Planet launches AAA digital pass for artists

Multi-channel D2F platform Planet has launched an Access-All-Areas (AAA) digital pass, enabling artists to create customised experiences for content, tickets, and merchandise.

Planet says AAA allows artists to give fans direct, immediate access to new music, tours, or exclusive drops before, during and after shows.

The platform has been working closely with music management companies such as Verdigris, East City, Modest Management and Everybody’s to develop their interactions with fans.

British band Hot Chip were one of the first acts to come on board and found that 10% of fans utilising their AAA pass had never seen them live before. And Planet claim that K-pop girl group Everglow were able to identify, within 24 hours, the top 20 cities where planet pass holders most wanted to see them live, giving insights to route future tours, as well as what the favourite tracks and preferences on merchandise were in each market.

“What this unlocks for artists is a very exciting innovation for the industry whilst being something fans can adopt easily”

“I have been highly impressed by what Planet is offering to artists and their fanbases,” says Hot Chip’s manager Sam Denniston, MD of Verdigris. “The directness of the platform is remarkable and what this unlocks for artists is a very exciting innovation for the industry whilst being something fans can adopt easily.”

Soft launched back in late 2021, the platform has previously securing funding from TVG’s Ben Lovett and ie:music ventures, which has recently expanded to include the likes of OVG International president Sam Piccione III and Dominic Joseph of Captify Technologies, who joins the board as chair.

The recent involvement takes the total raised to date to £1.5 million, enabling Planet to expand its team across Europe and US.

“For too long, artists have had restricted access to their own fans”

“For too long, artists have had restricted access to their own fans and as a result have had to settle for one-way transactional relationships, whereas other cutting-edge companies create higher value experiences through long term reciprocal relationships,” says  Joseph. “This is a huge opportunity for artists to address given the level of fandom they have but right now don’t have the tools to do this. Planet is here to help them make this step into the future.”

Planet will be activating digital passes with a raft of established and emerging artists later this summer to provide them with actionable fan insights ahead of new releases, tour announcements or live shows this autumn.

The platform “hands back the ownership of the fan relationship to the artists” by providing them access to 100% of demand and full control of how this is activated.

Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.