While She Sleeps: Why I spend big subscribing to my favourite band

Melody (centre) is a fan of While She Sleeps, everyone else in the picture is in While She Sleeps, except for the dog - which is a dog

It's called The Sleeps Society and, over the course of this year, Melody and Greig are planning to spend over £1,000 each to be part of it.

They both admit it takes a huge chunk out of their budgets, but they're also both adamant it's totally worth it.

They're two of over 2,000 members - fans who pay a monthly fee and, in return, get access to exclusive content from Sheffield metalcore band While She Sleeps.

And the band are convinced they're onto something.

In an age where making money directly from music is getting harder, they say they've created "a sustainable model" that the rest of the industry could follow.

While She Sleeps formed in Sheffield in 2006 and have just released their sixth album

"The subscription model is actually nothing new, but up until now it's mainly been used by YouTubers and podcasters," guitarist Mat Welsh tells Radio 1 Newsbeat.

"Streaming is an amazing tool, you can get a million songs at your fingertips. But in that same breath, it's kind-of devalued music.

"So we thought we'd encourage people to stream, but also help fund and support the music that's being made.

"It's almost like getting all our fans to become shareholders of the band."

The Sleeps Society has four tiers - the cheapest, at £4.99 a month, gets you exclusive video content, access to an online community and priority when buying tour tickets.

The most expensive, at £59.99 per month, gets you all of the above, along with merchandise, a personalised video message from the band, free entry to a gig and the chance to watch them sound check beforehand.

Greig says he's formed "genuine friendships" through being part of The Sleeps Society

The top tier is a lot of money for anyone, especially a cash-strapped student like Greig, but even though he admits it's "up there" with his biggest expenses, he's got no plans to leave any time soon.

"When The Sleeps Society was announced, I didn't really need to think about it, I just went with it because I knew the money was going into something I'm passionate about," he says.

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He's from Alva in Clackmannanshire, and studying graphic design at university, but makes time at weekends to meet up with other society members.

"It's more than just going down, buying merch and seeing the band, it's about meeting people who've got the same investment and the same level of interests as you.

"There are genuine friendships that have been born from this."

Melody has been getting tips from singer Loz Taylor on honing her scream

Melody, who's 25 and from Swansea, is a top tier member too.

"I'm a musician myself, and The Sleeps Society has given me access to tutorials and vocal sessions with the band," she says.

"You don't get that anywhere else - it's incredible.

"I love Spotify, it's great. But it's no good for bands. I would encourage as many people as I can, if there is that one band that means so much to you and they've got these sort of platforms, you need to go out and support them."

Support from the likes of Greig and Melody has allowed While She Sleeps to record and release their new album, and to re-hire their touring crew who'd been out of work because of the pandemic.

It also means they're completely independent of any record label - and Mat's convinced it's a model the rest of the industry could follow.

"We've got just over 2,000 members, which is about one per cent of our Instagram following, and that makes us sustainable.

"So it's not about asking every fan of our band, or people who just listen to us every now and again, to sign up.

"It's talking to the core audience who really, really depend on on a band and listen to them all the time.

"And it's almost like if everyone does that with their super-fans, then those super-fans make it possible for everyone else who wants to listen.

"It's just about the power of a small group."

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