WHAT IS THIS
Welcome to my (Babyshakes) part of the website.
I was inspired by Karly Hartzman from the band Wednesday. She has a more personally curated space online here: https://www.prisondivorcebombshell.com
I think over time I’ve just become disillusioned from having so many mid-tier ways offered to communicate, that I was looking for a solution that wasn’t locked inside app walls.
Here are some ways bands are using to ‘build community’ in 2026.
Monthly newsletters
A database of fan’s personal emails has long been the gold tier of having access to your fans. The idea is that you can reach them without relying on an algorithm. You see when MySpace died, a bunch of bands died with it. But at the end of the day, it’s just another email in someone’s inbox, no matter how peppy you get with it. I tried for the last few years to build rock n roll moral from inside Gmail, but I’m over it .
Our newsletter still exists, but is now strictly for release and tour announcements, written in arial font direct from management, PICTURED.
2. ‘Instagram Broadcast Channel’
I think this most sinister. I’ve followed a bunch of bands trying to make fetch happen, but these group chats are just creating more noise on the same app, in a really needy way. Pretty sure no artist wants to do it. It just completely defeats having an off app space on the internet - and at the end of the day it’s a weird group chat where you are the only person who can talk.
3. Substack
This came close to a solution, but at the end of the day - it’s still social media with notifications, follower counts, comments and stats. It’s just disgusted with more words. I like being there, but it’s still a bit of a game…
4. Patreon
I had a Patreon and was so bad at it that someone messaged and was like - you should stop calling this a thing. I think to monetise you really need to be fair to your fans - and running a paid for membership is just like a bigger job than I have time for. Plus idk, I found it hard to generate something worth calling exclusive to keep behind a paywall, while also keeping social media channels alive where everything is seemingly free (you just pay with your life).
5. Substack
This came close to a solution, but at the end of the day - it’s social media, just disgusted with more words. Notifications, follower counts, comments and stats. I like being there, but might as well do it here without all the noise.