MBW’s Stat Of The Week is a collection wherein we spotlight an information level that deserves the eye of the worldwide music business. Stat Of the Week is supported by Cinq Music Group, a technology-driven report label, distribution, and rights administration firm.

There was numerous debate across the energy of fandom within the inventive sector over time.

Again in 2008, Kevin Kelly, former editor of Wired, wrote the 1,000 True Followers essay, which urged {that a} creator on the web solely wants 1,000 superfans to earn a dwelling from their artwork.

In 2020, Li Jin, co-founder of Variant Fund, proposed {that a} creator solely wants 100 true followers to make a dwelling from their work.

One factor is for positive, so-called ‘superfans’, who’re keen to spend greater than the common fan on merchandise, music and different content material, are a profitable audience for artists and their groups.

And as dominant music business gamers begin pushing for various streaming payout fashions, similar to Common Music Group‘s proposed “artist-centric” mannequin, it’s the superfan class that would rewrite the music business’s income story in years to return.

Talking on UMG’s Q1 earnings name, Michael Nash, UMG’s EVP and Chief Digital Officer, indicated that an “artist-centric” mannequin would look to extend income stream from “superfans” – or in different phrases, people who’re keen to pay extra for subscriptions in change for extra content material.

“Our client analysis says that amongst [music streaming] subscribers, about 30% are superfans of a number of of our artists,” mentioned Nash.

He added: “How does that relate to artist-centric? While you begin to concentrate on the artist-fan relationship, these high-value relationships are driving the financial mannequin of the platform, so that you [can begin] segmenting round high-intent, high-integrity, artist-fan relationships.”

Current sats printed by US market monitor Luminate have shed extra mild on the extent of such ‘high-value relationships’ between artists and followers in the USA.

In line with Luminate’s mid-year music report, which you’ll learn in full right here, 15% of the final inhabitants within the US are ‘superfans’.

Luminate breaks down what it meant to be a superfan, explaining that for its report, its methodology defines a superfan as, “a music listener aged 13+ who engages with an artist and their content material in a number of methods, from streaming to social media to buying bodily music or merch gadgets to attending dwell exhibits”.

‘Superfans’, in response to Luminate’s report, spend 80% extra on music every month versus the common US-based music listener. Moreover, bodily music consumers of codecs similar to vinyl, CDs or cassette tapes, are greater than twice as doubtless (+128%) to be music superfans.

Millennial music listeners, in the meantime, spend over 22% extra and Gen Z music listeners spend over 13% extra on music in comparison with the common US music listener, in response to Luminate’s report.

Luminate additionally factors to the expansion in Direct-to-Client (D2C) gross sales to spotlight the shopping for energy of the superfan class.

In line with Luminate, D2C gross sales of music from artists’ shops have been up over 20% in H1, with D2C vinyl gross sales up 26% YoY in H1, to three.6 million copies. In the meantime, 1.7 million CDs have been bought Direct-to-Client within the first half of the yr, a rise of 15% YoY (see beneath).

A shocking stat highlighted by Luminate is that 62.5% of complete D2C product gross sales are of ‘present’ releases.

As famous by Luminate within the diagram beneath, that is counter to the pattern in streaming consumption.

In line with Luminate’s midyear report, of the 538.9 million album-sale-equivalent (TAC) models recorded in H1 2023, 72.8% (392.1 million) have been registered as ‘Catalog music’.

‘Present’ Music’s share of Complete Album Consumption in the USA within the first six months of 2023 was 27.2%, or 146.8 million TAC models.

Luminate defines ‘Present’ as something launched within the 18 months previous to it getting streamed/downloaded/bought. Something older than 18 months when it’s streamed/downloaded/bought is outlined as ‘Catalog’.

Breaking down superfan exercise by style, Luminate experiences that Okay-Pop followers spend 75% more cash on music per thirty days than the common music listener within the US.

In line with Luminate, Okay-Pop followers are additionally over 69% extra doubtless than followers of main genres together with pop, R&B, hip-hop and rock, to purchase an album on vinyl within the subsequent 12 months.

Afropop and Afrobeats followers, in the meantime, spend 121% more cash on music classes per thirty days than the common US-based music listener, in response to Luminate.

EDM followers spend over 63% more cash on music classes per thirty days than the common U.S. music listener.

The potential monetary influence of the superfan class was additionally lately highlighted by Goldman Sachs.

In Goldman’s newest Music In The Air report,  it claimed that if 20% of paid streaming subscribers at present might be categorized as ‘superfans’ and, moreover, if these ‘superfans’ have been keen to spend double what a non-superfan spends on digital music every year, it implies a $4.2 billion (at present untapped) annual income alternative for the report business.

As defined in our latest evaluation of Goldman’s report, that $4.2 billion determine represents a ‘Complete Addressable Market’ (TAM).

Goldman Sachs additionally fashions out a situation whereby issues begin off a lot slower, with simply 10% of ‘superfans’ (i.e. 2% of complete subscribers) paying double the worth for his or her streaming service within the first yr following the launch of a ‘superfan’-orientated product.

Nonetheless, if this share of addressable ‘superfans’ paying for further entry may regularly be bumped as much as 70% by 2030, says Goldman, it may find yourself bringing in an additional $4 billion-plus to the recorded music business yearly.

Cinq Music Group’s repertoire has received Grammy awards, dozens of Gold and Platinum RIAA certifications, and quite a few No.1 chart positions on a wide range of Billboard charts. Its repertoire consists of heavyweights similar to Unhealthy Bunny, Janet Jackson, Daddy Yankee, T.I., Sean Kingston, Anuel, and tons of extra.Music Enterprise Worldwide