Position Paper #4

The Impact of Fangirls in the Music Industry

For as long as I can remember, I have been a huge fan of things. When I start to like something it immediately becomes love and I cannot move on from that thing until I have utterly saturated my brain with every piece of knowledge concerning that topic. I have spent hours streaming, sharing, and compulsively talking about bands no one cares about. With that being said, I would like to focus on a very notable part of my life, one of which is known as my fangirl persona.

Being a fangirl generally holds this connotation that you are crazy, obsessive, and pathetic. To a certain point, I agree. I've firsthand seen the things I've done for strangers who don't even know I exist. According to Merriam-Webster, a fangirl is defined as "a girl or woman who is an extremely or overly enthusiastic fan of someone or something." That definition is very mild compared to the ones listed on Urban Dictionary. One thing all these definitions forget to mention is the impact these "girls and women" have in their respective industries. One of the most influential group of fangirls is those in the music industry. 

Fangirls are not a new concept. If you know any grandma or older women with Elvis Presley plates on their walls, you best believe they were a fangirl in their day. Fangirls paved the way for the Beatles, the Doors, and the Rolling Stones. These bands are all now known for their skill and impact in the music industry of their time, but their careers were catapulted by their early prominently female fanbase. 

According to Billboard, author Dr. Francesca Coppa credits fandoms of young women dictate what becomes popular. Coppa studies the ways in which fandoms fuel western culture.

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A post shared by The Neighbourhood (@nbhdfacts)

The above post is from a The Neighborhood fan-page promoting the band.

"Girls are hitmakers, but I don't think you can sell them anything. I think they are really good at finding the interesting story in a band, in an act, not just in terms of the quality of the music but seeing the whole package or recognizing that there's a kind of interesting narrative to  engage," says Coppa. "I think girls make that narrative interesting and then organize, in music, a lot of of the infrastructure that tells everyone else hot to like and understand this music."

When asked "How do girls benefit from their fandoms?" Dr. Coppa said, "... it really is a way for girls to organize their interactions... like, hey, I just bought a magazine, look at this interview with Harry Styles, I want you to see it." Girls' networks are powerful, they will invite others over to sleepovers and gush about the things they love and in return convert another fan.

From personal experience, I can attest to specific things I and my friends have done to impact the music industry. In August of 2020, almost a year after its original release, Harry Style's Watermelon Sugar reached number one on Billboard's top 100 chart. The week before I, along with thousands of other fans participated in multiple streaming parties to boost online streams. Below is an example of a Spotify playlist made to boost streaming statistics. 

 

I learned a great deal of what went into streaming sales. The first thing I learned was if I paid for a premium membership from Apple or Spotify, I had to remove the song from my downloaded or it would log the stream as a digital sale. The next thing I learned was it was easy for streaming sites to figure out if fans were spam streaming a song, so I had to make playlists that alternated Watermelon Sugar every 3 or 4 songs, and to listen to it in order, as opposed to shuffling. Billboard updates its Top 100 every Monday afternoon. After a week of none stop listening, Watermelon Sugar came out triumphant. The rumors are true, I can only listen to that song live or if a gun was to my head.

For the past 4 months or so, I have been fixated on the band Greta Van Fleet. I don't like to use the word obsessed because of the negative connotations that follow the term. I like to call myself a connoisseur of the sorts. Within the past months, I have converted every close friend of mine into a fan and if that's not public relations, I don't know what is. I've posted concert videos and pictures promoting them and their music. Obviously, on a small scale, I am advertising for them for free. 

TikToker Britney Broski is a great example of how fangirls network and interact with each other. She posts about bands and artists she is fixated on. We just so happened to jump on the GVF train at the same time, so I get to enjoy her content about them. 

Celebration of love and light! @GretaVanFleet pic.twitter.com/PQZHZ2jc82

— brittany (@brittany_broski) October 4, 2021

Harry Styles once said "How can you say young girls don’t get it? They’re our future. Our future doctors, lawyers, mothers, presidents, they kind of keep the world going.” Fangirls are unpaid marketing representatives. If you've made a lyric video, fan edits, or translated the lyrics to your favorite BTS song then you have reputable skills along with knowledge of fan culture that can be used to transition the fangirl lifestyle into a career. 

Fangirls are the music industry's secret weapon. If an artist can get teenage girls on their side then their career is made. I think fangirls' passion and knowledge should be applauded rather than criticized. Music critic, Jessica Hopper once said, "Replace the word 'fangirl' with 'expert' and see what happens."