The Future of Superfans: Four industry experts weigh in
Executives from Fandiem, Linktree, Another Management Company, and a Senior Analyst at MIDiA weigh in on what’s driving the music industry’s latest obsession with superfans, what it means for artists, and where things are headed next.
Alex Alex Machurov, Fandiem CEO
“a mile wide but an inch deep”
“In between my day-to-day duties as the CEO of Fandiem, I also devoted a lot of time to studying the dynamics of the platform we built. I learned much about the artist-fan relationship and particularly the habits of those most passionate fans. It quickly became obvious to me that the artists’ popularity simply was not the measuring stick by which we could predict the success of a fundraising campaign. In fact, the overall appeal of an artist, in terms of raw numbers, was often deceptive. The number of Facebook or Instagram fans an artist had did not provide us with the full picture. Millions of passive fans would hardly move the needle as expected. In fact, they skewed our efforts and forced us to work harder, less efficiently, and spend more money to engage those fans. I referred to these artists as having a fanbase that was “a mile wide but an inch deep.” Instead, the goal was to attract artists that might have had a smaller fanbase (‘an inch wide’) but with an extremely devoted base of fans (‘a mile deep’).”
“So not all fans are created equal. A small number of “active” fans are stickier and contribute a lot more in terms of engagement – and income – to an artist. In other words, “passive” fans may like an artist, but “active” fans are those who spend money on VIP Packages, go to their concerts, buy merch and vinyl, or sign up for paid subscription fan clubs.”
“It’s no surprise why so much of the music industry is now paying attention to these fans.”
Read more from Machurov’s UNDERSTANDING SUPERFANS (Or How to Dig a Mile Deep and Sometimes an Inch Wide).
Lara Cohen, Linktree VP Partnerships & Business Development
“Artists deserve to own their audience.”
“No longer can a musician simply be just a musician when trying to get a break in the industry. Now, artists, especially emerging artists, are required to be their own marketers, community managers, publicists, etc. They’re their own small business.”
“Social media is critical to driving tour announcements and ticket sales, promoting streaming services, and selling merch. But that leaves artists beholden to the ever-changing algorithms on platforms that benefit from their content.”
“Artists deserve to own their audience. That’s why we’re seeing so many musicians take a page from online digital creators utilizing tools like Linktree to help them grow, engage, activate and monetize their fandom across all platforms. It’s why nearly 40% of this year’s GRAMMY-nominated artists are using Linktree to unify their online world.”
Shira Knishkowy, Manager & Director of Digital & Creative at Another Management Company
“quality over quantity is proving to be quite true”
“There’s a great opportunity and challenge happening at the moment for artists, managers and their teams. The social landscape is allowing artists to take the reins and self-release/promote their own music, however, there’s more content than ever, and the various algorithms don’t always make cutting through that noise any easier.”
“The age-old “quality over quantity” is proving to be quite true. Having engaged and dedicated listeners is arguably better than sheer quantity – at least in the early days. Learning how you can maximize the connection with that hyper-invested fanbase on social, through tools like Linktree, is integral for sustained growth.”
Tatiana Cirisano, Senior analyst at MIDiA
“the spaces that cultivate and support those niches and superfans in the first place seem to be disappearing”
“Currently, many music industry leaders are looking to target niches and activate superfans, recognizing the importance of these groups in the post-superstar era. But simultaneously, the spaces that cultivate and support those niches and superfans in the first place seem to be disappearing.. (This is at the same time as Gannett is hiring journalists to cover only Taylor Swift). So, it is not just that the music industry is losing a promotional opportunity at a time when it most needs to cut through the noise, we are also losing the fertile grounds for the very thing many companies are now supposed to be hinging their future on.
Read more of Cirsano’s “The crumbling of music media is a disaster for the music industry“.
