpected outcome of the subscription?

The confident interest in the work and to then meet some of these people at live shows too.

I’ve seen streaming referred to as a ‘sustainable’ option for consuming music as it does not produce physical media objects - what’s your take on this?

Streaming is perfectly fine for most people. I can’t argue against it and understand as with Netflix, Amazon, etc, they play a role in the lives of many people. But there is a smaller number of people who like to curate their lives a little closer to their own interests. Of course, streaming services also use data centres which use a lot of energy, and increase the emission of harmful gasses like carbon dioxide. So they are far from damage either.

What role do fans/supporters play in your creative process?

None in the sense of the actual creative process. I work remotely and the work is consumed by them later on. Unless it’s in a live environment and that’s quite different. I will improvise and respond accordingly, so some of the subscription works that people receive are partly live sessions like this.

What’s your take on TikTok as a music discovery platform?

I don’t use it personally (perhaps I’m just the wrong audience) but some of my work is used on there. I received a statement in December that informed me that two pieces of mine had each been streamed 29 million times! Having said that, TikTok artists don’t always translate to sales, I know from experience. Again, people don’t necessarily want to pay for something that they can experience and ‘receive’ on their phones for free.

A lot of artists (and music fans) love to hate or at least critique Spotify, yet people continue to use it. Where do you stand on this kind of dynamic between platform/artist/listener?

I don’t use any streaming services personally, nor have ever done, but understand the success of Spotify. We are at heart lazy, and the very idea of receiving every piece of music you might want wherever you are is utterly brilliant. Sadly the financial model they offer is exceptionally poor. When I asked friends about how much money they thought I would be receiving for my music use on TikTok or Spotify most folks thought it was around 1p per stream! Quite honestly, the large majority of people don’t know about this or to be truthful actually care!

Do you think fans have the voice/power to influence or change industry and big tech/social media platform practices?

I think the voice of the individual and the crowd can still be very powerful, but whether they can change industry or big tech I bluntly think not. Sadly so.

If you could ask fans to adopt a new behaviour or take some sort of action in support of independent musicians, what would it be?

Trying to encourage others to actually invest in artists, go to gigs, buy their merch, buy a t-shirt, offer something is positive. Again, it’s hard with a cost of living crisis almost everywhere to expect people to pay up for others, when they might equally be financially challenged. I’ve never taken it for granted that I’ve been able to do this for 30 years as a living. Then again I never intended to make a living through music exclusively and selling actual products and make an income through other means, such as writing, commissions, etc.

What do you think artists/bands can do to help each other? Particularly more well known artists/bands in relation to lesser known artists/bands or those just starting up?

Any kind of ground level support is essential. I always respond to every mail I receive (as our communications testify to here) but lots of artists don’t. If it doesn’t sound too harsh some are often self-centred and lazy. You need to work hard and be committed. When I’ve mentored students at Leeds Conservatoire or Berklee College of Music, it’s easy to recognise immediately who will be successful and who won’t. Who has the drive and who doesn’t. Artists certainly need to support one another as much as possible.

I’ve recently befriended one of the most successful rock songwriters of the last 50 years, a genuine household name, and that happened because he sent me a fan mail and we began an email correspondence, which developed into phone calls, and now we are meeting up in person. It doesn’t matter who you are, just starting out or hugely successful, friendship, exchange and support as key to the joy of music and life in general.

Are you a member of a union, such as American Federation of Musicians (AFM), Musicians’ Union (MU), or international group like United Musicians and Allied Workers (UMAW)? If yes, is it something you’d recommend to other artists?

I’m a member of the Musicians' Union here in the UK and also sit on the Writer’s Group to advocate and support the work of young musicians. I’ve done this for many years as I feel it’s important to offer something back.

Readers, there's lots of good stuff at Scanner dot com and you can join the Scanner Fan Club here. If you'd rather just flick your way through stuff, Robin's Insta is a pretty good one to have in your feed.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts, Robin! Plus, appreciation to Laurent, a Scanner fan, for the suggestion.