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The music industry has priced a customer it cannot find
An op-ed for Music Business Worldwide argues that although record labels and streaming platforms are now chasing "superfans" as their next big growth opportunity, most of the industry cannot actually identify who these fans are. Written by Mag Rodriguez, founder of superfan platform EVEN, the piece contends that the concept has been treated as a single customer type ready to buy pricier products, when in reality data on fan spending, listening and community engagement is scattered across separate platforms with no way to connect them.
Drawing on direct-to-fan campaign data from a Billboard No.1 album release, Rodriguez shows that the biggest spender ($677.99) streamed the album just 14 times, the top listener (971 plays) spent only $7.99, and the most active community member sent 474 messages but streamed once. Of the 25 most active listeners, 11 spent $10 or less, while 19 of the 25 most active community members spent over $100 each — showing that spenders, listeners and community organisers are usually different people entirely, yet are marketed to as one. The article attributes this to fragmented data across presale sites, merchandise stores, ticketers, chat apps and streaming platforms, meaning marketing budgets and premium products are often misdirected at the wrong fans.
In short
- Music industry chases "superfans" it can't actually identify or track
- Data on spending, streaming and community activity is split, disconnected
- Top spenders, top listeners and top community members are often different people
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
The music industry's superfan strategy is sound and forward-thinking, as superfans demonstrably represent significant untapped revenue. Whilst data fragmentation is a real obstacle, it need not delay investment in premium offerings. The industry can gradually improve data integration whilst simultaneously developing products for highly engaged fans. Perfect information should not be a precondition for capturing value from audiences whose commitment is evident, and incremental targeting beats no targeting at all.
The case against
The industry's superfan strategy is premature and wasteful given fragmented data systems. Without integrated customer insights, marketing efforts are inevitably misdirected—the data shows spenders, listeners, and community members are distinct groups being marketed to identically. This guarantees inefficient spending. Before investing further in premium products, the industry must solve its data infrastructure problem; attempting to monetise superfans without reliable identification is throwing resources at moving targets.
Explained simply
The music industry has spent the past couple of years chasing "superfans" – people who love an artist enough to spend heavily on records, merchandise, tickets and exclusive content. Record labels and streaming services see this group as their next big source of growth, since ordinary streaming subscriptions bring in relatively little revenue per listener.
The problem raised here is that fan activity is tracked in separate, disconnected systems: streaming platforms record what people listen to, ticket and merchandise sites record what they buy, and messaging apps or fan communities record who is most engaged. Because these systems don't talk to each other, nobody can build a full picture of any one fan, which makes it hard to know who the real "superfans" actually are.
This matters because it affects how labels and platforms plan marketing campaigns and design premium products aimed at big spenders. The argument being made is that treating all highly engaged fans as one single type of customer, when spending, listening and community involvement often come from different people entirely, risks wasting money and misjudging what fans actually want.
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