Here are 5 different types of fan/music consumer that that helped me to hone marketing with groups that are starting out. There are more types of fan, i just made 5, but you could split them up further into different categories…
1. Obsessive:
Tries to get numbers or email of the star, camps outside their house. This group varies from groupies and stalkers all the way to that guy who is ALWAYS in the front row of every Madonna show ( in most countries!)…
2. Lifestyle adopters:
People who “live” it. They will see Puff Daddy wearing something and then they will go and wear it. They will talk like, walk like, look like and behave like. The degree of adoption varies, - some people may only drink the champagne he drinks and choose not to dress like him.
3. Media Consumers:
They will buy the album, go to the show, have a nice display at home. They will buy the T-shirt, the boxed set, and may collect other items associated with a group.
4. Dippers:
They are aware of what’s going on generally. They will occasionally dip in to something – maybe go to a show once in a while or download an album here and there.
5. Oblivious accident:
People who don’t keep in touch with anything in particular, but somehow manage to consume something musical once in a while. For example, My mother hearing an opera cd at work and then deciding to get it for herself.
Implementation:
With bands that I have worked with, we simply started at the core and worked outwards over time. We focused all our efforts on the core, and then grew out to further levels of consumer over time.
The first wave of promotion was to the “obsessive” type. Some of these people also worked in and around various parts of the music industry.
A lot of them had their own zines, labels, or other infrastructure and were part of an international community of people who lived breathed and died that type of music. They kept in touch with each other, spread rumours, knew what was happening before anyone else did etc. Some of these people are also active bloggers, Tweeters….
This first core of people are also great for testing out tracks on.
Speaking to one client recently, I was asking him whether they really needed to go and do TV shows anymore. He said that although to most people around the group, they are a smash - playing big shows…
There are still people who had never heard of them. I realised what a “niche” world we are living in.
So their record company is implementing its marketing to the outer levels of fan - maybe 4 or 5, as they have clearly conquered 1, 2 and 3.
Jack Chapman has worked in the music industry since 1996. He is behind the Big Music Survey that surveyed thousands of musicians, and then put their questions to the music industry.
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