THE FAN TO INDUSTRY PROFESSIONAL PIPELINE

Fangirls have been doing promo and marketing work for their favourite artists for years on end. From word of mouth to full campaigns to promote albums, fangirls are always at the frontlines.

As a fangirl myself, I’ve grown through social media, especially in fan online spaces. I have learned about fan communities and online forums/discussion that go throughout both fans and casual listeners of artists. I’ve gotten to know how music labels lack in their efforts to promote an album, the grey areas between maintaining a fan base and extending one, how music is not the only product being sold with a release, etc.

FANS ARE EQUIPPED FOR THE JOB

I’m not the first, and definitely not the last, fangirl that wants to get into the entertainment industry as a full time job. It’s no secret that fans use social media, not only as a way to express their interests or hobbies, but it also pursues content through a very empathetic and relatable lens. We know what other fans like, we know what the target audience looks like, and how they think. We know how to drive engagement because we are the target market. The content is not done in an attempt to relate, but it is content made for ourselves, which just makes it much more genuine.

Can we take a second to talk about the hard and soft skills developed by managing a fan page only? Video editing, photography, scripting, understanding of online language and algorithms, community building, they are just surface examples of what goes into these social media accounts. I am a marketing major in college, and through my placement advisor, I learn that I already had most of the skills needed in a digital marketer, which is why my account is currently listen in my CV as a marketing project.

This is just ONE type of relation that a fan may have with the industry. It is worth mentioning that there’s so many other jobs that fans do, that directly relate to the industry. For example, merch, trinkets and handmade wearables are a huge part of fan girl activities. Through the years I have seen and consumed products created by fangirls where they design clothes and accessories using the artist’s imagery. This is a full time graphic designer job, and they do it as a hobby. What about the fans that learn how to compose, song writing, produce and mix music? They also have a very strong set of skills that are directly transferrable to the industry.  

Like these, we have many examples of the creativity within fandoms to create and produce both products and services that are directly relevant to a market, whether broad or niche, they can drive engagement.

PUBLIC RELATIONS, JOURNALISM AND MARKETING

Since this is my specific pipeline, I think it is important to understand that fans know how media is shaped, they understand what goes into each public relations process and why some narratives are shaped for the enjoyment of the public.

For example, fan accounts have broken industry news before major outlets even had the story. Fan-run media pages have become press sources that artists and labels actually engage with, and use as channels to communicate a message to fans. There are K-pop specific fan outlets that are now credentialed press at music shows and award ceremonies. The fact that it started from a place of fandom does not make it any less real or any less skilled.

To be honest, there’s so many ways to connect into the industry, like this blog, which kind of proves the point. Every time I analyse a campaign, or call out a label for dropping the ball on a release, I am doing PR and marketing analysis. I just happen to also really love the artists I write about.

RECORD LABELS DON’T WANT TO RECOGNIZE THE FAN’S WORK

I’m not going to censor myself and pretend that record labels are doing the hard work to promote their artists, cause they aren’t. I have seen multiple occasions where fans time and time again show up more to support an artist than their own “marketing” team. When an artist makes a release, they have a specific marketing budget for promo, but sometimes (most times) those resources are not used wisely. What is the point of having hundreds of thousands of dollars set to marketing if they can’t even drive their own fan base?

It is honestly pretty disheartening seeing albums and releases flop because of lack of online presence. Where is the market research? Where is the driving of fan engagement? Why are they not targeting a bigger market if they have the means to? All this answers come to a simple solution, some labels don’t understand their audience, or are simply not interested in them. Why? Because its 15 year old girls? Is that why they are not taken seriously? Why are some audiences more valuable than others?

THE RISE OF FAN TO FAN ENTERTAINMENT COMPANIES

Nowadays I have noticed a rise in entertainment companies and associations made by fans, with the goal to get more fans to work in the industry. It may be a record label, a publishing company, journalism newspapers/pages/magazines, photography associations, etc. It is honestly so heartwarming to see these types of companies being formed. Fans recognize each other, we know the skills we hold and the passion behind it. 

Honestly, I think any company in entertainment started as a passion project, by fans. Every record label has had to be started under a dream, every magazine and agency has to have started with passion behind it. So what changed? Why have these big corporations become such gatekeepers and don’t want fans working for them?

The goal behind these agencies made by fans is to create passion project together, bring skills to the table developed by the same goal.