Frequently asked questions
Everything you need to know about FrontRows. Can't find an answer? Email us.
General
What is FrontRows?
FrontRows is an access control layer for creator businesses. It connects to your Stripe account and automatically grants or revokes access on Discord, Ghost, Kit, Transistor, and YouTube based on membership events — so you never have to manage access manually.
Who is FrontRows for?
FrontRows is built for creators who sell memberships or subscriptions through Stripe and need to manage access on one or more platforms. If you run a paid Discord community, a Ghost newsletter, a private podcast, or a gated content library, FrontRows handles the access side automatically.
What is an entitlement?
An entitlement is a record of what a member is allowed to access. In FrontRows, an entitlement maps a Stripe subscription to access on a specific platform — for example, a Discord role, a Ghost membership tier, or a Transistor podcast subscription. FrontRows creates, updates, and revokes entitlements automatically based on Stripe events.
Do I need technical knowledge to use FrontRows?
No. FrontRows is designed for creators, not developers. You connect your accounts through a guided setup, map your Stripe products to the platforms you use, and FrontRows handles everything else. No code required.
Stripe & Payments
How does FrontRows connect to Stripe?
FrontRows connects to your Stripe account via Stripe Connect. This is a secure, official Stripe integration — you authorise the connection through Stripe's own interface and can revoke it at any time. FrontRows receives webhook events (subscription created, updated, cancelled, payment failed) and processes them to sync access across your platforms.
Do I need my own Stripe account?
Yes. FrontRows connects to your existing Stripe account. You keep full control of your pricing, billing, and customer data. FrontRows does not process payments — it only reads subscription events from your Stripe account to manage access.
Can I use FrontRows with multiple Stripe products?
Yes. You can create as many products in Stripe as you need and map each one to different access rules in FrontRows. For example, a Basic product could grant a Discord role and a free Ghost tier, while a Pro product grants additional roles and a paid Ghost tier.
What happens when a member's payment fails?
FrontRows listens for Stripe's payment failure events and revokes the member's access on the affected platforms immediately. If the member later updates their payment method and their subscription becomes active again, FrontRows restores access automatically.
Platform Integrations
Which platforms does FrontRows support?
FrontRows currently supports Discord (role management), Ghost (member and tier management), Kit — formerly ConvertKit (subscriber and tag management), Transistor (private podcast subscriber management), and YouTube (entitlement-gated video library). All integrations follow the same pattern: grant access when a subscription starts, revoke it when it ends.
How does Discord role sync work?
You add the FrontRows bot to your Discord server and give it role management permissions. In FrontRows, you map each Stripe product to one or more Discord roles. When a member subscribes, FrontRows assigns the mapped roles. When they cancel or fail a payment, FrontRows removes them. The bot only needs role management permission — it cannot read messages or access other server data.
Does FrontRows work with Ghost?
Yes. FrontRows connects to your Ghost site via the Ghost Admin API. You map Stripe products to Ghost membership tiers or labels. When a member subscribes, FrontRows adds them to Ghost with the correct tier. When they cancel, FrontRows updates or removes their access. This works with both Ghost-hosted and self-hosted Ghost sites.
Does FrontRows work with Kit (ConvertKit)?
Yes. FrontRows connects to Kit via the Kit API. You map Stripe products to Kit subscriber tags. When a member subscribes, FrontRows adds them to your Kit account and applies the correct tags. When they cancel, the tags are removed. Your Kit automations and sequences continue to work as normal from there.
Does FrontRows work with Transistor?
Yes. FrontRows connects to Transistor to manage private podcast subscribers. When a member subscribes via Stripe, FrontRows adds them to your private Transistor show. When they cancel, FrontRows removes them. This works with Transistor's private show feature on Starter plans and above.
Can I connect multiple platforms at once?
Yes. You can connect all supported platforms and configure each Stripe product to grant access on any combination of them. A single subscription can unlock a Discord role, a Ghost tier, a Kit tag, and a Transistor feed simultaneously.
Access Control
What happens when a member cancels their subscription?
FrontRows receives the cancellation event from Stripe and immediately revokes the member's access across all connected platforms — removing their Discord role, updating their Ghost tier, removing their Kit tags, and unsubscribing them from private podcasts. Cancellations take effect at the end of the billing period by default, but FrontRows processes the event as soon as Stripe sends it.
What happens when a member upgrades or downgrades?
FrontRows listens for subscription update events from Stripe. When a member changes tier, FrontRows revokes the access associated with the old tier and grants the access associated with the new tier — across all connected platforms.
Can a free member join without paying?
Yes. FrontRows supports free-tier products alongside paid products. Free members go through the same join flow but do not go through a Stripe checkout. Their access is managed the same way — granted on join, revoked if removed.
Pricing & Plans
How much does FrontRows cost?
FrontRows is free for up to 25 paying members (Starter plan). Paid plans start at $10/month for 26–75 members (Indie), $19/month for 76–200 members (Pro), $39/month for 201–500 members (Creator), and $79/month for 501–1,000 members (Studio). Above 1,000 members, Studio charges $0.08 per additional member per billing period.
What counts as a paying member?
A paying member is any person with an active, paid subscription through your connected Stripe account. Free-tier members and cancelled members do not count toward your plan limit.
Can I try FrontRows before committing to a paid plan?
Yes. The Starter plan is free for up to 25 paying members with no credit card required. All platform integrations are included on every plan.
Ready to get started?