The Umphrey’s McGee approach to fan engagement

Sure, jam bands get a bad rep, and are usually dismissed as spaced out noodle-jockeys, but here’s the thing about the jam scene: those bands are visionaries. See, the bands coming up in the jam scene have never been able to rely on 'traditional' revenue models, like mainstream radio play, so they’ve constantly sought ways to create something out of nothing.

 

Umphrey’s is the band which has emerged as the true flag-bearer of this innovative tradition. The improvisationally minded sextet is willing to take risks not just with their music but also with their business practices. The group is constantly seeking new ways to engage their fans thereby encouraging those fans to become more personally invested in the band. The Umphrey’s McGee model for fan engagement is built on three pillars:

 

Exclusive content and social sharing

 

To promote their 2009 studio album Mantis, Umphrey’s devised a pre-sale campaign that encouraged their core fans to take an active role in promoting the release. Mantis’ week-of-release sales numbers more than double that of the band’s previous album (The Bottom Half, 2005), and defied the record industry’s downward trend in sales. This was due in part to Mantis’ innovative digital strategy; fans who pre-ordered the album gained access to exclusive bonus material.

 

Umphrey’s encouraged their most passionate fans to reach out to their friends and other 'fringe fans' through collective goals. As more pre-orders were received, the fanbase as a whole collectively unlocked new levels of content. Billboard Magazine recognised Umphrey’s McGee for their creative marketing savvy, calling the Mantis pre-order campaign “…a likely template for emerging and established acts [looking to] kick-start interest in a new release.” 

 

Umphrey’s quickly realised the exclusive content model could help solve their problem with overstocked merchandise. Overstock merch takes up space and cash, so Umphrey's responded with a Golden Ticket promotion in which 500 Umphrey’s-branded 'grab-bags' are sold at $30 apiece. These grab-bags are filled with overstock merch that needed to be cleared, but the real value proposition is in the allure of 50 'golden tickets' which (surprise!) unlocked even more exclusive content and experiences.

 

This incredible content includes a year’s worth of backstage passes, VIP tickets to the New Year’s Eve run (a highly coveted ticket), and invitations to secret shows.

 

 

Interactive live experiences

 

In an attempt to push the limits of their musical creativity, the band created an exercise in non-linear improvisation they call 'Jimmy Stewart'. A 'Jimmy Stewart' is a set amount time each night that is dedicated strictly to improvisation. 'Stewarts' play an important role in the live experience as they give fans, as well as the band, something different every night.

 

What’s more, 'Stewarts' gave the group an opportunity to interact with fans during a show and address the trending use of smartphones at concerts. The band asked fans to tweet or text suggestions for their 'Stewarts'. For example, fans texted in hilarious but challenging themes such as 'Hungarian Wedding Music' or 'Hillbilly Hoe-Down Metalcore' and the band would do their best to emulate an improvisational piece based on that theme.

 

Building on the success of 'Jimmy Stewarts', the band created a festival-like live experience that was entirely fan driven. The 'UM Bowl', is a football inspired concert divided into four 'quarters' of music. Each 'quarter' has a theme (the first quarter might be a 'Jimmy Stewart,' and the second may be an entire set of covers) decided in advance by the band but created by the fans.

 

Interactive live experiences like 'Jimmy Stewarts' and the 'UM Bowl' provide an opportunity for the band and fans to interact with each other while revisiting archived songs, and exploring brand new material. The result is an entirely unique experience that can never be re-created. Most importantly it was inspired and created by the fans themselves thereby solidifying their active participatory role in the relationship.

 

 

The use of technology and data

 

Umphrey’s launched a comprehensive database known as 'All Things Umphrey’s.' This database contains every song, from every show recorded and archived for the consumption of their fan base. With information ranging from set lists, to venues and cities, fans can search how many times they’ve seen a given song, in a given show or discover the rarity of a given song or show based on the context of this database. This model has been famously developed by Phantasy Tour, a social network dedicated to the jam-scene.

 

Lessons to learn from Umphrey’s

 

For more info, go to www.marquee-mobile.com.