Tip Jar by Marvin is a browser extension that allows fans to give back to their favorite artist, without costing them a cent. All fans need to do is visit marvintipjar.com and download the Chrome extension. After that, whenever they listen to a song that they like, they can simply click on the “tip” button located at the top of their browser. Their song selection will then travel to 100 individual Raspberry-Pi devices, which will initiate 100 simultaneous streams of the song, instantly generating 100 times the revenue for the artist.

So, we crafted a seamless cross-platform, cross-device digital experience using a simple Chrome extension which allows the user, with just one click, to connect to Spotify’s API information about the artist, album, and song that the user is listening to at any given moment. If the user is not on the Spotify web player, the extension will simply redirect them to the web player.

Once there, the user clicks on the extension button, the information collected is sent to a 100 Raspberry-Pi cluster computer, each with a premium Spotify account, that then plays the track 100 times simultaneously.

We debuted the initial phase of the Tip Jar extension over the course of a month through Marvin’s website, the Tip Jar by Marvin extension landing page, and through a newsletter e-blast. Once launched, it experienced rapid organic growth and created meaningful conversation about the need to recognize artists for their work.

On a social platform designed for listening to music, we empowered a community to make a difference with their collective voice. Users took Tip Jar by Marvin and made it their own, creating a new kind of connection between artists and their audiences.

In its first month, the Tip Jar extension generated 3,487 unique downloads from users across the United States and Latin America. This, in turn, led to more than 10,000 unique songs being tipped, generating more than a million more streams and exponentially more revenue for artists.

But most importantly, Tip Jar is creating awareness about the need to recognize and reward artists for creating the music that we all love.