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The private beta: your free plan and check-ins
How the private beta works: the Band plan free until a date, the short identity call, how your first release goes out, and the day-3 and day-14 check-ins, with the three questions we ask.
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Your free plan
Beta bands get the Band plan free. The Plan page says Beta: Band plan, free until a date. There's no card, and nothing renews. We'll give you 30 days' notice before the beta ends.
Everything else works as it does on the Band plan, including the monthly limits for a new band. When the date passes, the page says Beta: the free Band plan ended that day: everything you've released stays up, and new releases pause.
Your first steps
Get set up gives beta bands a longer list that runs through to the first release. On top of the usual steps, it adds:
- Everyone approves the splits. Each writer approves from their own login. That approval, with its date, is the record.
- Identity check. A short call: see below.
- Send your first release.
The identity call
Before your first release goes out, one person in the band has a 10-minute video call with Jay, to confirm who they are. Reply to the welcome email to book one. We keep only the date.
How your first release goes out
During the beta, Jay sends each release to the distributor by hand. Allow 5 working days, and pick a release date at least three weeks away.
Before that, a person looks at every release in a band's first 90 days: see Release review. Every member gets an email when the band's first release reaches Apple Music or Spotify.
The check-ins
| When | Who gets it | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Day 3 | Owners and label managers | How many first steps are done, and the next one |
| Day 14 | Every member | Where the band stands, and three questions |
Reply to either email if something's unclear or not working. During the beta, that's the most useful thing you can send. To stop them, open the bell, then Choose what you get.
Answer the three questions
The day-14 email has a button, Answer the 3 questions. It opens a page with no login, and takes about a minute:
- How likely are you to tell another band about Split n Spin, from 0 to 10?
- After the beta, would you pay $36 a year for the whole band?
- What's one thing that confused you or got in the way?
Press Send my answers.
Your answers decide what gets fixed next. Only the people running the beta see them. Whatever you write in the third box also goes to our feedback inbox, so a person reads it.
Questions
Can I change my answers?
No: the first answers you send are the ones we keep. To add something, reply to the email or send feedback.
My check-in link doesn't work.
Each link works for 60 days, and only while you're in the band. Reply to the email instead: Jay reads them all.
Do I have to answer?
No. It helps us, but nothing changes if you don't.
Will my bandmates see what I wrote?
No. Only the people running the beta see your answers.
What happens to my releases when the beta ends?
Everything you've released stays up. You'll get 30 days' notice first.
About the picturesThey show Copper Kettle, the made-up band from our guide. Every name, code and dollar in them is invented. Numbered red dots on a picture match the numbered steps.