How Red Fang drove fan activity and followers with Sonikit

When sludge-metal legends Red Fang released the video for their single “Arrows,” they didn’t just drop a song—they launched a full-blown katana-wielding chaos fest. From smashing watermelons to slicing vinyl in half, the video was peak Red Fang: loud, weird, and undeniably fun.

To match that chaotic energy, the band’s team at Relapse Records partnered with Wayward Creative and Sonikit to build something fans could actually play. The result? Blade to Waste—an interactive browser game that let fans destroy digital objects with a katana while streaming Red Fang’s latest album in real-time.

🕹️ The Concept: Slice Stuff, Stream Music, Win Prizes

The Blade to Waste campaign was built on one principle: make music marketing fun again.

Here’s what the experience looked like:

• Fans landed on a custom-designed website inspired by the Arrows music video.

• After connecting their Spotify or Apple Music accounts, they could:

  • Stream the new album in the background

  • Wield a digital katana to slice objects on screen

  • Climb the leaderboard to win Red Fang merch and prizes

• A fully branded Sonikit pre-save embed captured key fan data and engagement metrics—all without ever leaving the site.

This wasn’t just a gimmick—it was a gamified pre-save campaign that drove real results, and it couldn’t have happened without Sonikit’s flexible tools.

⚙️ How Sonikit Supercharged the Experience

🎨 1. Fully Custom Pre-Save Integration

Sonikit’s custom embed was integrated directly into the Blade to Waste game interface. That meant:

• Full visual control for Wayward Creative

• Seamless brand consistency

• No redirects or off-platform friction

Fans could pre-save the album without breaking their gameplay experience, keeping the fun—and the conversions—going strong.

🔁 2. Streaming Platform Flexibility

With Spotify and Apple Music support baked in, fans could choose their preferred platform and start streaming instantly. This helped maximize reach and reduce abandonment for users who might otherwise bounce from a single-platform campaign.

📊 3. Insights & Analytics Control

By keeping all interactions on a single domain, the team retained full control over:

• Facebook Pixel tracking

• Google Analytics

• UTM-based campaign performance

This made it easy to retarget fans who didn’t finish the pre-save process and track what types of gameplay or content drove the most engagement.

📱 4. Phone Number Collection for Future Messaging

As part of the pre-save flow, Sonikit automatically collected SMS opt-ins, allowing Red Fang’s team to:

• Send reminders before the album drop

• Promote merch and tour dates

• Build a reusable SMS list for future campaigns

📈 5. Actionable Campaign Insights

With Sonikit’s analytics dashboard, the team got real-time insight into:

• Pre-save completion rates

• Streaming platform split (Spotify vs. Apple Music)

• Geographic and device data

• Phone opt-in and leaderboard engagement rates

These metrics helped the label evaluate the campaign’s effectiveness and inform future album launches.

🧨 Results Highlights

✅ Thousands of fan interactions within the first week
✅ High pre-save conversion rates from a gamified audience
✅ Significant growth in SMS opt-in list size
✅ Increased streaming engagement from direct on-site plays
✅ Rich first-party data for future marketing use

🎯 Why This Matters for Music Marketers

This campaign is a textbook example of how to turn passive listeners into active fans:

• Gamification can massively increase dwell time and pre-save rates

• Custom on-site pre-saves ensure you control the full fan experience

• Streaming integration + fan data capture = powerful growth loop

• First-party data like phone numbers is more valuable than ever in a post-cookie world

⚡ Build Your Own Custom Album Launch with Sonikit

Whether you're an indie artist with a bold idea or a label managing global campaigns, Sonikit gives you the tools to:

• Embed custom pre-saves anywhere

• Collect SMS opt-ins and fan data

• Get deep fan insights into what drives engagement

• Scale your reach with targeted retargeting and messaging

🎯 Ready to go beyond the landing page?

Create a free Sonikit account to start building a custom pre-save for your next campaign!