Discord Blueprint: Build Your Band’s Secret Fan Base

Last Updated on 2025-09-06 by a-indie

【Key Points】What This Article Covers

In the previous article, we explained that for indie bands to escape the curse of SNS numbers and continue their musical activities sustainably, a “co-creative community” where they create stories together with fans is essential, and Discord can become the ultimate “secret base” as its headquarters.

However, simply setting up a server blindly will quickly turn it into a “ghost town” where no one speaks.

Actually, I once failed at server management and turned it into a “ghost town,” but through renewal, I succeeded in evolving it into an active international community.

Based on that failure experience, I’d like to share Discord server management methods.

What’s important is “designing” a space that reflects your band’s “worldview,” where fans naturally gather and feel comfortable.

This time, I’ll introduce concrete steps for this as a “blueprint” that anyone can start using today.

This article will be free up to the first part, and the second part will be paid content. By the time you finish reading this article, you should have completed a blueprint for your band’s special “secret base.”

The “Concept Meeting” That Builds Your Band’s Foundation

Text: Tomohiro Yabe　Tools Used: Gemini　Editor: Tomohiro Yabe

Not Just Creating a Box and Finishing, But Nurturing It

First, I want to convey the most important mindset. A Discord server is not a “building” that’s complete once you create it. It’s like a “garden” that band members and fans water and nurture together.

The initial design is merely the framework. What’s important is having the awareness that you’ll continuously maintain it as the community grows.

Why Does Your Band Need Discord?

You might think “Wouldn’t LINE Open Chat work too?” However, as a “base camp” for band activities, Discord has overwhelming advantages.

The “channel function” that separates rooms by topic, “voice chat” for real-time voice interaction with fans, and the “stock nature” where past conversations accumulate as assets.

These are indispensable functions for documenting your band’s history together with fans. First, share the purpose awareness among members about “Why Discord instead of other tools?”

STEP 1: Discuss “What Kind of Place We Want to Create” with All Members

The first step in design is deciding the concept of this “secret base.” This needs to be done with all band members.

・”We want a place where we can share new song demos early and have deep music discussions with fans”

・”We want an at-home ‘club room’-like space where we share not just music, but members’ hobbies (games, movies, cooking, etc.)”

・”We want a ‘strategy meeting room’ where we think about next merchandise designs and live show plans together with fans”

By concretizing your vision according to your band’s personality and character, a consistent “essence” is born throughout the server.

STEP 2: Decide the Initial “Room Layout”

Once the concept is decided, next think about the concrete structure of “rooms (channels).”

A common failure here is creating a massive number of channels from the start.

This is a failure I experienced myself – when you have few members but create many channels, conversations become dispersed and thin, resulting in the tragic outcome of “the server looking dead.”

In our server, we established a rule that “channels with no comments for 2 weeks may be deleted at the administrator’s discretion,” keeping the server’s metabolism active to address this problem.

First, I strongly recommend starting minimally with these four essential channels:

・“#self-introduction”: A room to welcome new companions and create opportunities for fans to connect. It’s helpful to prepare a template asking them to write about their favorite music or how they discovered the band.

・“#announcements”: A room for posting official communications from the band like live dates and release information. To prevent mixing with other conversations, set writing permissions to band members only.

・“#general-chat”: A free room where any topic can be discussed casually. This becomes the most important channel for cultivating the community atmosphere.

・“#live-reviews”: A room where fans who attended lives can share impressions and photos while their enthusiasm is high. Direct feedback from fans is also precious treasure for the band.

As an aside, in our case, quite a few people posted self-introductions, but many ended with just the self-introduction.

It would be even better to have flow design that naturally leads from self-introductions to casual chat posts.

STEP 3: Creating the Best First Impression with “Entrance Signage”

When new fans click the invitation link, the first thing they see is the server description.

This serves as “entrance signage” that concisely conveys the appeal of your band’s “secret base.”

・Simple band catchphrase

・What kind of experience fans can have on this server

・Simple rules they should minimally follow

Incorporate these elements and create text that makes them feel “I can enjoy the band more by coming here!”