What If 'Superfans' Don't Exist?

Not every artist wants to cultivate a relationship with their fanbase.

One of the trends you currently see in the music industry - particularly amongst those trying to ‘fix’ it is being able to identify, and allow artists to reach out to people called ‘superfans’, broadly speaking someone who’ll buy everything you release, come to as many of your gigs as is possible, purchase merch and generally be open to spending more supporting you than a regular fan.

That’s great, and I’m in no doubt most artists will have at least one or two of these ‘superfans’. You might well be one yourself, I definitely have, there’s no shame in it. But many of the startup platforms are selling the superfan experience as something that should work both ways - something the artist needs to work on as much as the fan. No doubt about it, the ‘superfan’ can be a lucrative income stream for artists, especially in the days of dwindling live revenue and the well-reported issues with streaming royalties, but what if the artist doesn’t want to be this close to their fanbase, and anyway, what is art without the mystique?

I’m sure most artists will be happy to sign autographs, and even autograph CD’s or records for a promotional giveaway, but now they’re expected to host experiences or allow access to things they might not be comfortable with. Have you ever watched a band soundcheck? I’ve watched hundreds and it’s pretty boring, and that’s with bands that need instruments tuning and setting up and all that - imagine watching an electronic musician soundcheck by plugging in a laptop or synth (that said, this video of Lee Foss trying and failing to plug in his laptop whilst Craig Richards DJ’s will never not be funny - start at 45 mins for the good bit).

So what if you’re an artist with a fanbase but you don’t want to offer these kinds of experiences? The same as if you don’t want to engage with social media I guess, no-one is forcing you too, and as long as you’re comfortable with that then that’s fine. I don’t think that by not doing this stuff you’re not going to upset your fanbase, as long as you aren’t standoffish or rude on the occasions you do meet in person. For me, fans paying for experiences is problematic because it means you’re measuring fandom by spending power - you might have every 7”, 12”, CD, tape and LP from an artist, and worked your arse off to buy them, but if they’re now asking for a thousand quid to meet them before a show then that’s not really fair. It almost harks back to the old model of patronage, where wealthy people would essentially pay artists to create work for them (be that paintings or compositions or whatever). Does music have less value if Jeff Bezos or some other billionaire paid for its creation? Isn’t this kind of what Spotify Singles and other DSP exclusive releases are? What about those who took money & support from Red Bull, or played a Boiler Room or NTS show sponsored by a firm? That’s another, bigger issue in how these brands react with the cultures they’re trying to reach. Red Stripe sponsoring a music event is probably fine, HSBC maybe not so much. Where do we draw the line?

For those artists that do allow more access to ‘superfans’ the issue is how do you keep them engaged, what if the mask slips? You invite 10-20 fans to watch you soundcheck and spend the whole time berating the sound engineer? You do a meet-and-greet, turn up hungover and fuck off after a couple of photos? That’s probably done more damage than good, and I’d be surprised if you saw much more money from those attending. That’s not to say there isn’t good ways of doing these fan experiences and earning yourself a bit more money in the process. Some artists like Martyn offer mentoring schemes, or let fans subscribe to a newsletter where they share thoughts like Scuba does. Others will send out demos, and other stuff before the general public to their mailing list. James Blake got involved with Vault, but I think he’s sold it all wrong - it’s an add-on, not a replacement for streaming platforms. A little thankyou note in a Bandcamp purchase is quick and easy to do (unless you’re mailing out thousands of records of course).

And if you’re a fan - maybe you don’t want to meet the artist - not all of them have much to say or are that interesting. Maybe you want that distance, that fandom to stay as it is. Maybe you can’t afford to spend loads on perks and experiences, maybe you just don’t want them. Maybe you’re not a ‘superfan’ at all, just a regular fan. What if you consider yourself a fan of loads of artists or labels, and aren’t able to rabidly consume everything from everyone? There’s a lot of music out there. Maybe the ‘superfan’ is just a construct in some startup’s mind, or something that only exists during your youth, or in the world of pop mega-stars? Can you be a ‘superfan’ of an artist you can see down the pub, who’s probably more than happy to chat with you?

I think it’s about finding a balance - as a music fan I really enjoy the occasional peek behind the curtain, but social media mostly fills that role. Newsletter updates, something with a personal touch are always appreciated, but I’m not sure I’d pay much money myself for intimate access to a musician, unless there was some value to me in it. The tools are out there (Bandcamp, social media, mailing lists) for artists to speak to their fans, even if they’re not quite sure who they are - I don’t know why we’d need to give a % to a platform that offers this access to just the wealthiest.

Bandcamp Friday Special!

First up, it’s Bandcamp Friday today, so if you’ve got any spare coins head over there and treat yourself. There’s loads of good stuff out today, much of it not available anywhere else. Here’s a few highlights before I go into the playlist.

Stonecircledrift is the vehicle for Stonecirclesampler/Superior London Pulp/Liquid Dnb-like Ambient Grime’s various productions. Is there a harder-working man in experimental music? He’s put up a load of stuff, some of which has sold out, some of which hasn’t been heard before, all of which is well worthy of deeper digging.

https://stonecircledrift.bandcamp.com/

I’ve recently been getting into the output from Industrial Coast - Based up in Middlesbrough and releasing some of the most cutting edge music I’ve heard in a long time. On the harsher, noisier end of things, they’re doing a 20 Tape mystery box for £25 today, which is a steal in anyones eyes. (Click the image below)

The Trilogy Tapes have put up a new mixtape, and there’s still copies of their last release by Klara Lewis and Yuki Tsuji left too. One of the UK’s best labels, no doubt.

A new compilation from Natural Frequency Records. I think I posted a track off this the other week, but now the comp’s out and it’s worth checking. If Theo Parrish was still playing at Plastic People I reckon he’d be playing tunes from this, laidback jazzy electronics from a host of collaborators, and a few acidy twists too.

There’s tonnes more out on Bandcamp today, and they’re waiving their fees so the labels & artists earn a bit more - this can really make a difference to lots of small indies, so if you’re able please have a dig

The Boys Are Back In Town

Anyway, on to the playlist and of course the biggest news for me this week is the announcement of a new British Murder Boys album. Surgeon & Regis haven’t released music together for about a decade now, so this was a real nice surprise. Hypnotic, lysergic, manic - this is proper techno at it’s finest. The first single is up now, and to get some idea of what BMB is all about I’ve included a couple of live tracks from their reunion in Japan back in 2013. Man, I can’t wait for this.

Still on a Downwards tip - they recently put out a new album from Annie Hogan. Karl’s worked with her for some time now (most notably on that stunning cover of Lou Reed’s Temporary Thing a few years ago). This is one to lose yourself in, sit back and let the organ drones wash over you. Wish I’d picked up the tape of this a couple of weeks ago.

World Of Echo is one of the best shops around, and their label is great too. They’ve put up another single from their upcoming Cat’s Miaow compilation, and today released a new album from Glasgow duo Guests. I’ve seen this compared to Flaming Tunes, and it’s not a bad comparison to make you know.

I read a really interesting interview with pianist/composer Kelly Moran the other day, so decided to check her album out. There was a time when I’d buy anything on Warp on sight, but I haven’t done that for a while now. Anyway, this new one is really nice, it reminds me of the prepared piano tracks on that Warp Works CD the London Sinfonietta did a while back.

I hadn’t seen much from Container in a while, so it was good to see a new album of twisted noise from him. This one’s inspired by the likes of Nirvana & co. and you can kind of tell. The sales note says “think Lollapalooza 1996 held at Berghain 2006” and I’m not gonna be able to top that as a description.

This Vitress tune came on the office stereo and sounded actually pretty good. Fairly sure that bassline is from NnG’s Right Before My Eyes though…

Wrapping things up, a new one from Torn Hawk on The Trilogy Tapes. It’s a 30 minute spoken word track, so maybe not for everyone. I LOVED his tune Born To Win (Life After Ghostbusters) which was a vinyl-only thing on LIES back in 2013, so glad to see it’s now available digitally.

That’s it for this week - thanks always for reading, listening and supporting good artists. Feedback, comments, criticisms always welcome!