Extractive Era

Goldman Sachs industry analysts label superfans as a $4.3 billion opportunity. Obsession has a price tag. It’s not about listening; it is about spending. Not people, just currency.

There have been, and always will be, Stans. The suggestion that it is a portmanteau of fan and stalker seems plausible, since we know Eminem loves playing with his words. Since Stan was released, it’s become the term people call themselves or others who are really big, maybe OTT fans.

In the industry of yesteryear, labels wanted millions of fans to buy CDs and tapes for between $5-$15. That was the baseline. T-shirts, gig tickets, they were a premium, and mostly for local fans, not many people were traveling the globe following their favorite stars.

But now, labels have wised up to the fact that it is easier to squeeze $1000+ from a single fan, and if they then aim their marketing at that small bunch of Stans (relatively small, still hundreds and thousands), they are quids in.

It is more effective to focus on the dedicated than to try to nurture 100 new fans, even more so in an attention economy.

And there is one key thing at play, it might be one of the most cynical things we’ve ever said (maybe). This isn’t about the industry selling music; it is about selling identity. Because they know a true stan’s biggest nightmare is being seen as a fake fan because they aren’t at 50% of the tour, and did cop that $500 limited edition toaster. It is about exploitation.

There are going to be a couple of confronting moments for most music lovers, because we are probably all guilty of some of this. Here are just a couple of the ‘gentle’ squeezes they’re giving us.

The multi-variant. We mentioned it before, in terms of vinyl being the new NFT. 10 different covers, 10 different colors of vinyl, 10 different secret notes or hidden things inside. 10 things you need for just $50-$70.

Dynamic pricing: the more you want it, the higher you’ll pay. We see this much more often with online ticket sales now. Remember the days of a flat-rate ticket? Ah, how lucky we were.

That big fat parasocial paywall. A doozy, because that VIP ticket that gets you in the armpit of your favorite artist can run you anywhere between $400-$4000+. All for a ten-second rushed photo to commodify a relationship that isn’t real.

Verified fan gatekeeping - aren’t you on the pre-sale list? Oh, yeah, you have to buy an item first, then you get a code to be the first to buy more stuff. Neat. Spend $50 on a t-shirt to be first to spend $600 before GA tickets even drop, that end up being only $196.

FOMOfication. Nothing is just ‘available’ anymore, oh no. It is a limited drop, with a sign-up, a code, and a premium price. And they know you’re probably going to pay it after going through hoops to get to the end.

Words for rent. Substack, paid newsletters, portals where you can ‘talk’ with them. It is becoming more common for artists to move their fans away from the big social media platforms and take them to a newsletter list. Direct mail, direct purchase links. Fast, friction-free fan robbery.

Bundles for eons. This one did cause a stir, but it wasn’t banned; in fact, fans love them. A bundle of music, collectibles, t-shirts, and digital experiences. Interesting because they still count for music sales on the charts.

The numbers here are arbitrary, and no, you’re not forced to buy any of it, but you’re probably not a stan, and really, if you’re not, you won’t ever understand how easy it is to qualify all of this as fine.

We’re in a beautiful time for labels and artists. They are rarely called into question for the price of anything. If a complaint hits socials, there are more comments with ‘if ur poor just say that’ than ‘yeah, they are OTT pricing’. The Extraction Era runs on the fact that stans run the show. True fans find the funds. True fans foot the hotel and travel bill. True fans have a limited drop worth $1000. They conditioned themselves and others to believe that a critique of any song is a direct shot at the artist. It becomes… a cult.

Slugs for salt.

We love to sling out ‘support the artist.’ As if T-Swift is a starving artist (random pick, replace with any chart artist). The industry, and stans with it, have weaponized the ‘starving artist’ to a point that billionaires dining out on the finest foods rely on our $1000 tickets to live. Enjoy the music, sure, but win the merch war too. Run your credit card through, because if you aren’t doing your part, how will they survive?

Going back to the ‘brokie’ who can’t afford the tickets. One of the peak toxic issues is that the extractive era runs deeply on stans calling other stans and us average fans broke for not wanting to spend a month’s wage on an item or four. Brokie or being too poor, is used as a weapon to silence discussion about price gouging. Trying to out-buy each other for sport. No one likes to look poor, and then the argument shifts to personal finance, not the industry. Nice.

At this point, the artist isn't even a person who makes songs; they're a ‘cause.’ And you don't negotiate the price of a cause. You just pay it. It’s why people will defend a $90 t-shirt that's lower quality than a $5 Gildan blank from the craft store. They aren't buying a shirt; they’re donating to the brand. The industry has successfully deleted the customer and replaced them with a disciple.

The ironic thing about this is that Stan was a warning, a clear-cut warning about the dangers of obsessed fan behaviour. And it’s now something they proudly call themselves. And it is worse now than it ever has been. Labels aren’t trying to stop it; they are feeding the machine. They need the big numbers in the quarterly report. And the truth is, the artist won’t ever know you by name or see your face - no matter how much you spend.

The extractive era is a music smash-and-grab. How much can they charge? How far can it be pushed? They focus on the whales, the stans, the fans who are willing to drop thousands. You can only squeeze a lemon so much before it is dry, and you need to move on - find a new one.

The industry is making record-breaking profits quarter on quarter. Music is a high-stakes transaction, and the sad truth is that you’ll never be able to tell a stan it is too far or too much. They’ll come to that conclusion, just like people who leave cults…alone. Funding a corporate CEO’s bonus. And when the bubble bursts, and those lemons are dry, regular fans simply don’t spend the mammoth amounts to pick up the pieces.

Stans aren’t fans; they are a decimal point in a $4.3 billion growth strategy.

Until next time,