Waterloo Base for Artists
Quick Disclaimer:
Everybody's always trying to sell artists a new tech platform.
It's nauseating.
After spending decades in the music industry, that's the last thing we wanted to do.
But we heard a story that changed our minds.
This one knocked us over.
We heard a story a couple of years ago working with the paid media team for Quincy Jones Productions.
A (multiple) Grammy-winning artist, with more than 10 million followers across social media, didn't own their email list.
Not by choice. Not from neglect.
The list belonged to the label.
And the punchline was: if that artist ever left, the label wouldn't share the list.
A decade of work and connection with fans was locked away.
It was a painful realization that artists build the relationship. Create the work. Invest the time.
But the one thing their career depends on? other people own it.
We set out to fix that.
What problem does this solve?
Most artists don't own a direct connection to their audience.
Instagram owns it. TikTok owns it. Spotify, Ticketmaster, the label—they own it.
And if you do have lists, they're scattered:
- Emails in Mailchimp
- Customers in Shopify
- Supporters in Bandcamp
- SMS phone numbers in Community
- Followers across six different apps
The audience is there. Nothing is connected.
Most artists don't pay for Mailchimp.
Not because they don't want to.
Because if they actually had all their fans' emails, their bill would be $1,500/month.
They can't afford to reach the people who care about their work.
Think of it as HubSpot for artists.
But at 1/40th the price.
HubSpot starts at around $2K per month. (And goes up as your audience grows.)
Built for sales teams.
Waterloo Base is $48/month.
Built specifically for artists. It doesn't matter if you have 1,000 contacts or 100,000.
Same core idea: connect your audience, understand what works, measure everything.
Different target, completely different price.
Predictable Revenue
When your audience is connected in one place, you can finally understand what communication is worth.
If you knew—with reasonable consistency—that announcing a merch drop would bring in:
- $1,500 within 24 hours
- or $5,000
- or $15,000
…you would plan releases differently.
…you would budget differently.
…you would sleep differently.
Predictability isn't about chasing big numbers. It's about knowing what's likely to happen when you press "send."
Let's say you have to plan a west coast tour tomorrow morning.
You have:
- Followers on Instagram and TikTok
- Purchasers on Shopify
- Email subscribers (if you have them)
- SMS lists
- Fan communities (Discord, Patreon, Circle)
- Bandcamp supporters
- Audiences from Meta and TikTok ads
All hard-earned. All valuable.
None of them connected.
Which makes planning, forecasting, and deciding way harder than it needs to be.
Teams carry the responsibility of growing an artist's career.
But without a clear, connected audience:
- ✕ Every release feels unpredictable
- ✕ Revenue is hard to forecast
- ✕ Opportunities slip through
- ✕ Success depends on algorithms
Most artists and teams know there's potential in the audience. They just don't have a way to see it in one place.
Waterloo Base solves this.
What is Waterloo Base?
An audience platform designed for artists and their teams. It connects the scattered parts of an artist's ecosystem and turns them into something you can use.
- ✓ Unified Audience System — One place for every contact
- ✓ Built-in Email & SMS — Send directly from the platform
- ✓ Native Shopify Connection — Sync customers automatically
- ✓ Platform Integrations — WhatsApp, Instagram, TikTok, Bandcamp, X, Community, Meta Ads, Google Ads
- ✓ Built-in AI Models — Analysis and recommendations
Here's what's different
Send emails and texts as you need to. No per-contact fees. No usage limits.
$48/month, period.
Most email platforms charge $20-30 per thousand contacts.
With Waterloo Base, you send to 100 contacts or 100,000. Same price.
No surprises. No unexpected bills when your audience grows.
A simple way to understand audience value
Sending an email to 1,000 subscribers costs a few dollars.
The return from that email is often many times the cost.
Not because of tricks. Because direct communication with people who care produces consistent results.
Most teams never see this—their audience is scattered or incomplete.
Waterloo Base gives you the structure to make this kind of communication normal, not exceptional.
For over 20 years, we've built digital systems for artists.
Alicia Keys • Robert Plant • Alison Krauss • Kelly Clarkson • Faith Hill • Kings of Leon
Across these projects, the pattern was always the same: Artists with enormous potential. Audiences spread across disconnected places.
Waterloo Base is the system we wished existed while building for them—now available for the next generation.
Ready to Own Your Audience?
Start free. No credit card required. Access everything for 14 days.
$48/month after your trial
Cancel anytime. No contracts. No surprises.
Waterloo Base
A platform built for artists and the teams who support them.
Artists invest years building an audience. But most don't have a practical, affordable way to reach that audience directly.
Teams see this every day:
- Large followings with limited reach
- High email platform costs ($1,500+/month for real audience size)
- Contact lists controlled elsewhere
- No way to segment fans by city, state, or tour cycle
Waterloo Base keeps it simple: A reliable, portable, artist-friendly audience database you control completely.