Music Fans and Fan Communities

The power of fan communities can go a long way in sustaining successful artist careers. 

Fan involvement is vital as it enables performers, artists and songwriters to build a strong and devoted following. By developing a community around them, this deepens their audience connection and can help sustain longevity. 

It's something that many artists from Charli XCX to Taylor Swift have used to stay at the top of their game but can also help emerging acts when starting out too.  

Why are fan communities important 

Higher loyalty, greater investment, promotion through word of mouth - fan communities can offer plenty of benefits to artists. 

In a survey of 1,000 superfans of various music artists, 73 percent felt that artists who regularly engage with their fan community, whether through fan club apps or social media, come across more genuine and relatable." 

It can work successfully for emerging acts too. According to the Pareto Principle, 80 percent of sales will come from 20 percent of your most engaged customers (in this case, your fans).

These communities can exist in different spaces - physical and online platforms including such as Discord, Facebook and messenger platforms WhatsApp. Our blog will explore fan communities and how artists have utilised them to enhance and turbo-charge their careers…

Charli XCX 

Charli XCX has dominated the summer of 2024. With the album, 'Brat' crash landing on cultural discourse, its technicolour mix of future pop and club bangers has been THE soundtrack of 2024. 

Living in a digital, musical world, the viral record's impact has even entered the US presidential race. After Charli XCX appeared to endorse Kamala Harris, writing "Kamala IS Brat", the aspiring Democratic nominee's campaign has embraced the signature green colour and shared different 'Brat'-themed memes.

The levels of success Charli has enjoyed this summer have been some time coming and based in her loyal following, Charli's Angels.

Her fan base group is so devoted, Charli had to call out them out for chanting "Taylor is Dead" at a recent gig after the artist was thought to have fallen out with Taylor Swift."

However, she has also treated her fans as actual musical collaborators, as documented in the film, 'Alone Together'.

While writing and recording her previous track 'anthems', the singer went on Instagram Live to ask the Angels to help her finish a few lyrics. She recorded the instrumental, then added it to Twitter where they could feedback on the track. 

The documentary ends with the singer hosting a virtual album release party for her fans as part of Club Quarantine, a nightly LGBTQ+ party on Zoom.

King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard

The Australian indie band with the brilliant, eye-catching name invites dedication from their fans - so far they have released 26 studio albums, 16 live records, and many others.

They headlined London's Wide Awake Festival in 2024 and some music fans might have been wondering who and why?

But for those tuned into the 'Gizzverse', a connected fictional universe, there is much to get into. It's an obsession, bordering on a cult as Far Out magazine described:

They [King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard] have become their own religion, a spiritual awakening reserved only for those who are brave (or foolish) enough to listen."

Their music encompasses sound and styles of all kinds - country to prog rock and more synth inspired musical adventures. Since 2019, the band has produced several albums per year, including releasing five in 2022 with three releases in that October.

According to Louder Sound, "someone once said that when you play King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, it 'clears the room of people you wouldn't have wanted in there anyway'".

Rather than marketing tactics, their fan base has been built squarely around the band's obsessive dedication to their music, prolific songwriting approach and hard-touring.

Andrew Weatherall 

As a DJ, producer and remixer, Andrew Weatherall is a UK dance music legend who sadly passed away in 2020.

While he was known for his creativity, aversion to social media and artistic commitments, it's in the wake of his passing that a devoted community has come together to celebrate his music and legacy. His fan base share their support in a variety of ways.

'The Weatherdrive' collects the late DJ's studio mixes, live recordings, and radio rips from 1988 to 2020, an extensive archive of more than 900 hours of music and counting." 

This archive is open-source and invites contributions from all of his fans.

An annual event has taken place at the Golden Lion pub in Todmorden, a weekend celebration of music on what would be Andrew Weatherall's birthday. In the autumn, the faithful decamp to France for the Convenanza Weekend (previously known as the Andrew Weatherall Weekend).

His DJing companion Sean Johnston flies the flag through the ongoing A Love from Outer Space parties while the Flightpath Estate, an online group of devotees, went as far as releasing a vinyl compilation of tracks inspired by the late, great man. In many ways, his spirit lives on even brighter since his passing.

Taylor Swift

The American star Taylor Swift has inspired a devotion among fans, perhaps only previously seen during the highs of Beatlemania.

Over the course of 11 studio albums, she has become one of the world's biggest stars, being declared a billionaire in October 2023. 

Her bond with her legions of fans - named Swifties - is at the root of her popularity. It's a relationship that has redefined the artist-fan dynamic in contemporary music, creating a whole world around her and her music. 

Authenticity is at the centre of this connection alongside a series of power moves that have brought them closer together. In 2020, Swift surprised fans with the unexpected releases of 'Folklore' and 'Evermore', albums that were unveiled only shortly before their release to dominate the news.

Disputes over the ownership of certain records from her catalogue led to the artist re-recording some of her earlier albums.

Creating and re-releasing 'Fearless (Taylor's Version)' and 'Red (Taylor's Version)' led to additional tracks, new content and fresh interest in her past and a new sense of musical empowerment."

For 'Lover', she released a special edition diary with personal journal entries while also organising exclusive events including Secret Sessions. At these events, fans are invited to go and listen to new music with Taylor Swift herself. 

The Swifties regularly make the news with 25,000 of them gathering on a hill in Munich to get a free view of a stadium gig in the city. Bonny Barker and Emily Hunt have gained an online following making videos about Taylor Swift, turning a fun side hustle into a full-time career.

Yungblud

Dominic Harrison, better known as Yungblud, first exploded onto the music scene in 2018 with his debut album, '21st Century Liability'. The artist has married pop, punk and political topics over the course of three further albums and acquired a devoted fan base enroute, known as the Black Hearts Club. 

The artist has been searingly upfront about himself, his alternative energy as an outsider and his fluid sexuality, bringing him closer to this fan base.

He uses social media to address his community directly and share his thoughts and troubles. 

In an interview with Texx and the City, Yungblud said: "I run my social media - no one is allowed to touch it. That’s how we have a conversation. You can tell if someone else is posting for someone else - it's not a conversation. All I want to do is tell the truth. I might be wrong sometimes and with movements in terms of sexuality and race, sometimes I'm f**king wrong."

I love that our community uplifts each other to go, “No, that's actually not right. We should do this”, and it's great. We're becoming better people and building a world that is going to be better."

Activism is a key part of the community with Yungblud particularly vocal about Black Lives Matter, protesting about the death of George Floyd. 

Bludfest is Yungblud's own festival taking place in summer 2024 at Milton Keynes Bowl with Soft Play and Lil Yachty.

As Yungblud says: "This festival will blur the lines of genre and destroy the limitation of imagination. We cut the corporate bollocks and made it all about YOU, US, THE COMMUNITY. This isn't just a gig in a field, this is a place where being different is celebrated."

BTS

In the last few years, BTS has powered the huge rise of K-Pop across the world alongside PSY and Blackpink. Perhaps one of the most popular groups in the world, the band has achieved much since their 2013 debut album, '2 Cool 4 Skool'.

Their popularity has even seen a spike in tourism in their native South Korea. In 2020, the HRI reported that at least 796,000 people visited the country due to BTS. 

Their fan base is as big as their success. Dubbed the ARMY (which stands for Adorable Representative M.C. for Youth), this group currently features more than 40 million members with different bases in various countries around the world. 

How has the ARMY been built? BTS is one of the most socially conscious groups in South Korea, using their music to explore issues including mental health and the education system. 

BTS' social conscious combined with their infectious music and constant communication via platforms including fancafes, Twitter, V Live episodes, and fansigns, has seen their popularity take off." 

According to some of the latest stats, BTS has over 48.6 million followers on Twitter, making them one of the platform's most followed accounts. 

The official BTS YouTube channel has more than 78 million subscribers.

BTS' 'Dynamite' music video holds the record for the most views within 24 hours on YouTube, with over 101 million.