Smule blog: Evolving Verification on Smule: The New Gold Verified Badge

[[Member _Sin…]]

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Verified badges play a crucial role on any platform – they make it easier to identify, trust, and connect with public figures, celebrities, and fellow Smulers. To enhance this distinction, we’re in the process of revamping our badge system. The first step in this evolution is simplifying it into just two categories: Purple and Gold …

View the full article on the Smule blog

[[Member Wish…]]

What this blog neglects to mention is that those users with a Verified Badge (the hollow purple checks) have all been gifted the Gold Badge for free, in place of the Verified Badge. And Smule is likely doing this because they need these users to basically advertise this paid item. How can Smule sell Gold Badges - effectively meaningless indicators - to regular users if no one is buying them? Simple. Give them all out to the high-profile users for free and watch as people start coveting thy neighbour's goods. Maybe this is all part of Smule's "we won’t be publicly sharing the specific milestones required" part of their blog.

[[Member Duet…]]

Wait … so you’re telling me that I can buy my way into being special? Yesssss! Too bad I will never meet the criteria … but I definitely like this idea 😂😁

[[Member Wish…]]

15 hours ago, DuetWithAlli said:

Wait … so you’re telling me that I can buy my way into being special? 

That is correct, hahaha! Unless you were already a verified user, in which case you get to have a gold check mark for FREE and never have to pay for it. But if you weren't already special, you have to pay for it, and then you have to keep paying for it every 3 or 6 months to maintain it.

[[Member Duet…]]

42 minutes ago, Wishchip said:

That is correct, hahaha! Unless you were already a verified user, in which case you get to have a gold check mark for FREE and never have to pay for it. But if you weren't already special, you have to pay for it, and then you have to keep paying for it every 3 or 6 months to maintain it.

Ah, but notice they are saying it’s a paid service, and separate from your vip subscription, so you have to pay to renew it. When it expires, is Smule going to ask the people who received it for free, to pay to keep it? I hope so! Because that would be hilarious! And exactly what I would expect from Smule.

Also, is anyone seeing this update yet? I’ve seen a couple of people with hollow purple checkmarks, and one is someone I follow, who I know didn’t have it before. What does that mean? I guess I thought there would only be one of two: a filled in gold checkmark, or a filled in purple checkmark. Smule and their lovely way of “simplifying” things.

[[Member Wish…]]

58 minutes ago, DuetWithAlli said:

Ah, but notice they are saying it’s a paid service, and separate from your vip subscription, so you have to pay to renew it. When it expires, is Smule going to ask the people who received it for free, to pay to keep it? I hope so! Because that would be hilarious! And exactly what I would expect from Smule.

Also, is anyone seeing this update yet? I’ve seen a couple of people with hollow purple checkmarks, and one is someone I follow, who I know didn’t have it before. What does that mean? I guess I thought there would only be one of two: a filled in gold checkmark, or a filled in purple checkmark. Smule and their lovely way of “simplifying” things.

That person with the hollow purple checkmark most likely has the new gold checkmark if you check out their profile on smule.com. The app is slow to roll out but the website seems to be up to date.

The gold checkmark is indeed a paid service, but most likely not for the ones who had it gifted to them for free. I'm guessing they get it for free and keep it indefinitely, for free.

[[Member PeLa…]]

I wish to have purple verified badge...but it's only a dream ☹️

[[Member Duet…]]

1 hour ago, Wishchip said:

That person with the hollow purple checkmark most likely has the new gold checkmark if you check out their profile on smule.com. The app is slow to roll out but the website seems to be up to date.

The gold checkmark is indeed a paid service, but most likely not for the ones who had it gifted to them for free. I'm guessing they get it for free and keep it indefinitely, for free.

Wow, thanks for that info! I’ll check it out on the website.

And darn, I was hoping Smule would try to charge them for the checkmark after the fact, only to see Smule piss off the one group of people who have been happy with their decision making process up until this point.

Edit to add: You are absolutely right @Wishchipthey have gold checkmarks on the website! And I know for a fact that neither one of them is any better than I, just more active I suppose. So at least I can see it for what it is.

Edited November 20, 2023 by DuetWithAlli
Confirmation and grammar

[[Member Wish…]]

Smule is smartly being intentionally vague with their criteria for the gold badge so they're not beholden to their own rules and can basically do whatever they want.

The problem with the gold badge is if virtually anyone can pay for it, then it stops being special or unique. Of course, that's of no concern to Smule, because if that many people have a gold badge, just imagine the money they're raking in...for literally doing nothing but sitting back and watching us morons buy something that has zero practical effect on our Smule experience.

[[Member Duet…]]

Right! It’s also brilliant because if I ask why do checkmarked singers get special treatment, do they pay extra? Smule can say yes, they do. And if you hadn’t told me, I wouldn’t know that it may or may not be true. I kind of want to ask my friend if she had to pay for the gold checkmark, but I’m afraid it might be rude.

And yeah, it’s totally a money grab. I mean, if they’re actually making people pay for it. If people are canceling vip, and they’re not getting enough new sign ups, why not charge people who are willing to pay for vip MORE? Brilliant!

I suspect you have to have over 1,000 followers. The two I’m following, and another one I saw, all have over 1,000. One uploads a lot of songs, and the other makes a crap ton of invites. I don’t have time for being popular, so I guess I’ll have to let it go. I’d rather have a small number of meaningful interactions than use and be used by other people to increase each other’s popularity. I see it as a new, easier way to see who to avoid 😂

 

[[Member The…]]

I don't want a paid-for tick/checkmark/badge or any other pointless symbol, I want cold hard cash for the brilliant uploads I create for all the lovely people out there, risking the wrath of lawyers at all times.

[[Member Wish…]]

1 hour ago, The Minty Clinch said:

I don't want a paid-for tick/checkmark/badge or any other pointless symbol, I want cold hard cash for the brilliant uploads I create for all the lovely people out there, risking the wrath of lawyers at all times.

I want a pointless symbol recognizing all the hard work uploaders do. They should also get a free gold check for all the content they produce for Smule for free. You think that California Raisins song uploaded itself? 

[[Member The…]]

36 minutes ago, Wishchip said:

I want a pointless symbol recognizing all the hard work uploaders do. They should also get a free gold check for all the content they produce for Smule for free. You think that California Raisins song uploaded itself? 

306 isn’t bad, but I want an even more special symbol (platinum badge?) for my 2332 😝