Since being coaxed (or was it railroaded) into this return to fan and artist strategy, it’s been interesting to see the proliferation of new shinny Apps and Data solutions being peddled around our business of music.
During my record company years, we were being pitched to by some new startup or other on an almost weekly basis, claiming a world-shattering way of targeting or profiling music fans based on their digital footprint. Today, as then, all claim to offer some new or mystical way of connecting you with fans, or uncovering their deepest, most personal desires. Back then, when the incredibly clever and gifted bods in my team looked under the cover of each offering, they almost always boiled down to the same thing – taking WHAT data that you already have, cross-referenced with some other WHAT data and serving it up in the form of a colourful nodal cluster graph. Not much has changed since then it seems.
“the music business’ constant search for a ‘silver bullet’ and its inherent desire for that silver bullet to be…cheap!”
Of course, what all these shiny solutions prey on, is the music business’ constant search for a ‘silver bullet’ and its inherent desire for that silver bullet to be…cheap! The uncomfortable truth is that there is no silver bullet, no one size fits all, no cheap solution to understanding the complex, rational and irrational motives that connect fans with your artist. Almost always, these Apps are just SaaS solutions, developed in isolation and looking for a problem to solve. Fandom and especially Superfandom is subjective, influenced by cultural, emotional, and situational factors, making it almost impossible for a single tool to standardize insights. Yes, there are some that can serve as part of your toolbox…we use a couple, but that's all they are, a singular tool to do one or two little jobs.
““Superfandom exists a lot further than just the digital world.””
As we’ve highlighted in the past (see The Superfan Formula 06/12/24), your artists Superfan Eco-System is multidimensional, expansive, interconnected and shaped by a complex mixture of fan perceptions, values, motivations and expectation. To capitalise on the eco-systems fullest potential, to build deep enduring fan engagement and develop multiple-revenue streams will only be achieved via a holistic understanding of that human connection. That only comes with WHY data (see The Superfan Formula 09/10/24).
““nothing worthwhile in this world comes easy””
I remember my father saying to me when I started work, “nothing worthwhile in this world comes easy”. All these silver bullet solutions work off WHAT data, by definition old data, one dimensional data. You can’t drill down into WHAT data, you can’t ask the supplementary question, you can’t observe the body language, detect the subconscious intent or see into a fan’s own world.
It might surprise some, but music is not a product. It’s an emotive, deeply personal artform, where connection is context-dependent, soundtracking the very highs and lows of the human experience. An App would need to process such an immense array of inputs as well as digest a huge range of qualitative inputs to capture these nuances. That’s simply not possible, despite being a monumental technological and ethical challenge.
““not one of these successful artists/managers...use any of these ‘silver bullet’ apps””
The successful managers and artists that I know, with resilient fan relationships, in control of their own careers, successful commercial entities year in, year out have been doing this type of thing for 30 to 40 years. Long before Tik Tok, Instagram, YouTube, Spotify, Apple etc, etc. each of those acts has worked hard and continues to work hard at the core fundamentals. They’ve established their insight methodology and plan and make decisions on WHY data. Perhaps most revealing is that not one of these artists/managers I allude too...use any of these ‘silver bullet’ apps.
Of course, none of these qualitative ‘human’ data points are routinely collected or available within the music business. They just aren’t. Well, that’s apart from what we do at Sound Effects of course.
Hey, while I’m thinking about it, if you're serious about unlocking revenue from fandom, I mean actually, truly serious, then get in contact. If not, well…I hear there’s a few different super fan Apps out there.
Till next time i miei amici.
Philip