Let's talk about Gifting VIP

[[Member Wish…]]

@DuetWithAlli posted this in another thread and I thought it deserved its own discussion. 

On 12/10/2023 at 3:48 PM, DuetWithAlli said:

Somehow, I don’t think this is going to be a thing. Smule wants us to gift other users with vip. Because that will net them more money. Cha-Ching!

I haven't seen this "Gift VIP" show up like this in the app yet, but that could be because I haven't updated the app in forever. Or maybe it's because I'm not VIP, and Smule smartly shouldn't advertise to non-VIP users to pay for VIP for someone else. Hahaha.

As a non-VIP user, I've been gifted 5-day VIP a few times over the past year. The main issue I have with it is that the recipient doesn't get to control when the gifted VIP is activated. As soon as the recipient opens the app, then the clock starts ticking, and sometimes it's not the most convenient time to maximize 5 days of VIP. I wish Smule could make it so the recipient would have like 30 days to activate the VIP from the date of purchase, like with rental digital movies on Prime or Apple TV.

 

[[Member Duet…]]

On 12/11/2023 at 1:16 PM, Wishchip said:

@DuetWithAlli posted this in another thread and I thought it deserved its own discussion. 

I haven't seen this "Gift VIP" show up like this in the app yet, but that could be because I haven't updated the app in forever. Or maybe it's because I'm not VIP, and Smule smartly shouldn't advertise to non-VIP users to pay for VIP for someone else. Hahaha.

As a non-VIP user, I've been gifted 5-day VIP a few times over the past year. The main issue I have with it is that the recipient doesn't get to control when the gifted VIP is activated. As soon as the recipient opens the app, then the clock starts ticking, and sometimes it's not the most convenient time to maximize 5 days of VIP. I wish Smule could make it so the recipient would have like 30 days to activate the VIP from the date of purchase, like with rental digital movies on Prime or Apple TV.

 

Sorry I’m late to the party here! Hehe … Yes, I thought this should have been it’s own thread, too. So,  thanks for making it. 
 

This prompt while listening to the recording is new. In the past, I think the only way to gift vip was to go directly to the user’s page. I don’t have vip anymore, but the other singer has vip now. So I’ll have to dig up a recording with another non-vip and see if it comes up. But I’ll be surprised if it doesn’t. I feel like Smule has realized that they need to start asking for money from everyone, for everything under the sun. 
 

Yes, I totally agree with the timing issues of the gift vip. What if you’re on vacation when someone gifts you with vip? And in my case, I don’t usually sing on weekends. So I’ve lost two days of it already, maybe three if it’s Friday night when I am gifted with vip. It would definitely be nice if the recipient could choose when to start the five days. 
 

Edited December 13, 2023 by DuetWithAlli
Clarification

[[Member Duet…]]

Yes, it still asks me to Gift VIP to the other singer, even though I myself don’t have VIP. 

[[Member Wish…]]

On 12/13/2023 at 5:12 AM, DuetWithAlli said:

Yes, it still asks me to Gift VIP to the other singer, even though I myself don’t have VIP. 

Hahaha. Oh Smule, never change. Except please change.

In addition to giving recipients control over when the gifted VIP can be activated, I would really appreciate if they changed it from 5 days to 7 days. Not only because recipients are caught off-guard and often have to rearrange their lives in order to maximize the VIP (and likely lose some time in the process), but because Smule works in a 7-day cycle anyway: OCs are open for 7 days, extensions are 14 days, paid extensions are an additional 14 days. 5 days of VIP is inconsistent. And besides that, it's kinda chintzy. 

[[Member open…]]

Yes, offering different durations (a week, a month, a year) would make sense. I doubt they would ever touch the general functionality, like letting users choose when the gifted membership starts. That just complicates things without offering any benefit to Smule. In the end, the short VIP membership works well as advertising for the VIP option and if you can’t make full use of it in 5 days, it’s even better for Smule.

[[Member Duet…]]

9 hours ago, Wishchip said:

Hahaha. Oh Smule, never change. Except please change.

In addition to giving recipients control over when the gifted VIP can be activated, I would really appreciate if they changed it from 5 days to 7 days. Not only because recipients are caught off-guard and often have to rearrange their lives in order to maximize the VIP (and likely lose some time in the process), but because Smule works in a 7-day cycle anyway: OCs are open for 7 days, extensions are 14 days, paid extensions are an additional 14 days. 5 days of VIP is inconsistent. And besides that, it's kinda chintzy. 

Right! The invites you make when you have a gift vip last for a full seven days just like any other, and can also be extended for 14 days if you do it before the gift expires. The five days does seem like an odd choice. I don’t know if I want Smule to change though, because lately they’ve been changing things for the worse.

8 hours ago, opentype said:

Yes, offering different durations (a week, a month, a year) would make sense. I doubt they would ever touch the general functionality, like letting users choose when the gifted membership starts. That just complicates things without offering any benefit to Smule. In the end, the short VIP membership works well as advertising for the VIP option and if you can’t make full use of it in 5 days, it’s even better for Smule.

Oh, I would love to see different choices for the duration of gifts! My issue with the gift subscription starting right away is that I feel bad if someone sends a vip gift at a time when I can’t make good use of it. But I can see why Smule would like it to run out, because if it wasn’t such a busy time of year, I’d sign up for a week of vip myself just to get through all of the songs I had in mind.