More than a subscription
Invest in the artists you believe in.
With Next-Up, you're not just paying a monthly fee — you're backing the artists you care about. Your support goes straight to them, and what you get back is up to them: exclusive perks, early access, subscriber-only music, and a closer connection than streaming ever offered.
Some artists go further. They can offer a share of their streaming revenue — giving fans a personal stake that rises when their streams rise and dips when they dip. Think of it as following an artist's momentum in real time, not watching from the sidelines.
Stay early
Join the mail list
Launch updates, artist drops, and platform news. No spam.
Back artists directly
Your money supports the people making the music — not a platform's algorithm or a label's cut.
Exclusive perks
Early drops, behind-the-scenes access, and rewards artists set for the fans who show up first.
Stream-linked stakes
Artists can offer revenue shares that move with their success — up when streams climb, down when they don't.
The state of music
Streaming made music free for everyone — except the people who make it.
A million streams on Spotify pays an artist roughly $3,000 — before their label, distributor, and manager take their cut. To earn the equivalent of a $30,000 salary, an independent musician needs ten million streams a year. Every year. Forever.
Meanwhile, their most dedicated fans — the ones who'd happily pay for early demos, signed merch, a closer connection — have no way to do it. They're paying $10 a month to Spotify, and almost none of it reaches the artist they actually love.
$0.003
Average per-stream payout to an artist
1M
Streams needed to make $3,000
70%
The cut taken before an indie artist sees a penny
A direct line between artists and the people who actually pay attention.
Next-Up is a subscription platform built around one idea: the people who care most about an artist should be able to support them directly — and get something real in return.
Fans pay a monthly fee to follow individual artists. In return, they get the music first. They get tracks that never hit Spotify. They get the demos, the b-sides, the work-in-progress. They get the relationship streaming took away.
Artists keep most of what they earn. They own the connection to their fans. They decide what to share, what to charge, and when. No algorithm decides who gets heard.
How it works
Artists create their space
Set your price. Build your page. Share it with your fans. You're up in minutes, not weeks.
Fans subscribe to you, directly
For a monthly fee you set, fans become part of your inner circle. Their payment goes straight to you — minus a small platform fee.
You share. They listen first.
Drop demos, unreleased tracks, exclusive recordings, voice notes, photos from the studio. Whatever makes the relationship real. They get it before anyone else.
For artists
a real income from
the fans who already love you.
You don't need a million streams. You need a thousand people who care.
- →Keep 85% of every subscription. We take a small percentage to keep the lights on. The rest is yours, paid out directly. No label cut. No publisher cut. No mystery deductions.
- →Set your own price. $3. $15. $50. You know what your work is worth. Charge accordingly.
- →Own your fanbase. Your subscribers aren't rented from an algorithm. They chose you.
- →Drop music on your terms. Share finished tracks, raw demos, unreleased material — whenever you want.
- →Get paid weekly. Not when your distributor feels like it. Weekly, directly to your bank account.
- →Tools that actually help. Subscriber analytics, content scheduling, fan messaging, payout dashboards.
“Eleven years on Spotify. 180,000 monthly listeners. I still couldn't afford to tour. Two months on Next-Up, 400 subscribers, and I'm finally paying myself a wage. Nobody tells you how broken the math is until you see it from the other side.”
“I subscribe to four artists I genuinely love. It costs me less than what I'd spend on one concert ticket a month. I hear new songs before they're released, I know exactly where my money is going, and I get to be an actual fan again — not just someone the algorithm is selling to.”
For fans
get closer to
the artists you love. Hear them first.
The kind of fandom that used to mean something. With the people making music right now.
- →Hear it before everyone else. New tracks, demos, b-sides — often weeks or months before they hit streaming.
- →Subscriber-only music. Some songs never leave. Tracks artists make just for the people who actually care.
- →A real connection. Read posts the artist wrote themselves. See the studio. Hear the voice notes.
- →Support artists directly. The money you pay goes to the people making the music.
- →Subscribe to as many artists as you love. Each subscription is separate. Cancel any time.
- →Discover music that isn't on any algorithm. Find artists building the thing — not chasing playlist placement.
Everything in one place.
Early Access
Hear new music before it goes anywhere else. Demos, finished tracks, alternate versions.
Subscriber-Only Drops
Music that lives only on the platform. For the fans who showed up.
Direct Updates
Posts, photos, voice notes, behind-the-scenes from the artist — straight to your feed.
High-Quality Streaming
Lossless and high-bitrate playback. The way the artist intended.
Your Subscriptions, Your Way
Subscribe to as many artists as you want. Pause, cancel, or change anytime.
Built for Mobile
Works beautifully on phones. Native apps coming soon.
“On streaming, I learned to write three-minute songs with the hook by fifteen seconds. Last month I released a nine-minute ambient track to my Next-Up subscribers. Hundreds of them listened to the whole thing. I'm making the music I actually want to make again — and people are paying me for it.”
Transparency
We believe in being honest about money.
For every $10 a fan pays:
$8.50
goes to the artist
$1.50
platform fee
$0
labels or middlemen
Compare that to streaming, where the artist might see thirty cents from the same $10. We don't think that's good enough.
Note: Stripe processing fees apply to all transactions, deducted before the split shown above. We'll always tell you exactly what those are.
This isn't a streaming service. It's a different idea.
Streaming services optimise for one thing: keeping a billion people on the platform. That's why they pay artists almost nothing and feed you whatever the algorithm decides is most addictive.
Next-Up optimises for one thing: the relationship between an artist and the people who love their work. We don't need a billion users. We need real ones. Listeners who want to hear what their favourite artist is making, before anyone else, and who are happy to pay for it because they understand what music actually costs to make.
It's a smaller idea. We think it's a better one.
Questions
How much does it cost to join as an artist?
Nothing. We don't charge setup fees, monthly fees, or hosting fees. We take a small percentage of subscription revenue. If you don't earn, we don't earn.
How much does it cost as a fan?
Whatever the artist charges. Most subscriptions are between $3 and $15 a month. Each subscription is separate — you only pay for the artists you choose to follow.
Do I have to leave Spotify or Apple Music?
Not at all. Most artists on Next-Up also release on streaming services — they just give their subscribers the music first, and sometimes share things that never go anywhere else.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes. Cancel from your account in two clicks. Your subscription stays active until the end of the billing period.
How do artists get paid?
Directly to their bank account, on a weekly schedule. We use Stripe to handle payments and payouts.
Is my data being sold?
No. We don't sell user data. We don't run ads. Our only revenue is the platform fee on subscriptions.
What if I'm in a band, not a solo artist?
Bands work the same as solo artists. One account, one subscription, one payout — set up however you split it internally.
Are you on iOS / Android?
The web app works beautifully on mobile. Native apps are on the roadmap.
Music is worth more than $0.003.
Let's build something that proves it.
Independent. Artist-owned ethos. Made by people who love music.