In Luminate’s 2023 Midyear Music Report, released last month in July, we revealed that 15% of the US general public can be categorized as super fans. At Luminate, we define super fan as those fans that engage with artists and their content in 5+ different ways. When looking specifically at music listeners in the US, the percentage of super fans rises to 19%. These stats followed quickly on the heels of Goldman Sachs’ latest Music in the Air report also citing super fans, noting they see, “a clearer path towards improved monetisation through more structured, recurring price increases, monetisation of superfans and improved payment terms with emerging platforms.”
But what does it mean to be a super fan and why are they so valuable? To understand Super Fans let’s first look at three main characteristics that they share below.
So how do you start identifying super fans? One place to start is via an artist D2C / e-commerce store. Luminate Insights consumer research data shows that physical music buyers are more than twice as likely to be super fans (+128%). This also provides excellent opportunities for merch upsell to this valuable group as super fans spend +80% more per month on music activities than the US music listener.Did you miss the release of Luminate’s 2023 Midyear Music Report? If so, click here and learn more about super fans and other high-impact trends including: “Bands, Brands & Super Fans,” “Locals, Lyrics & Languages,” and “The Impacts of New Tracks.”
Source:-Luminate’s research methodology defines a “super fan” as a music listener aged 13+ who engages with an artist and their content in multiple ways, from streaming to social media to purchasing physical music or merch items to attending live shows. More specifically, the super fans who were identified in the studies referenced in this report were participants that self-reported engaging with their favorite artists in 5+ ways.
-Goldman Sachs “Music in the Air” June 28, 2023
