Fans and the Economic Impact of their IRL absence
(Apparently, no one wants to drop their bi-weekly paycheck on the nosebleeds, anymore)
Hi Folks!
Sorry to have been late in your inbox (and eardrums!) this month—both Saxon and Sam are…moving somehow? And hacking our way through all of the disruptions following from that. But we persevere! And we’ll be back in your feeds as soon as human(e)ly possible. But for NOW—Fans. How many of us have them?
While we’ve often discussed the importance of the (by-now-not-so) new style of internet-based fandom on both the financial realities and structures of feeling that define contemporary music, we haven’t really had much of a chance to take a step back and focus on fan-culture in and of itself. To help us do so, we spent some time talking to Monia Ali, who writes the wonderful Fandom Exile newsletter. With her help, we dug into the deeper roots of the complex sets of social practice that define modern fandom. It’s a fascinating story, in part because of the extent to which this type of fandom pulls from a set of cultural forces far more diverse than those we usually engage with when thinking about music.
It’s not that there isn’t a long tradition of fandom within pop—just think of Beatlemania or the Deadheads (not to mention the amazing Bowie folks captured here.) But while contemporary fan culture certainly connects with those currents, in many ways, it has a lot more to do with sci-fi conventions or 90’s era message boards—think the Buffy-verse, for a capsule summary.
In particular, Monia argues that this cross-pollination really took hold via a series of digital platforms that catered to both groups (Livejournal, gets a particular shout-out), and then exploded around a series of early millennial boy bands. One Direction, as much as any set of K-pop idols, gets a lot of credit here. Ultimately, it feels safe to argue that the sheer force of internet fandom has both reflected AND driven the broader move towards the multi-media artistry (and post-musical value propositions) increasingly central to…whatever we want to call the products of the major labels.
You can listen to that hear (Itunes), hear (Spotify), or hear (Podbean).
At the same time, a spate of big-league touring disappointments also points towards the perils of basing a culture industry around this type of ultra-intensive relationship. Many of the top names in pop have had a record breaking couple of years, but a series of blue-chip artists like J.Lo, the Black Keys and even Reggaeton superstar Bad Bunny have also canceled major dates due to disastrously poor sales. Meanwhile, king-of-festivals Coachella struggled to sell out its second weekend.
It’s a bit unclear what’s actually happening. It’s possible that folks are just paying more attention, especially after some viral posts made it clear how it was possible to reverse engineer the Ticketmaster interface to find out what was (or wasn’t) selling. And obviously, it never pays to underestimate the power of schadenfreude in a digital media ecosystem.
It could also be market fatigue. A lot of people dropped a LOT of money for some profoundly iconic events, and maybe they are now hesitant to pay similar amounts for a less-legendary show. Finally, as pointed out in a fascinating piece on Stereogum, some of this might also be fallout from the nasty underbelly of an ultra-concentrated touring industry that pushes artists towards specific venues because they can make more money from them…even if it’s ultimately undersold.
But from a fan perspective, it also makes sense to wonder if this isn’t evidence of the still-evolving interaction between being big online and being big in person. In digital fandom, the loudest and most dedicated voices can easily drown out a more modest set of interactions, driving clicks but maybe coming up short on the actual bodies-in-seats (looking at you Charlie XCX?)
Certainly, there’s a clear difference between the amount of engagement necessary to enjoy a viral hit (or participate in its accompanying dance-craze) and to throw down real bucks for merch/records/seats/etc. As music—especially during the post-pandemic years—has come to center around these types of digital spaces, the industry seems like it’s still figuring out how they relate to real life. And given the enormous financial importance of the touring industry for artists, those adjustments are bound to be pretty painful for some.
The obvious solution? One-thousand, 500 people max capacity venues scattered across the nation, with different niche acts playing every night. Like Vaudeville but for viral Tiktok jams. But no one is asking us…
Department of Actual Music:
Sam: In recent years, I’ve become a fan of Fugazi, less for their albums then the improvisatory fire of their (extremely well catalogued) live performances. Given that, I’ve been delighted by the output of the Messthetics, which pairs the band’s underrated rhythm section with guitarist Anthony Pirog and (for this album) saxophonist James Brandon Lewis. This tune is a builder, but man…it really delivers.
Saxon: For the last half-decade my top streaming artists has been Dean Blunt. I dunno how this happens, but every year Blunt and his close knit of collaborators seem to drop new singles and albums around late spring that carry me through the hot months of summer in a depressive, melancholic mood. Welp. They’re back.
Saxon + Sam