In an era where tech investors increasingly flock to AI, fintech, and creator economy platforms, music technology is rarely built from within, too often shaped by scale-first thinking instead of creator needs. But in episode #115 of the Sound Connections podcast, Jakob Wredstrøm sits down with artist-turned-founder Anna Lidell to explore how direct-to-fan platforms like Sleeve are flipping that script.

Through her direct-to-fan platform Sleeve, Lidell explores the untapped economic potential of monetizing fandom for musicians through direct-to-fan platforms. Her journey reveals how mid-tier independent musicians, those with meaningful traction but little financial stability, face systemic barriers in streaming, touring, and social media. More importantly, she introduces a pragmatic alternative: ownership-based monetization models for music creators that reward fan loyalty instead of algorithmic virality.

This blog distills key insights from that conversation into actionable lessons for founders, investors, and creators.

The Financial Challenges of Mid-Tier Independent Musicians

The podcast opens with a hard truth: for most musicians, even those with visibility or public recognition, music is not a financially sustainable career. Anna Lidell shares that despite decades of work, over 20 releases, and projects including contributing music to Netflix's Scum Italia, she still relies on a patchwork of income sources. One early lesson came when she earned more money busking as a child than from many professional gigs.

These experiences aren't isolated. Mid-tier independent musicians often generate attention but struggle to convert that into reliable income. Anna explains that even when one of her tracks was featured as a title song on a Netflix series, it was a statistical exception, just one success among hundreds of unreleased or unnoticed songs.

She highlights a common disconnect: artists may perform 500 shows and even get half a million plays in a day, as she once did through an NPR feature, yet still fail to convert that exposure into sustainable fan relationships or financial return.

Artists who reach a level beyond hobby but stop short of global fame face steep economic barriers. The financial challenges of mid-tier independent musicians arise from royalties divided among labels, co-writers, publishers, and streaming platforms, combined with high production and touring costs. For instance, Spotify pays approximately $0.003–$0.005 per stream on average, meaning an artist would need hundreds of thousands of streams just to earn a basic income, even before any splits are applied . This model creates a lottery-like ecosystem where occasional viral exposure doesn’t guarantee sustainable revenue, often forcing creators to take second jobs and fragment their focus.

Monetizing Fandom for Musicians Through Direct-to-Fan Platforms

Anna Lidell explains that most artists chasing viral hits often see minimal return. She describes how one of her past projects received over half a million plays in a single day after an NPR feature. Despite the impressive spike in numbers, the moment didn’t lead to new followers, stronger fan relationships, or income. In her reflection, the experience felt exciting in the moment, but ultimately left her questioning what, if anything, it actually changed.

She contrasts that with her experience using Sleeve, where monetizing fandom for musicians through direct-to-fan platforms has shown tangible results. One artist on the platform had 130,000 monthly listeners on Spotify but earned more from 60 paying fans than from all those streams combined. Another emerging artist had just 50 followers on Sleeve, yet 20 of them became paying subscribers, a conversion rate unreachable on streaming or social media platforms.

This success lies in the intimacy of direct relationships. Instead of focusing on mass exposure, platforms like Sleeve allow artists to monetize fandom through behind-the-scenes access, unreleased material, and exclusive updates. The approach centers on depth of connection rather than volume of listeners.

Jakob emphasizes that this kind of fan monetization aligns more with value exchange than with algorithmic attention. Unlike streaming platforms, direct-to-fan tools are built for artists, not aggregators. The platform isn't chasing scale at all costs; it’s empowering creators to retain ownership and cultivate loyalty.

Musicians who engage directly with fans, via subscriptions, exclusive content, or fan-powered models, tend to earn significantly more per supporter than they do from ad-based or royalty-based streaming payouts.

For example, under SoundCloud’s fan-powered royalties model, revenue from a Portishead track increased by over 500% compared to the traditional pro-rata streaming system.

The Limitations of Social Media Monetization for Musicians

One of the most striking themes from the podcast is how social media, once viewed as a gateway to fan engagement, now imposes financial and emotional tolls on artists. The limitations of social media monetization for musicians are no longer theoretical, they’re structural. As the episode makes clear, creators today must often pay to reach their own followers, and even then, the reach is minimal.

It’s stated that fewer than 5% of followers see an artist’s post unless it is boosted, a shift that transforms platforms from community tools into pay-to-play advertising systems. This fundamentally breaks the promise of direct fan access. Artists find themselves editing content repeatedly to appeal to algorithmic standards, rather than focusing on creative authenticity. The pressure to maintain perfection, coupled with exposure to daily online harassment, adds psychological friction to already precarious income models.

The conversation also addresses how social platforms have made artists dependent on third-party algorithms. Even with large followings, creators have no real ownership of their audiences. If a platform disappears or changes its rules, the connection to fans can vanish overnight. That fragility underscores the limitations of social media monetization for musicians trying to build sustainable, independent careers.

Musicians today often need hundreds of thousands of streams just to earn minimum wage, underscoring the limitations of social media monetization for musicians and streaming-dependent income. To make just $1,400 USD per month, an artist would need around 230,000 Apple Music streams or 380,000 Spotify streams, figures far beyond reach for most creators.

Recurring Revenue Models for Independent Music Artists

A central theme of the podcast is the power of recurring revenue models for independent music artists. Rather than depending on fragmented income streams like per-stream royalties or ticket sales, artists can build lasting relationships with fans ready to support them on an ongoing basis.

In the conversation, Anna emphasizes how subscription-style systems, where fans pay a small monthly fee, offer a predictable financial foundation. These models shift the focus from chasing viral hits or expensive tours to nurturing an engaged community. What emerges is not just a way to earn, but a space for creative control, deeper connection, and sustainability.

She draws a comparison with subscription-based businesses in other digital spaces: once fans see ongoing value, early access to tracks, exclusive content, or direct interaction, they’re more likely to remain committed supporters. That consistency in revenue, coupled with transparent delivery of value, reduces the income volatility that plagues streaming-dependent artists.

This approach contrasts sharply with traditional music revenue: instead of chasing single massive hits, creators earn through steady fan investment, analogous to how a small, faithful user base supports a niche SaaS product over time. The result is more than income, it’s a stable platform for creative growth.

MIDiA Research reports that “expanded rights”, which include fan-targeted subscriptions, merchandise, live experiences, and memberships, grew to $4.1 billion in 2024 and now represent over 11.3% of recorded music revenue, outpacing streaming growth and confirming direct-to-fan revenue as the fastest-growing income sector in music 

Obstacles to Scaling Direct-to-Fan Music Platforms in Western Markets

The conversation highlights multiple obstacles to scaling direct-to-fan music platforms in Western markets, despite the growing interest among artists and early adopters.

From the founder’s perspective, one of the clearest challenges is consumer behavior. Many listeners are still accustomed to music being free, whether through ad-supported streaming or social media. Asking fans to pay to support individual artists is still seen as a cultural shift rather than a norm. As noted in the discussion, fans often expect everything for free and may hesitate to pay even when they deeply appreciate the music.

Another roadblock lies in artist behavior. Many creators are hesitant to gate content or hold back material from public platforms. As a result, much of what artists share continues to be free or publicly accessible, limiting the incentive for fans to subscribe. The shift requires artists to rethink how and what they offer in exclusive spaces.

Thirdly, infrastructure remains a problem. The episode points out that most general-purpose platforms lack music-specific features like secure streaming (DRM), high-quality audio delivery, or integrated fan tools. This lack of tailored infrastructure is one of the persistent obstacles to scaling direct-to-fan music platforms in Western markets, making it harder to compete with large-scale streaming services.

Finally, the founders emphasize the importance of artist proximity in building successful tools. Unlike companies built with major labels, they suggest that being close to the everyday experience of musicians helps uncover friction points that others might overlook.

A recent MIDiA Research analysis also highlights this gap in Western markets: "Chinese streaming services have built businesses around monetising fandom, while Western streaming services instead simply monetise consumption," underscoring a missed opportunity in the West for fan-centric monetization 

Creator‑Centric Music Monetization Strategies for Tech Platforms

In the episode, Anna and Jakob dive deep into creator‑centric music monetization strategies for tech platforms, emphasizing that successful tools must be built from the inside out, around artists’ real workflows, values, and pain points.

They stress that most existing platforms are designed to maximize streams or ad revenue, not to help creators truly earn. In contrast, a creator‑centric music monetization strategy for tech platforms puts artist needs first: it enables ownership of fan data, integrates music-specific delivery, and supports artists’ mental wellbeing.

Key components voiced during the conversation:

• Fan ownership and control:  Anna emphasizes the importance of artists retaining control over fan relationships, email addresses, direct messaging, and payment history—so they’re not at the mercy of algorithms or corporate policy changes.

• Music-specific technical features:  The pair emphasize that standard membership sites lack core music abilities like secure (DRM) streaming, high-resolution audio support, and beautiful liner-note experiences. Without these, it’s hard to see why fans would move off mainstream platforms.

• Emotional safety and creative autonomy: Anna notes that artists need tools that don’t expose them to endless performance pressure, harassment, or exploitative growth metrics. The focus should be on human connection and sustainable creative habits, not algorithm games.

She adds that tech platforms built for creators, rather than for platform growth or ad dollars, surface far deeper friction points. When platforms talk to artists daily and test features with them, they uncover challenges that larger-scale teams overlook.

Investable Business Models in Direct-to-Fan Music Platforms

Direct-to-fan platforms are framed as viable, long-term businesses built around loyalty, retention, and creator control. These models are not chasing scale through viral growth but operate like steady cash-flow systems, supported by a small number of deeply engaged users.

Artist-fan relationships are at the center of their logic. Instead of relying on millions of passive listeners, platforms can become profitable with just a few dozen paying supporters per artist. A single creator with 50 loyal fans can earn more in direct support than through 130,000 monthly streams. Another case shows 20 out of 50 followers becoming subscribers, conversion rates that would be unthinkable in streaming or social media systems.

This structure supports high-margin, low-churn communities, where the value isn't diluted by middlemen or algorithms. The emphasis is on creator ownership: fan contact, pricing, delivery format, and content cadence all remain in the artist’s hands.

These dynamics offer product defensibility and high customer lifetime value. Growth is not fueled by broad exposure but through networks of trust, musicians recommending tools to peers, and fans sticking around because of authenticity and access.

Investable business models in direct-to-fan music platforms don’t compete on advertising reach or content volume. They are built on recurring payments, trust-based engagement, and tools designed to serve, not extract from creators.

Conclusion: The Music Industry Doesn’t Need Fixing,  It Needs Redefining

The real economic potential in music lies not in fixing broken streaming economics but in shifting the foundation altogether. Artists who have dedicated decades to their work, released dozens of projects, and performed hundreds of shows still find themselves struggling with inconsistent income and low conversion rates.

Mid-tier musicians, even with major sync placements and press recognition, remain financially unstable when dependent on exposure-based platforms. But when those same creators receive direct support from even a handful of fans, the economic equation changes—dramatically and immediately.

What emerges is not a vision for scaling the old model, but for replacing it: direct fan monetization, platform independence, and artist-first business logic. The tools that enable this future are not ones that serve content to audiences, but ones that serve creators building relationships.

What’s needed isn’t a fix. It’s a reset, one that starts with ownership, trust, and sustainability.