Week Ten - The Opportunities, Challenges and Implications of Fan Financing

A huge interest of mine through my experiences of fandoms is how important they are for a band/brand/media to continue to exist. Duffett explains this by claiming “they form a particularly stable market” and explaining the 80-20 rule (that the fans being the 20% of the audience, create 80% of the profits) (Duffett, 2014, p. 21). This shows the complexity of the challenges facing media when opting to fan finance, due to asking them to finance their own enjoyment, when they already do so so much.

I became a fan of Yashin after seeing the band as a support artist, and since then were planning on seeing them as headliners on their own tour. They created a fan-funding page for the release of their second album, with teasers of the tracks already recorded being made public, so that myself and other investors knew we would like the new music and want to make sure we could hear more. As I was only 14 years old at the time and only had cash funds rather than card to be able to pay online, I told my parents the money was for pre-ordering the album, and didn’t explain that if they didn’t get enough then it wouldn’t actually be released, as I knew they would not agree with the concept and therefore not let me use their card! Having little faith in ‘the system’, I knew they would be dubious about where the money may be going, much like Kustritz’s depiction of crowdfunding “creating ruptures of discontent within an otherwise hegemonic system of mutual consent” (Kustritz, 2015, p. 47). My interest in wanting to help fund the album was partially due to wanting to have the music released and hear the full version of the songs, and partially due to having an interest in them from such an early stage in their career, I was excited to be able to say to any new fans that I has helped create that. This links to Thornton’s idea of subcultural capital and using knowledge and experiences within your niche subcategory for capital gain, be it socially, experientially or monetary (Thornton, 1995).

Another type of fan financing that I think it is essential to consider, due to its notability and popularity on ever-growing social media platforms is fans as brand ambassadors. I would consider it a form of fan financing due to the business gaining free advertisement/publicity from fans. An example of this being reality TV star Kady McDermott launching a beauty brand and advertising on her Instagram account, where the vast majority of her fans are located, about wanting people to join the By Kady Ambassador Programme. She advertised perks such as being able to get products first, free products, working with her. While fans may have added passion as brand ambassadors, I feel it may be detrimental for the business-audience relationship for other fans, due to the added hierarchy of the fan brand ambassadors. The idea discussed by Gehring and Wittkower of those involved’s perception “that they are playing a crucial role in helping an artist” (Gehring & Wittkower, 2015, p. 69) supports this, with this level of importance being given to fans that are brand ambassadors. A friend of mine that also followed Kady, became a brand ambassador and tension/annoyance was cased due to them being a ‘fan’ still, but feeling in a position of power, like they were instead a ‘friend’ due to their interactions with Kady. I would argue that the added fan hierarchies and cultural capital created by fan-funded projects while being fine for larger brands/media, may be a downfall for smaller businesses/products due to the large fan hierarchies may intimidate or put off new fans.

Bibliography

Duffett, M. (2014). Introduction. In M. Duffett, Understanding Fandom (pp. 1-34). London: Bloomsbury.

Gehring, D., & Wittkower, D. E. (2015). On the Sale of Community in Crowdfunding: Questions of Power; Inclusion, and Value. In L. Bennet, B. Chin, & B. Jones, Crowdfunding the Future: Media Industries, Ethics & Digital Society (pp. 65-82). New York: Peter Lang Publishing Inc.

Kustritz, A. (2015). Exploiting Surplus Labours of Love: Narrating Ownership and Theft in Crowdfunding Controversies. In L. Bennett, B. Chin, & B. Jones, Crowdfunding the Future: Media Industried, Ethics & Digital Society (pp. 47-64). New York: Peter Lang Publishing Inc.

Thornton, S. (1995). Club Cultures: Music, Media and Subcultural Capital. Cambridge: Polity Press.

Week Nine - Researching Digital Fandom

A contemporary digital fandom that I have participated in is Pokemon: Go – which will be my main case study for this blog, considering the effects and influences it has had, the positive aspects of its digital advancements for the audience, product and market, as well as their oppositional negatives. Pokemon: Go, released in the summer of 2016, is arguably one of the first popular and commonly used augmented reality games. It had 100 million downloads by August 2017, and had a revenue of $268 million (Dogtiev, 2018), showing the huge impact it had on the gaming market.

I have a rather mixed experience of Pokemon: Go. I embraced the new opportunities and enjoy the social experience of re-joining a fandom I used to be in, but was doubtful due to the technical issues and the binary implications these had to the social experience in the fandom, as well as being dubious regarding the competitive/addictive collecting aspect. Due to this mixed response, I enjoyed participating in Pokemon: Go, but while doing so did not allow myself to fully invest and commit to the game, instead using the opportunity to appreciate the older media from the fandom, due to being a fandom member before and then re-joining. This fits in with Penley’s observation regarding fan communities being “enthusiastic, yet thoughtfully cautious about the new Internet culture (Penley, 1997, p. 116).

Positives that I experienced being the social aspect of it: meeting up in a group to use the app, or conversation starters based on the app, due to, as stated above, its big impact on the market. Its release, for me, also led to a revival of the fandom, with both new and old fans getting involved with the franchise again. The Journal of Marketing assesses this in more detail, stating that brands should be “amenable to both technological and symbolic updates so as to ensure its perpetual relevance to consumers, who constantly revise their own identities” (Stephen Brown, 2003, p. 30).

Some negatives that I experienced with this new technology included the technological bugs that may occur on the App, sometimes meaning that you either would miss out on small aspects of the game, or couldn’t play the game at all, the exclusive aspects of the game, where you would need to have a certain type of phone to be able to download, with a certain amount of storage space, with enough battery life and internet data to play, again meaning that you would be missing out on the enjoyment and social aspect of the game. This coincides with Couldry’s idea of Media Rituals and them enacting “media’s presumed location at the centre of the culture” (Hoover, 2006, p.267 cited in Couldry, 2012, p. 67), due to if people are not able to take part in the ritual, in this case catching certain Pokemon on Pokemon: Go, then they would not feel a part of that media in the centre of their culture.

While the digital advancements of Pokemon: Go prompted an increased popularity to the fandom, its existence also led to more digital aspects within the fandom. I was part of online forum/chat communities that would discuss the best areas to play the game, jokes and stories from the game and tips and advice on playing. It also accommodated for the transformative fans in the fandom, and led to new topics for fan productivity, examples being fan-made Pokemon Go The Movie, and even a fan-fictions revolving around the game and the ‘origins’ of Pokemon: Go.

Bibliography

Couldry, N. (2012). Media as a Ritual and Social Form. In N. Couldry, Media, Society, World: Social Theory and Digital Media Practice (pp. 59-83). Cambridge : Polity Press.

Dogtiev, A. (2018, May 1). Pokémon GO Revenue and Usage Statistics. Retrieved from Buisness of Apps: http://www.businessofapps.com/data/pokemon-go-statistics/

Films, D. B. (2016, Nov 24). Pokemon Go The Movie (Fan Made). Retrieved from YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgRJQh9lb4s

Penley, C. (1997). NASA Trek: Popular Science and Sex in America. London: Verso.

Stephen Brown, R. V. (2003). Teaching Old Brands New Tricks: Retro Branding and the Revival of Brand Meaning. Journal of Marketing, 19-33.

Wynter-Solstice. (2016, August 30). Pokemon Go: Origins. Retrieved from FanFiction: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12127033/1/Pok%C3%A9mon-Go-Origins

Week Five - Taste, Capital and Fan Identities

It is my view that being in a fandom or identifying as a fan can affect and influence capital, consumers taste and their relevance. This is partially due to the ‘rules’ and conventions involved with being in a fandom, at the same time as being exposed to a much wider array of media, and partially due to questioning the reliability of a fan or fandom member’s opinion and capital, due to it being influenced by other fandom members, pressures and practices, rather than an impartial judgement of the media.

As I have grown older, my taste and attitude towards fan identities and capital have changed. During adolescence, although it was a genuine appreciation and enjoyment that I would get from the media I would consume, I would use it to construct an identity, to let people know more about myself and what I like, and to help fit in with others similar to me.  Most of my time was spent consuming products or media from specific bands or media brands related to my fandoms. This changed when I started to broaden the media that I consumed, either through mixing with new people, or through naturally being exposed to it and, due to the heavy time investment that comes from being involved in a fandom, not having the time to invest so heavily in it. I still incorporate what I am a fan of into my identity, but do not rely on this, and incorporate many other factors rather than just the fan practices to outline or define my identity. Now I would buy something because I like it as a product, rather than just the fact that it is merchandise or promotional. I actively seek out new music or media to consume if I am not satisfied by what I am originally given or find, and I would consume media even if I do not expect to like it, to be able to form an accurate and fair opinion on it. As mentioned in Understanding Fandom, “Nobody functions entirely within fan culture, nor does fan culture maintain any claims to self-sufficiency” (Jenkins, 1992, p. 3 cited from Duffett, 2014, p. 5). Duffett’s claim relates a lot to my own opinion on fan capital and identity, and my interest in finding the balance between identifying as and calling myself a fan of something, and not letting being a fan of something define me, and finding ‘self-sufficiency’ through other media, not just those included in the fandom.

Relating to my opinions on the reliability of a fan’s capital is a quote from an anime series that I would consider myself a fan of: “Admiration is the emotion furthest from understanding.” (Kubo, 2005, p. 12). From my own experience in the Marvel Fandom, the competition among fans to gain hierarchy within the fandom can often lead to a misunderstanding of a work, or an excluding of certain media. Bleach, the anime series the quote is from, is not something I would’ve ever been interested in being a fan of, but it was recommended by a friend, and is an example of how, since not being attached and too heavily invested in a certain fandom, I have become a lot more socially available and accessible. This is also portrayed by Fiske when he expresses the difference between official cultural capital and fan cultural capital, showing how there may be differences in their understanding and judgement of a text, and further examined when discussing the role of collecting in fan culture, and how “the individual objects are often cheap, devalued by the official culture, and mass-produced” (Fiske, 1992, pp. 42-44), showing how fans would continually invest their time and money into something regardless of its value.

Bibliography

Duffett, M. (2014). Introduction. In M. Duffett, Understanding Fandom (pp. 1-34). London: Bloomsbury.

Fiske, J. (1992). The Cultural Economy of Fandom. In L. A. Lewis, The Adoring Audience: Fan Culture and Popular Media (pp. 30-49). London: Routledge.

Kubo, T. (2005). Chapter 170: End of Hypnosis 2 (The Galvanizer). In T. Kubo, Bleach. Tokyo: Shueisha.

Week Three - Exploring Subcultures

During adolescent years, looking back, I may have been seen to have been part of, what was more commonly and contemporarily known as, the Emo/Scene subculture. ‘Commonly known as’ due to the fact that a lot of people that fitted into that subculture and followed some of the practices, did not want to be known as being an ‘Emo’ or a ‘Scene kid’. This may be due to the media portrayal or the negative personal connotations stigmatised to the name and therefore attached to any associated. An example of the controversial media portrayal is Daily Mail labelling it as a “suicide cult” (SoEmo, 2008) and blaming a band of the genre for a girl’s suicide. Bentley also discusses this when reflecting on the representation of British youth subcultures in the 1950s and the media’s production of a “simplified dichotomy of the demonization of youth alongside counterclaims of the ordinary and commendable qualities of ‘most’ young people” (Bentley, 2010) and how clearly an unequal dichotomy this was.

Personally, I participated in some ways but not others, for example by the music listened to in the subculture, attending small gigs of those genres, buying lots of band merchandise, or of brands associated with the subculture (e.g. comic books). However, for example, I didn’t dye my hair black or unconventional colours or have facial piercings etc, so may have been seen as a more ‘mild’ member of the Emo/Scene subculture.

I, personally, find a lot of interest in learning about past subcultures, as, in comparison to the few possible remaining subcultures of today, participants seemed much more deeply invested in the past. Examples being Mods vs Rockers, Teddy Boys, Skinheads, Rude Boys all sharing some similarities, as well as differences in their styles and practices – with Mods and Rudeboys influencing Skinheads. However, a similarity I notice between past subcultures and current subcultures is the idea of distinguishing subcultures and being firmly in just one subculture is very hard. Dick Hebdige shares this idea of shared styles within subcultures through his discussion of ‘Style as bricolage’ (Hebdige, 1979). A factor that I feel has influenced this even more since Hebdige’s work is the digital advancements in media, leading to less defined subcultures, and definitely less defined mainstream – encapsulated as “there may be in society a dominant class, but it is doubtful if there is a dominant culture” (Brake, 1980, p. 7). This is due to new media increasing the accessibility of subculture styles, knowledge and practices, and due to youth constantly wanting to be different. (Hall & Jefferson, 1993).

A more recent time that I have considered myself to have taken part in a subculture was attending the ‘Brighton MOD Weekender 2017’, a gathering of Mod subculture members celebrating their style and heritage 50 years on from the infamous ‘Mods vs Rockers battle at Quadrophenia’. As mentioned above, I enjoy learning about past subcultures, a lot of which have been influenced/learnt from my Dad and how he describes the cultures from his youth. At this event, I participated in the subculture practices by dressing in their certain style (eg Fred Perry polo shirts and Dr Marten boots) and attending the scooter rally, markets and ‘MOD Club Classics and Northern Soul Allnighter’. The fact that Dr Martens were originally associated with Skinheads, rather than Mods, and that the music event included a mix of genres, further links in with Hebdige’s idea of style as a bricolage.

Bibliography

Bentley, N. (2010). 'New Elizabethans': The Representation of Youth Subcultures in 1950s British Fiction. Literature and History, 16-33.

Brake, M. (1980). The Sociology of Youth Culture and Youth Subcultures. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd.

Hall, S., & Jefferson, T. (1993). Resistance through Rituals: Youth subcultures in post-war Britain. Oxon: Routledge.

Hebdige, D. (1979). Style as Bricolage. In D. Hebdige, Subculture: The Meaning of Style (pp. 102-106). London: Routledge.

SoEmo. (2008, June 02). MCR Emo Fans Protest Daily Mail. Retrieved from So Emo: https://www.soemo.co.uk/my-chemical-romance-mcr-emo-protest-daily-mail-london.php

Week Two - Fans, Communities and Hierarchy

The community aspect of Fandoms is that of a complex one. For me, the idea of a shared community was one of the main attractions to becoming so invested in a Fandom. However, it was one of the, possibly mandatory, aspects of that community that was my prime motivation for distancing myself from the Fandoms – the hierarchy within that community.

When I was younger I would be involved with Fandoms for many rock and metal bands, and often broadening by taste through the shared interests with the Fandom members. One particular artist I was a fan of was the band Fall Out Boy – initially through a close friend’s investment – which would involve sharing sourced media of the band on sites such as Tumblr and Twitter, showing a popular opinion and knowledge-span of the band, and occasionally producing my own fan content. As I became more comfortable in the Fandom and started to be more heavily involved, I would gain satisfaction from other users gratification, acknowledgements and compliments – even indirectly, such as reaching a large number of followers or likes on a shared post.

However, once I started to not have the time to participate as regularly, or would post something that is outside of the popular opinion or attitude of the Fandom and their practices, I would be criticised, ‘unfollowed’ or posts ‘unliked’. This links in with Busse’s work around policing fandom boundaries and defining what is the right level of investment (Busse, 2013, p. 75). At first, just the novelty of having that shared space where I could learn and consume even more of the band was enough of a social satisfaction, but the experience of the binary to this when criticised or excluded showed me another side of the Fandom that I didn’t particularly want to be part of – it gave me the sense that the social interactions I was gaining satisfaction from previously were actually rather fickle and weren’t as valuable as real-life interactions and practices.

Giddens encapsulates my sentiment in his work in Modernity and Self-Identity, saying a person’s identity is found in their “capacity to keep a certain narrative going”. (Giddens, 1991, p. 54). Personally, I found it was more effective to be distant from the Fandom but still consider myself a fan, to try and find a balance between being involved in the clique of the Fandom, to gain satisfaction from the social community aspect, but possibly feel disheartened when excluded or policed, and being a fan to whichever level I desire and in whichever way I desire, but possibly on my own, without the Fandom community. This links to Jensen’s idea of the two dominant archetypes of fans as “the obsessed individual and the hysterical crowd” (Jensen, 1992, p. 9) due to me recognising the two and trying to find a point between them.

My Fandom in question has been represented as both aspects of these fan types in different occasions/situations. It is often represented as a hysterical crowd by media at band events, or fan forums, with the community choosing to portray a creative community front to outsiders. However, to those that know of more controversial fan practices, it is common for them to be seen as the obsessed individual also. An example being when even the band themselves publicly parodied ‘confession’ from fans in a staged Youtube video and reading FanFictions they had written aloud on Radio. Even though I did not participate in these fan practices, this was criticised by myself and many other fans, with one posting “I’m aware that the fanfic some people write is an outlet and to have Fall Out Boy come up and possibly read it and then make fun of it is just… really gross” (User1, 2015). Here, even the band that the Fandom is surrounding are pathologizing fans and policing boundaries for fans.  

Reflecting on my experiences and observations in this Fandom, to exist well within a Fandom community is only possible by finding the right balance for your position in the community. Being involved and liked enough to not be ‘and obsessed individual’ and maintaining your individuality within the community, to not become a member of ‘the hysterical crowd’. This concept is addressed further when considering work on ‘good-enough’ fans, discussing how successful fans “have a sense of inherent self-enoughness and authenticity while engaged in their fandom actions” (Blommaert & Varis, 2011 cited in Staps, Milan & Spotti).

 

Bibliography

Busse, K. (2013). Geek hierarchies, boundary policing, and the gendering of the good fan. Participations: Journal of Audience and Reception Studies, 73-91.

Giddens, A. (1991). Modernity and Self-Identity. Cambridge: Polity Press.

Jensen, J. (1992). Fandom as a Pathology: The Consequences of Characterisation. In L. a. Lewis, The Adoring Audience: Fan Culture and Popular Media (pp. 9-29). London: Routledge.

T. Staps, S. M. (n.d.). A Good Enough Fan Within an Online Community of Game of Thrones: An E-Ethnographic Enquiry.

User1. (2015, January 2). Retrieved from dslyl-ordr: http://dslyl-ordr.tumblr.com/post/106950714109/a-mini-rant-in-regards-to-fall-out-boy-fanfic