Smule blog: Performance Testing of New Tipping Feature

[_SingSalon_]

We’re excited to share news about a new feature that some members of the Smule community are getting a first glimpse of – the Tipping feature. This feature is sure to add a new layer of excitement and appreciation to the Smule experience. We’re currently testing the feature among a small percentage of creators in the U.S. to better understand user engagement and functionality within the app. 

View the full article on the Smule blog

[Wishchip]

If this blog post is supposed to be intentionally vague, then GREAT JOB.

We’re excited to share news about a new feature that some members of the Smule community are getting a first glimpse of – the Tipping feature. This feature is sure to add a new layer of excitement and appreciation to the Smule experience. We’re currently testing the feature among a small percentage of creators in the U.S. to better understand user engagement and functionality within the app. Before we can determine the next phase, our team will actively review the test results, and feedback collected from those included in the testing of the feature. The availability of this feature will depend on the outcome of these tests, and it may not be rolled out if it does not meet our standards. 

As with the potential rollout of any new feature or testing we conduct, there may be adjustments along the way. Our team is committed to troubleshooting any issues that come up during this testing phase to further optimize the feature.

For those of you who see the tipping feature appear in your profile, we welcome you to give it a try and share your experience and input with us so that we may address your thoughts and concerns.

Your talent deserves to be recognized and our team is committed to bringing this tipping component to life. Stay tuned for more updates as we continue to test and refine this feature.

We’d love to hear from you!

Share your thoughts and questions with us by emailing [email protected]

[SingingFool]

Ok then…I guess I’m one of the guinea pigs! I was a little confused when I first read the notice because I thought “tips” meant advice like “hey you sound a bit nasally, try flaring your nostrils when you go for the high notes” or “good try, but I think you should steer clear of Ariana in the future. Maybe stick with Miley.” That kind of thing. Actually, I’m all for that. I wouldn’t mind some constructive criticism. But when I realized “tips” meant $$ it kinda put me off. For one thing, nobody’s going to pay to listen to me. For another thing, I don’t want people to start expecting me to tip them either…no matter how much I am a fan. Nope 🙂‍↔️ 👎🏽 . I don’t like it. Kills the spirit of karaoke, imo.

[SingingFool]

13 hours ago, Wishchip said:

If this blog post is supposed to be intentionally vague, then GREAT JOB.

 

Yeah  great job, Smule. 😆 To clear up some of the vagueness…here is what I saw. (The tipping option appeared in the “edit profile” part of my account.)

[Wishchip]

6 hours ago, SingingFool said:

To clear up some of the vagueness…here is what I saw.

Thank you for this! I’m going to share those pics with Singtopia if you don’t mind. 

[SingingFool]

36 minutes ago, Wishchip said:

Thank you for this! I’m going to share those pics with Singtopia if you don’t mind. 

Sure! Just if you don’t mind, could you share the screenshots without my “name” attached to it? 

Anybody want to chime in about this prospect? I have strong opinions but they are just my opinions. I’m curious what you all think. 

[Wishchip]

54 minutes ago, SingingFool said:

Sure! Just if you don’t mind, could you share the screenshots without my “name” attached to it? 

No problem! Screenshots only, no "These are courtesy of SingingFool" or anything like that.

And of course in true Helpdesk fashion, they're being deliberately obtuse when I email them and ask exactly how tipping works:

[opentype]

1 hour ago, SingingFool said:

I’m curious what you all think. 

Tipping has become a common feature for social media services, but I do not see how it makes sense on Smule. If I run a YouTube channel for example, constantly creating useful content, there can be “fans” (as Smule calls it) who would like to give something back and support the channel to see it continue and flourish in the future. But on Smule, I don’t have “fans”, I have friends and we like to sing together. That creator–fan relationship just doesn’t exist. I don’t know why anyone would want to tip me or why I would want to tip other Smule users. 

Of course there is nothing wrong with trying out new functionalities. But so far, I’m unconvinced of this one.  

[Wishchip]

I'm not really aware of how tipping works on other social media or even on the StarMaker karaoke app (who I understand has had a tipping / give cash feature for awhile). Like most things on Smule, I feel like this is really only going to benefit the super popular Smulies, as well as their 30-50 favourite users they feature all the time.

What this means though is that this is likely the end of gifted VIP, giving gifts or anything like that (for better or worse). Because ultimately people would prefer cash money over any of those other things. So finally we have a reason for why the gift tab got removed and was buried in the app, because once Tipping rolls out, no one's going to spend coins on them anymore.

[Wishchip]

Also, this particular feature doesn't appear to be directly making Smule any money. So this must be a way to overall help boost VIP subscriptions (the numbers of which must be down or at the very least have plateaued) by offering a tangible reward to paid users.

[Wishchip]

11 hours ago, SingingFool said:

Yeah  great job, Smule. 😆 To clear up some of the vagueness…here is what I saw. (The tipping option appeared in the “edit profile” part of my account.)

Are you able to access and send screenshots of the General Tipping Policy? Curious what that actually says. 

[SingingFool]

2 hours ago, Wishchip said:

Are you able to access and send screenshots of the General Tipping Policy? Curious what that actually says. 

Didn’t want to draw too much attention to me self from TPTB so rather than posting it, I tried to DM screenshots to you, but it doesn’t allow me to attach pics in messages. But I can summarize. I think the gist of it is:

-you have to be 18 years old +

- be a resident of the the country in which the service is currently offered

-any transactions are done through a third party payment service so whatever additional processing fees that may occur or problems that may arise are strictly between you (the tipper) and the 3rd party service. Smule does not take any portion of payment or benefit from that transaction in any $ way & are basically washing their hands clean of any problems that may occur between tipper & 3rd party payment service. 

[Wishchip]

Thanks @SingingFool. There seems to be concerns about what this feature will do with the issues of copyright versus monetary gain. There's nothing about that in the policy?

[SingingFool]

That’s interesting about the copyright issues related to monetary gain. You’re talking about people making a profit this way? I can’t  imagine that anybody is going to be reaping in that much $$…it’ll probably just be small potatoes if anything? But what do I know? Have to see how this plays out. I didn’t notice anything in the General Tipping Policy regarding that. It does refer to the general Smule terms & conditions tho so perhaps it’s covered in there. Anyway, personally I want nothing to do with it. Singing friendships might be reduced to transactions. Money taints everything. 

[SingingFool]

Doh!  After all that. Everything is spelled out here. 😣 https://www.smule.com/tips/terms

[Wishchip]

I'm having a chat with Smule Helpdesk and interestingly enough, they say you don't have to be VIP to either give or receive tips. While this feature is clearly marketed towards gaining new users, I'm surprised that Smule wouldn't require a VIP membership for it. But I guess they're hoping it'll go down like gangbusters and people will just organically start buying VIP subscriptions in order for them to be as visible to the tipping community as possible.

[SingingFool]

On 8/7/2024 at 7:15 AM, opentype said:

If I run a YouTube channel for example, constantly creating useful content, there can be “fans” (as Smule calls it) who would like to give something back and support the channel to see it continue and flourish in the future. But on Smule, I don’t have “fans”, I have friends and we like to sing together. That creator–fan relationship just doesn’t exist. I don’t know why anyone would want to tip me or why I would want to tip other Smule users.

YouTube/ Creator-fan analogy is helpful to give a point of reference to try to understand what the intention of this new feature is. I was wondering if it might be more along the lines of gifting a VIP subscription but without the time constraints & allowing more flexibility. I remember the thread about gifting VIP where people were complaining that if you received VIP as a gift, you  couldn’t decide when to activate it and also it was generally only going to be for one week. Maybe that gave smule the idea of how can  we get them to support others who can’t afford the annual VIP but make it in a more flexible form such as CASH. 💵 I would actually be down for that if they could translate it into Smule currency as opposed to cold hard cash. For instance, if those cute sticker gifts that people actually pay for (not me) could be of some actual tangible value, maybe to be collected & accumulated toward VIP membership or offsetting the cost of. Like Starbucks or BobaTime reward points except Smule Rewards. 

[Wishchip]

20 hours ago, SingingFool said:

YouTube/ Creator-fan analogy is helpful to give a point of reference to try to understand what the intention of this new feature is. I was wondering if it might be more along the lines of gifting a VIP subscription but without the time constraints & allowing more flexibility. 

It's funny you should mention gifted VIP, because in one of the replies I received from Smule, they said "Tipping is another way besides the VIP gifting to show appreciation to each other." Obviously, gifting VIP isn't helpful to those with VIP already, but it's interesting that they see gifting VIP as a similar thing to tipping.

I think since Smule is coming out of the gate with tipping using cold hard cash, there's no transitioning to some form of Smule currency later down the road. This is a "make or break" feature for them. They need to sell VIP memberships and they need it BAD. So it'll be interesting to see how long tipping keeps the eventual VIP membership price increase at bay. 

[SingingFool]

On 8/8/2024 at 10:03 AM, Wishchip said:

I'm having a chat with Smule Helpdesk and interestingly enough, they say you don't have to be VIP to either give or receive tips. While this feature is clearly marketed towards gaining new users, I'm surprised that Smule wouldn't require a VIP membership for it. But I guess they're hoping it'll go down like gangbusters and people will just organically start buying VIP subscriptions in order for them to be as visible to the tipping community as possible.

So if the ultimate goal is to increase VIP memberships then why wouldn’t they require VIP to use the Tipping feature? I don’t get it! I don’t see a correlation. 🤔 Is the speculation/hope that talented singers will be willing to fork over the $45(?) for VIP thinking they’ll make up for it + more with the tipping feature? Don’t quit the day job, people! 

I’m also wondering if the amount of tips a person has received will somehow be indicated on their profile as sort of bragging rights? My guess is no, tho…it’s probably in everyone’s best interests to keep that private if they’re concerned with the licensing/royalties issue. 

*When you spend more time talking about the app than actually singing on the app, perhaps it is time to throw in the Smule towel. (I says to myself 😆)

Anyway thank you WC for processing this with me…personally I couldn’t care less about this feature as I will not be using it, but I really enjoy analyzing it to death. 😆

[Wishchip]

12 minutes ago, SingingFool said:

So if the ultimate goal is to increase VIP memberships then why wouldn’t they require VIP to use the Tipping feature? I don’t get it! I don’t see a correlation. 🤔 Is the speculation/hope that talented singers will be willing to fork over the $45(?) for VIP thinking they’ll make up for it + more with the tipping feature? Don’t quit the day job, people!

I think Smule is really trying to go after the TikTok crowd hard, and lots of people believe the recent "no headphones" update was aimed at attracting that crowd. So my thinking is that the feature of Tipping is just to get them in the door without dealing with any kind of paywall. Once there, a new user will realize that being VIP will provide more tipping opportunities (and I'm sure Smule is going to aggressively promote this fact), so they're more likely to sign up for VIP.*

I think the marketing idea behind it is:

SING FOR MONEY!
(Become VIP to make potentially even more money!)

21 minutes ago, SingingFool said:

I’m also wondering if the amount of tips a person has received will somehow be indicated on their profile as sort of bragging rights? My guess is no, tho…it’s probably in everyone’s best interests to keep that private if they’re concerned with the licensing/royalties issue.

Smule has stated in an email that they don't have access to the user-to-user transactions processed by third-party providers, and that they don't track the amounts that are being processed. So unlike gifts (where you can clearly see who are a user's top gifters), it doesn't sound like viewing tip amounts will be accessible through the app.

It probably won't stop some people from posting "SINGINGFOOL: TOP TIPPER WITH $50.00 USD!! THANKS BOO!" on their profile, though.

25 minutes ago, SingingFool said:

*When you spend more time talking about the app than actually singing on the app, perhaps it is time to throw in the Smule towel. (I says to myself 😆)

Hey man, I can't sing while at work, but I can certainly post on this site. Hahaha.

*I also wouldn't be the least bit surprised if I heard that Smule gifted a bunch of high-profile TikTok users with free VIP, in order to attract their followers to the Smule platform. If that were the case, there would be far less need to require a VIP membership for tipping.

[SingingFool]

34 minutes ago, Wishchip said:

I think Smule is really trying to go after the TikTok crowd hard, and lots of people believe the recent "no headphones" update was aimed at attracting that crowd. So my thinking is that the feature of Tipping is just to get them in the door without dealing with any kind of paywall. Once there, a new user will realize that being VIP will provide more tipping opportunities (and I'm sure Smule is going to aggressively promote this fact), so they're more likely to sign up for VIP.*

I think the marketing idea behind it is:

SING FOR MONEY!
(Become VIP to make potentially even more money!)

Ah! I’m beginning to see the bigger picture in the scenario you paint. Interesting hypothesis! If true, I fear it is the tolling of the death knell for the kumbaya singing, warm fuzzy mediocre Smulers like me. There already is a sort of pecking order or class structure at this point based on talent (judged by who will follow you back, join you, love ❤️ your joins, comment on your joins, give you the time of day) and I think if you throw $ into the mix, it will really add to those dynamics & increase the snobbery. I’m not going to shell out dough $ in a desperate measure to try to stay relevant and seen. Waah 😩. Smulers like me are rapidly going the Way of the Dodo. 😢 Thank you for your perceptive insight 🧠 Wishchip! 🙋🏻‍♀️

[Wishchip]

Haha, well it's all just theory and speculation. Heck, I'm seeing some people theorize now that this whole tipping feature is a means of implementing what TikTok does, which (apparently) is tipping people during live streams by way of stickers and animations, which then convert to money in the streamer's pocket. The difference here though is that Smule is skipping the conversion process and going straight to cash.

So the 2-hour limit they just put on Live Jams? Maybe that's paving the way for 2-hour tipping free-for-alls. All Sodom and Gomorrah in there. But I don't know much about Live Jams and even less about TikTok, so I have no idea.

Edited August 9 by Wishchip

[SingingFool]

4 hours ago, Wishchip said:

Hey man, I can't sing while at work, but I can certainly post on this site. Hahaha.

😂 good point! 

And btw my comment about “spending more time talking about the app than singing on it” was directed at myself as I haven’t sung for awhile now. 😉

[Wishchip]

Haha all good. It can apply to me as well. I don’t pretend that my shit doesn’t stink. 

[DuetWithAlli]

Saw tips in my settings (and left it turned off) and came here to learn what it’s all about. It has recently come to my attention that there are workers of the world’s oldest profession on Smule. So I can imagine this turning into a way to exchange goods and services, if ya know what I mean. Tip me $5 I’ll show you my … tip me $10 I’ll show you my … that sort of thing. There are those who can really sing, those who are “nice” to look at, and all of the rest of us, who will probably be totally unaffected by this feature.