Direct Fan Support

A tip jar for your art. Fans send you money directly. 85% goes to you.

What is Direct Fan Support?

Direct Fan Support is a tipping channel built into Vwaza for approved artists. Once enabled, you get a unique support URL like music.vwaza.com/support/your-slug that fans can use to send you a tip in any supported currency. They don't need a Vwaza account to do it. They can tip with a card via Stripe, mobile money via PawaPay, or the various methods PayChangu offers.

Tipping is in addition to sales

Direct Fan Support sits alongside your music sales, merch store, and pre-orders. It is a separate channel for fans who simply want to support you without buying anything specific.

How it works

Apply for the feature

Open Vwaza Studio, go to your dashboard, and apply for Direct Fan Support from the eligibility banner.

Get approved

Our team reviews your account. Once approved, you receive an email with your unique support link.

Share your link

Drop the link in your bio, socials, livestreams, video descriptions - anywhere fans find you.

Fans tip you

A fan opens your link, picks an amount and a payment method, and pays. The transaction settles in seconds.

85% lands in your balance

Your share is credited to your artist balance. Withdraw on your normal payout schedule from the studio Payouts page.

Eligibility and applying

To keep the channel meaningful, Direct Fan Support is gated. To apply, your artist account needs at least one published single and at least one published album. The eligibility banner appears on your studio dashboard the moment you qualify.

Why we gate this

The link points fans to a real catalogue. Requiring a published single and album confirms you are an active creator with material people can listen to before they tip.

Approval is fast

Most applications are reviewed within one business day. You'll receive an email at the address on your account when the decision is made.

What if I'm not eligible yet?

Publish your first single and your first album, then refresh the dashboard. The eligibility banner shows your current counts so you always know where you stand.

Your support link

Once approved, your support link is permanent and uses your artist slug: music.vwaza.com/support/your-slug. You can find and copy it from the new Direct Fan Support section in your studio sidebar (under Revenue → Fan Support).

The fan experience

When a fan opens your support link, they see a clean, mobile-friendly page with:

What fans see

Your name, profile photo, and a short tagline
An amount input (defaults to USD or their preferred currency if logged in)
A currency dropdown (guests see USD by default; logged-in fans see their preferred currency locked)
An optional message field
A 'Send anonymously' toggle
A payment method picker (Card, Mobile money, etc.)

Fans don't have to create a Vwaza account to tip. The whole flow takes about 30 seconds on a phone. Logged-in fans can also tip; their name, email, and currency pre-fill.

Fees and earnings

Vwaza takes a 15% platform fee on direct fan tips - lower than the 20% on music sales. The remaining 85% is credited to your artist balance the moment the payment settles.

Example: $10 tip in USD

Tip amount:$10.00

Platform fee (15%):-$1.50

Credited to your balance:$8.50

Fans paying in local currencies (MWK, NGN, KES, etc.) are converted to USD using Vwaza's exchange rate at the time of the tip. The rate used is locked into the tip record so your balance is always accurate.

Why is the fee lower than music sales?

Tips are pure goodwill - the fan is not buying a tangible product. We charge less so more of the appreciation lands with you.

Getting your tips paid out

Tips flow into the same artist balance as music sales and merch earnings. You don't need to do anything different to withdraw them - they pay out through the same Payouts page you already use.

Tip settles

As soon as the fan completes payment, your 85% net amount is credited to your artist balance. Both you and the fan receive an email receipt.

Balance accumulates

Multiple tips, sales, and merch earnings combine in your single artist balance.

Request a payout

Go to studio.vwaza.com/dashboard/revenue/payouts and request a payout for any amount up to your available balance. Mobile money and bank transfer are supported.

Track per-tip detail

From Revenue → Fan Support, click any tip to see the giver, amount, currency, exchange rate used, payment provider, and the linked payout (once one is sent).

Anonymous tips

Fans can choose to send a tip anonymously. When they do:

Anonymous tip behaviour

You see 'Anonymous' instead of their name
Their email is not stored on the tip record
Their message (if they wrote one) is still shown to you
They do not receive a receipt email
The amount is credited to your balance the same way as a non-anonymous tip

Anonymous + Stripe only

Anonymous tips are only supported on Stripe. PawaPay and PayChangu require a phone number or email at checkout, so anonymous tipping is not possible on those gateways. Fans tipping with mobile money will be asked for at least a name.

Supported payment methods

Stripe

Card payments worldwide. Best for international fans. Anonymous tips supported. USD and most major currencies.

PawaPay

Mobile money across 13 African countries. MWK, NGN, KES, GHS, ZMW, UGX, RWF, TZS and more. Hosted checkout - fans select their operator.

PayChangu

Card and mobile money for Malawi-based fans. MWK and USD. Hosted checkout.

The minimum tip is the equivalent of $1 USD in any currency. The exchange rate at tip time is what determines the local-currency floor (e.g. about MK 1,800 in Malawi at current rates).

Frequently asked questions

How is this different from selling a single?

A music sale is a transaction: the fan gets ownership of a track or album. A tip is pure support, with no product attached. Tips have a lower platform fee (15% vs 20%), no minimum catalogue requirement per tip, and no royalty splits with collaborators. The full 85% of every tip goes to the artist account that received it.

Do tips show up in my analytics?

Yes. The Fan Support page in your studio shows total tips received, total received (gross), net to balance, and a paginated list of every tip. Click any tip for full detail including the payment provider reference.

Can I refund a tip?

Refunds aren't yet self-serve. If you need to refund a tip (e.g. an obvious mistake by the fan), email support@vwaza.com with the tip ID from the Fan Support detail page and we'll handle it manually.

What happens if a fan's payment fails?

The tip is recorded with status FAILED and is not credited to your balance. You can see failed and pending tips on your Fan Support page if you need to reconcile.

Can collaborators share my tip income?

No. Tips go entirely to the artist account that received them. Collaborator splits are a music-sales concept tied to specific tracks; tips have no track attached.

Is my support link safe to share publicly?

Yes. The link is a public URL like any other artist profile link. Only your published artist info is shown to fans (name, photo, slug). Your private account info is never exposed.

What if I lose access to my account?

Use the standard account recovery flow at accounts.vwaza.com/recover. Your support link and accumulated tip balance survive password resets.