case study
How Sedin Built Yamaha's Creator Pass on Headless Shopify Plus
A headless subscription platform that gives creators one login and one bill across 20+ partner tools, launched on schedule at SXSW.
We built Yamaha’s Creator Pass on Shopify Plus and Hydrogen, linking AWS Cognito SSO to Shopify customer records and adding fair trials, clean cancellations, and built-in MRR and churn tracking.
About
- Client: Yamaha Music Innovations
- Industry: Music Technology
- Location: California
- Year: 2026
Scope of work
- Headless Shopify Plus storefront built on Hydrogen
- Unified SSO with AWS Cognito linked to Shopify customer records
- Subscription billing for three stage-based passes
- Trial engine with abuse prevention
- Fair cancellation flow with automated access cutoff
- MRR, ARR, churn, and trial-to-paid analytics in the merchant admin
Tech stack
- Shopify Plus
- Hydrogen
- React
- AWS Cognito
- REST APIs
Independent Artists Were Juggling Too Many Tools and Logins
Working artists often use six to eight separate tools for distribution, mastering, samples, analytics, and playlist pitching, each with its own login and billing. Yamaha wanted to bring them under one subscription without identity, billing, and reporting issues that usually come with multi-partner platforms.
- A standard Shopify theme couldn't deliver the brand control Yamaha wanted.
- Creator profiles and access rights had to stay in sync across 20+ partner platforms.
- Trials and cancellations had to be fair and predictable to protect creator's trust.
- No single partner platform could show which plans were driving revenue.
A Headless Subscription Platform Built to Hold After Launch
Sedin paired a fully custom Hydrogen frontend with Shopify Plus as the commerce and billing engine. This gave Yamaha complete control over the creator experience, backed by subscription infrastructure that could scale from launch.
Common questions
A decoupled Hydrogen and React storefront sits on top of Shopify Plus, so the experience can change without touching the billing logic underneath.
Each creator's AWS Cognito identity is linked to their Shopify Customer ID. Upgrades, renewals, and access changes sync to every partner platform automatically.
Trials convert to paid plans automatically, with a 24-hour notice beforehand. Cancelled creators keep access until the end of their paid period.
STEP
01
Defined the platform goals
Turned Yamaha's requirements into four goals: brand control, a single creator identity, fair subscription logic, and plan-level revenue metrics.
02
Built the headless storefront
Developed a branded storefront and creator portal with Hydrogen and React on top of the Shopify Storefront API.
03
Unified creator identity
Linked AWS Cognito to Shopify customer records and connected partner platforms through REST APIs to keep one accurate record for every creator.
04
Structured stage-based passes
Set up Beginner, Producer, and Podcaster passes as Shopify Plus subscription plans, each with tools matched to that creator stage.
05
Built fair trial and cancellation logic
Added automatic trial conversion, cross-product tracking to stop trial resets, and a daily automated job that handles access cutoff after cancellation.
06
Added subscription analytics
Built MRR, ARR, churn, and trial-to-paid conversion tracking into the merchant admin from day one.
SXSW
On-Schedule Launch
Creator Pass went live on schedule at SXSW in March 2026.
20+
Partners, 1 Login
The identity layer stayed in sync across every partner platform through post-launch updates.
3
Stage-Based Passes
Beginner, Producer, and Podcaster passes launched, starting at $14.99 per month.
+
Revenue Visibility from Day One
Yamaha gained plan-level MRR, ARR, churn, and trial conversion tracking it didn't have before.
+
Billing-Safe Frontend Changes
The headless build lets Yamaha evolve the creator experience without touching the billing layer.
The Bottom Line
Sedin helped Yamaha Music Innovations turn a scattered creator toolkit into one subscription with one login and one bill. A headless Shopify Plus build, unified identity across 20+ partners, and fair billing logic gave Creator Pass a platform built to stay reliable well after its SXSW launch.
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