Fandom drivers From fan psychology to NFT demand
Our clients have full access to all of our reports. Clients can log in to read this report. Click here to become a client or, you can purchase this individual report.
The 20,000 foot view: Fandom is entertainment’s growth currency, yet it remains both under-valued and poorly understood. While other entertainment currencies can be accurately measured (number of streams, number of sales, number of views, etc.) it is only the effects of fandom that can be quantified (number of likes / shares, merchandise sales, etc.). Measuring the effects of fandom is a blunt approach that also fails in one crucial aspect: understanding what is driving fandom and, therefore, how to better nurture and monetise it. NFTs and other digital collectibles may yet play that role.
Key Insights
FANDOM DRIVERS
- There are four key psychological triggers for fandom: expression / identity, communal experience, emotional resonance, and personal bond
- Fandom operates within a cultural framework that is built around rituals, icons, and symbols
- Large-scale fanbases evolve like consumers adopt technologies, starting with tastemakers, moving to follower fans, and finally to mainstream fans
- The lifecycle at the individual fan level follows three phases: discover, immerse, and hibernate / remain / fade
AUDIENCES AND FANBASES
- The fan funnel comprises three elements: audiences, fans, and superfans – with average spend per user (ARPU) increasing down the funnel, while segment size reduces
- Audience behaviour is most widespread (e.g., stream music, watch live sports), and fan behaviour is smaller (e.g., watch games-related videos) while super fan behaviour is niche (e.g., buy music merch, buy TV and film merch)
- The average artist fanbase comprises audience, fans, and superfans of consumers buy music merch, sports merch, and TV and film merch
DIGITAL COLLECTIBLES
-
of consumers claim to understand what non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are, while claim to understand what blockchain is
- Music looks like a good fit for NFTs – of consumers would be interested in buying a digital collectible from their favourite artist, compared to overall interest in digital collectibles
- Games fans, however, show strongest demand for digital collectibles from their favourite music artists, peaking at of sandbox games fans
- The highest demand among sports fans is basketball TV is anime and music is hip hop
- Decentralised autonomous organisations (DAOs) represent a strong near-term tool for artist fanbases
- The future of fandom will be defined by fragmentation, tribalism, monetisation, saturation, and digitisation