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“It’s no longer about the quantity of people that are consuming, it’s about the quality of people” “So how do you start to identify those people, and how do you build a relationship with those people? In Latin America, something that’s important in this regard are fan-clubs, which still exist and have massive potential for many Latin artists” Abreu talked about the importance of CRM but suggested that the term needs rebranding: “CRM has always been seen as email marketing, but in reality it’s fan relationships,” he said.

The Fan Data Goldmine: new tech that allows artists to interact with superfans turning data into dollars and opening long-term revenue streams. The music industry has long ridden on superfans: the top 1% most-engaged, day-one-die-hards who consistently stream their favourite artists’ music, buy their merchandise, pay to see their shows and share their music with friends. Executives interviewed for this story estimate that superfans on average make up to 50% to 80% of an artist’s overall revenue. Yet on an individual level, superfans are invisible to their idols, since the artists and their teams lacked the tools to track fans’ information and habits.

Kelley Walton, Amazon Music: The evolution of fandom is what’s exciting to me, especially in the last 5-10 years. It used to be a one-way street where fans were just spectators of their favorite musicians or sports teams, but now it’s become a two-way relationship and community. The most powerful fandoms, like the Bey Hive and the Swifties, are real communities of people who are invested in the success of their idols. Danielle Lee, Warner Music Group: Data and fan insights are key for our business strategies.

Scott Cherkin, SVP, Global Audience Strategy, WEA said: “Community's model helps us cut through the noise and gives us an authentic, personal, and unique way to reach the superfans. The direct line helps our artists get to know their fans better and opens up opportunities for them to plug their priorities – whether it be merch, concert tickets, or a new single – knowing they have an engaged and eager audience on the receiving end.” Community is a text message service that only operates for US and Canadian numbers

“One of the great disconnects of the music industry is that artists and labels often don’t know who their super-fans are. Platforms like Spotify, Ticketmaster, YouTube, TikTok and Instagram don’t provide access to first-party data. Unlike social media platforms where the focus is on scale (eg how many TikTok followers can I get), the goal with messaging platforms is about quality and inviting your most engaged fans into one space. In closed safe spaces, where artists feel they can be more open, direct and transparent, we are seeing them rally fans in a format some artists are less likely to do on open social platforms.”