‘Cause I’ll be the driver through and through’
Let’s be honest: If we hear the phrase “super-serving the superfan” one more time, we might hack-off our own ears, Mr Blond (RIP) stylely. Ok, everyone’s sick of the phrase, but the principle still matters more than ever. It’s just you needed to translate it the right way, first.
coz its been squeezed...
“STOP MILKING, START MOBILISING: THE REAL SUPERFAN PLAYBOOK”
It’s been nearly two years since the buzzword started bouncing around boardrooms, keynotes, and LinkedIn posts. First 12 months? Industry scrambling to define it. Next 12? Premium tiers, dodgy apps, and a dozen different short-term ways to “monetise the obsessed”. Underneath it all? One question: “How can we squeeze more out of the most loyal?
Often, this wasn’t led by artists, managers, creatives, or label people who ‘get’ music fans. It was led by Biz Dev, Tech Bros, and spreadsheet strategists in search of an “upsell opportunity.” It wasn’t born from love. It wasn’t driven by insight. It certainly wasn’t strategic.
“YOU SEE THE PROBLEM ISN’T THE PRINCIPLE, THE PROBLEM IS THE TRANSLATION.”
And now? Everyone’s tired. The phrase is bloated. The ideas are hollow. The execution is chaotic.
And yet Dear Reader, the need to super-serve your superfans is more important than ever. You see the problem isn't the principle, the problem is the translation.
Here’s what ‘super-serving the superfan’ Actually means to Sound Effects:
It’s not about emptying them. It’s about energising them
It’s not about higher prices. It’s about higher meaning
It’s not about how much they’ll pay. It’s about how far they’ll carry your story.
You see Dear Reader, contrary to what the great and good of the industry will tell you, the superfan isn’t a target to extract more from, they’re a bridge to reach new fans, to deepen connection, to unlock growth.
“THE SUPERFAN ISN’T A TARGET TO EXTRACT MORE FROM, THEY’RE A BRIDGE TO REACH NEW FANS”
The O Strategy” & “Cheese Strategy” From Sound Effects
Those of you that already working with us will know all about the ‘O’ and the ‘Cheese’ that we speak. Anything that’s created or built to generate the various types of growth that Sound Effects looks to deliver for artists and rep owners sparks from the work we do to identifying unique human behaviours. The ‘O’ and the ‘Cheese’ is essentially about exploring ‘overlapping worlds’ both for the artist and the ‘potential’ fan and how superfans can energize that. This is massively powerful and is sustainable and scalable…but it’s not some simple, cheap ‘one-size-fits’ all solution. Because music fandom is never ‘one-size-fits-all’. It’s unique. You want to know more about ‘the cheese’ then you know where we are.
“…SUPERFANS AS A REVENUE TAP TO KEEP MILKING…WE SEE THEM AS CULTURAL NITRO-GLYCERINE”
The Truth?
You don’t “super-serve” by building gated apps, charging £80 for laminated nostalgia, referring to music as ‘content’ or calling fans “users.” You super-serve them by understanding them, that doesn’t come from a dashboard or a brainstorm. It comes from structured insight. From strategy. From empathy.
Let’s stop rinsing the people who care the most. Let’s start actually ‘serving’ them and building something bigger through them. Mobilise. Weaponize. Because at Sound Effects, we don’t see superfans as a revenue tap to keep milking…we see them as cultural nitro-glycerine. Too volatile to waste, too powerful to ignore. It’s time to stop milking and start activating. Your Digital Street Team is waiting.