Fan studies

Fan studies is an academic discipline that analyses fans, fandoms, fan cultures and fan activities, including fanworks. It is an interdisciplinary field located at the intersection of the humanities and social sciences, which emerged in the early 1990s as a separate discipline, and draws particularly on audience studies and cultural studies.

Definition and scope[]

Fan studies analyses fans, fandoms, fan cultures and fan activities,^[1][2] and provides a theoretical framework for investigating audience responses and fan-created works.^[1] It is an interdisciplinary field located at the intersection of the humanities and social sciences, which draws particularly on audience studies and cultural studies, but is also informed by diverse fields including literary theory, communication studies, anthropology, ethnography, psychology, media studies including feminist media studies, film studies, television studies, internet studies and queer theory, as well as the study of legal issues around copyright and fair use.^[1][3]

In its broadest definition, fan studies encompasses the study of fan culture and community, and associated fan activities, across a range of fandom types including media fandoms, music and celebrity fandoms, and sports and games fandoms, and covers both Western sources, such as Star Trek, Doctor Who and Star Wars, and non-western sources, such as anime, J-Pop and K-Pop.^[1] Some definitions focus on media fandom,^[2] and much study is limited to Western Anglophone sources, especially television and film.^[4] Fan activities of interest cover a wide range including joining fan clubs, attending fan conventions, visiting locations, exchanging spoilers, collecting and cosplay, as well as the creation of fanworks, such as fan fiction, fanzines, fan art, podcasts and fan vids.^[1][2] Fan studies also addresses common tropes in fanworks such as slash, hurt–comfort and Mary Sues.^[1][5]

History[]

Fan studies grew out of cultural studies research examining the reception of popular media by fans during the 1980s and early 1990s, drawing on work by Stuart Hall, John Fiske and others.^[1][2][5] The emphasis shifted towards examining works created by fans.^[2] The earliest academic publications in fan studies appeared in the mid-1980s;^[1] these include "Romantic myth, transcendence, and Star Trek zines", by Patricia Frazer Lamb and Diane Veith (1985 or 1986), and "Pornography by women, for women, with love", by Joanna Russ (1985).^[1][3][5][6] The fan historian Francesca Coppa draws attention to a 1975 book, Star Trek Lives!, by the non-academic authors Jacqueline Lichtenberg, Sondra Marshak and Joan Winston.^[6]

The field is generally considered to have been founded with a cluster of publications in 1992: Textual Poachers: Television Fans & Participatory Culture, by Henry Jenkins is considered particularly formative, and Enterprising Women: Television Fandom and the Creation of Popular Myth, by Camille Bacon-Smith, which pioneers an ethnographic approach, is also commonly cited.^[a] Other works from the same year included by some scholars include "Feminism, psychoanalysis, and the study of popular culture", by Constance Penley,^[1][2][6] and the collection The Adoring Audience, edited by Lisa A. Lewis,^[1][2][3] in particular the paper by Fiske, "The cultural economy of fandom".^[7]

Jonathan Gray, Cornel Sandvoss and C. Lee Harrington identified three waves of fan studies in 2007: ethnographic research, which views fans collectively; cultural studies, considering the "replication of social and cultural hierarchies within fan- and subculture ... as a reflection and further manifestation of our social, cultural, and economic capital"; and what Paul Booth terms "everyday fandom", where fandom is considered to be "part of the fabric of our everyday lives" and the study of fandom is used to gain understanding of contemporary life.^[8]

Early fan studies work often concentrated on the production of fan fiction, especially slash, and fanzines, largely within Anglophone cultures,^[2] and frequently focusing on areas of fandom dominated by women.^[3] The focus subsequently broadened to consider other fannish practices, particularly fanvidding and other forms of fan film-making, as well as the intellectual property issues that fanworks often raise.^[2] Some early researchers attempted to counter then-prevalent negative views of fans.^[2][5] Another thread is the effect of the emergence of the Internet.^[1][2] Jenkins and other first-wave researchers characterised fans as "resistant" or "subversive" consumers, considering fandoms to represent a "democratic and socially progressive response" to the media industry; these early studies have since been characterised as "utopian" by Matt Hills, Gray, Sandvoss and Harrington, and others. For example, Gray et al. denoted first-wave studies the "Fandom Is Beautiful" era.^[3][9]

Some research in the early 2000s shifted in focus from fan communities towards individual fans, and broadened the area of study outside media fandom; examples include the work of Hills, Sandvoss and Steven Bailey.^[1] The focus of later work broadened to encompass non-Anglophone cultures, especially Japanese anime and manga. Threads include fan labour, the gift economy, Web 2.0,^[2] and changes in relationships between fans and commercial producers, in association with fandom increasingly representing the mainstream,^[1][2][10] as well as the educational use of fan fiction, building on Jenkins' Convergence Culture (2006).^[1][2][5]

The Fan Studies Network was founded in 2012, to facilitate global connectivity in the field.^[11] Fan studies was described in 2014 as "still in its early stages".^[1]

A Revised Idea of Musicking in Modern Fan Studies[]

Definition of Christopher Small’s idea of musicking: In 1998, New Zealand-born musician, educator, lecturer, and author of a number of influential books and articles in the fields of musicology, sociomusicology and ethnomusicology, Christopher Small introduced the idea of musicking as referring to music as an action verb rather than a noun.

More specifically: "To music is to take part, in any capacity, in a musical performance, whether by performing, by listening, by rehearsing or practicing, by providing material for performance (what is called composing), or by dancing. We might at times even extend its meaning to what the person is doing who takes the tickets at the door or the hefty men who shift the piano and the drums or the roadies who set up the instruments and carry out the sound checks or the cleaners who clean up after everyone else has gone. They, too, are all contributing to the nature of the event that is a musical performance."

Keeping in mind this concept of musicking, it is crucial to link this to the academic discipline of fan studies. By highlighting the role of how fans engage with idols and other elements that go into a musical performance, analyzing fan “musicking'' allows for a deeper understanding of how fan activities contribute both positively and negatively to the overall music industry.

Expansion on the Original Definition of “Musicking:” Taking a closer look at how music is distributed and enjoyed today, it is now crucial to expand on Christopher Small’s original definition of musicking that focuses on a physical location for concerts. Now that forms of musical performance are often mediated through online platforms, such as YouTube and other streaming services, it is important to expand the context in which “musicking” applies to go beyond just the physical, in-person performance.

In developing a deeper understanding within fan studies and how fans interact with idols and their musical performances, it is therefore important to use how fans engage both in-person and virtually through “musicking.”

Technology in Modern Fan Studies and “Musicking”: The expanded version of “musicking” is particularly significant when considering the almost inseparable entanglement of music and technology today.

Online concerts: In particular, concert performances no longer depend on physical venues (i.e. online concert live streams have risen in popularity). With the impact of the global pandemic COVID-19 hitting in early 2020 and removing the ability of physically convening for musical performances, advanced technology within the music industry, in particular within K-pop, allowed for online concerts to reach millions of fans. As Ariel Shapiro notes in her Forbes article, concert streaming was a lifeline for the music industry during the pandemic. For example, BTS was able to reach over 1.33 million paying viewers from over 195 countries for their online concert MUSTER SOWOOZOO 2021, earning over $71 million in ticket sales and merchandise in June 2021. This is breaking their previous world record of 993,000 paying viewers over 191 countries for the Map of the Soul On:E online concert in October 2020 and 756,000 paying online audience for the BANG BANG CON: THE LIVE in June 2020. Despite the limitations of being unable to physically gather, fans were able to continue participating and engaging in the musical performance in “musicking.” Despite fans being unable to convene in-person during the pandemic, they engaged in similar forms of “musicking,” such as purchasing tickets and merchandise, which are also considered types of affective labor to support their favorite music artists.

Technological Impact as seen in East Asian Popular Music Literature: It is important to turn to the literature as well to see how fan, idol, and production company relationships are impacted by technology.

More specifically, in K-Pop Live: Fans, Idols, and Multimedia Performance, Kim Suk Young discusses how digital media plays a role in impacting “liveness” in the K-pop industry. In particular, Kim Suk Young notes how K-pop as a genre is “specifically cultured for digital media has a direct impact on the K-pop idols’ training process, as testified by Neil Hannigan, who attended SM Entertainment’s global audition in the New York City area and ended up spending some time as a trainee of the largest K-pop entertainment company.” She further details how there are weekly evaluations with trainees on how they perform and interact with multiple cameras for a music video. Therefore in her book, Kim Suk Young focuses her studies on “liveness” as a “technological, ideological, and affective mode in which human subjects interact with other human and nonhuman subjects in the digital age.”

Another key component in her study of “liveness” is the key tension between the concepts of “liveness” and “mediatization,” especially with the increasing usage of portable electronic devices as a primary form of producing and consumption of K-pop. For example, fans that attend exciting live concerts nowadays even disrupt the performance through their naked eyes by recording and looking through a phone camera or when they are sitting so far away from the stage that they are only really seeing idols faces on projected screens in the stadium. Therefore the “liveness” in the concert is “mediatized,” showing how it is difficult to separate live from mediatized. Therefore in studying the way fans interact and the feeling of “liveness” experienced through musical performances is inseparable from media and technology.

Looking now at “Japanese Popular Music: Culture, Authenticity, and Power,” Stevens discusses Carolyn S. Steven discusses how technology can also be used to help create connections between fans and idols. In particular, Stevens discusses the challenges of creating a sense of “intimacy and authentic connection” for artists who commonly perform in larger arena style stages. However, Stevens explains her experience attending over 40 Alfee concerts and events from 1992 to 1998 and how performance imperfection that is made visible through technology (such as large screens) helps humanize the highly trained idols. Although this imperfection factor is not directly a result of technology usage, screens that magnify these slip ups during musical performance help fans experience the more humanizing moments of their idols, creating a sense of intimacy to further foster the relationship between fans and idols. Because both Kim Suk Young and Steven’s discussion on “liveness,” “mediatization,” and intimacy are all heavily intertwined with technology and help academics paint when analyzing fan studies overall in the 21st century.

Examples of Fan “Musicking:”

Street teams: This form of fan “musicking” describes a group of people who “hit the streets” to market an event, product or artist. This strategy originated largely with smaller record label companies responding to larger monopolistic record distributors trying to shut out rap and smaller music labels from the radio and mass distribution due to public stigma. In particular, entertainment labels utilized street teamers as an affordable and highly effective bridge to their target audiences that did not require traditional outlets, such as paper advertisements, radio, TV interviews, etc. Instead record labels and production companies would try to identify a “tastemaker” or influential teen fan to act as a bridge to their respective neighborhood. Because of their strong influence over other teenagers, the “tastemakers” of the street teamers help introduce newer artists that are up and coming or trending, spreading broader awareness to the artists and their music. “Tastemakers” are motivated either because they are already a fan or as a stepping stone to enter the music industry and establish a relationship with the record company. This form of fan “musicking” is particularly complex because of this dynamic between the production company and the fans. On one hand, production companies could be taking advantage of fans to promote their artists. However, it can also be argued that street teamer fans are able to gain more of a foothold in the music industry as well through this relationship. Therefore, the pros and cons to the dynamic between the production company and fans that stems from this form of “musicking,” it helps shed light on how fan studies involve multiple complex stakeholders.

Fansubbing: One significant form of fan “musicking” across the years has been fansubbing, which is the act of fans translating the lyrics or words of original music videos, interviews, etc. into other languages (rather than having an officially licensed translation by a company.) Before music videos and reality shows across the globe included subtitles and subtitle translations into various languages, fansubbers divided up tasks to tackle the large project of making music and content more accessible to all. Fans therefore are able to directly engage with the musical works of their favorite musicians by putting in energy and care into translating the words and their meaning. This form of “musicking” can strengthen the bond between the fans and artists as they have invested more time into the process and feel a sense of intimacy of having contributed in a sense to the musical process. Fansubbing also allows for more audiences around the world to gain access and develop an appreciation and bond with artists around the world. Despite differences in background, music has historically been a unifying force regardless of race, religion, and other factors – fansubbing is crucial to allowing more people around the world discover common ground through music. In addition, by coming together to translate artists’ works, fans form valuable connections and create communities with a shared passion for an artist. Therefore, not only does fansubbing contribute to the overall circulation and accessibility of music around the world, but it shows the power of community and togetherness that is central to fan studies. Because of this, fansubbing as a form of “muscking” should therefore be considered in both part of the study of music and its fans overall.

Fan comments on Music Videos (MVs):

In addition to fan “musicking” through fansubbing, another important way to understand fans is by observing their comments to music videos (MVs). By tracking and observing both positive and negative comments of fans, it is important feedback in understanding fandoms overall. For example, the MV currently with the most number of comments on YouTube is BTS’ Dynamite with over 16 million comments. From the comments, we can observe a few key components. The first is that the comments are in a variety of languages, showing the broad reach of the BTS ARMY globally, bringing in various cultures and languages into the mix when studying the fandom. Another key component that fans are responding to is the visuals of the band, in particular the new hair colors and their overall attractiveness of the boys. A novelty that is seen particularly in East Asian popular music bands is the changing of hair color. While in some cultures, it may be seen as too feminine or unattractive for men to have pink hair, the comments on the music video show how this component is something fans are drawn to and contributes to the novelty of the group. Keeping this observation of what fans are responding to in mind, BTS and other bands may continue surprising their fans with new hair colors to foster that aspect of fan engagement. Another popular comment in the comments was that the video and lyrics help bring a smile to fans faces and act as a stress reliever during difficult times, posted during the COVID-19 pandemic times. After observing this the overall sentiment fans, BTS can and may have used this understanding to inform their album “BE” which was released during the COVID-19 pandemic where the members sing more in depth the struggles of quarantine isolation, the stress and struggles, as well as provide songs with more uplighting melodies and tempos that create a similar effect to Dynamite’s liveliness. Therefore fan “musicking” through comments on MVs allow us to gain a better understanding of what attracts and potentially detracts from fans appreciation with idols, and how this dynamic is constantly changing as idols and fans respond to each other’s preferences – ultimately this shows how dynamic the music industry is and will be in the future.

TikTok and Youtube Fan Videos:

With the rise of TikTok usage in particular during the COVID-19 pandemic and many people in lockdown, one form of fan “musicking” has been fans creating compilation videos of their artists. For example, some fan-created videos include excerpts of their favorite lines from a song or a compilation of funny moments from interviews with the musicians. By studying what lyrics and moments resonate with fans give academics examining fan studies a deeper understanding of the popular sentiment of fans and what aspects of popular artists are most effective in reaching broader audiences. In addition, this fan “musicking” gives artists and production companies a better understanding of how to better connect with fans as they observe common themes that resonate with fans, such as lyrics with themes, such as self-love and mental health. In addition, the circulation of these videos also allows for more audiences to learn about what current fans appreciate about these popular artists and potentially hook in new audiences into the fandom. Therefore, by studying the nature of fan created videos as a form of “musicking” and their circulation allows academics of fan studies better understand the relationship between the fans, idols, and production companies and certain features that bond them all together.

Broader Implications of Fan “Musicking”[]

Ultimately, discussing the concept of “musicking” as a core component of the academic discipline of fan studies allows us to better understand three main takeaways: 1) fan agency 2) power of community and 3) impact on the circulation of music.

With “musicking,” fans engagement through the various mediums mentioned earlier gives agency to the fans. Rather than being viewed as just consumers of music, “musicking” allows us to challenge that notion and show how fans are able to contribute value and find their own voice within the industry. Furthermore, fans are often able to establish new communities through acts of “musicking,” such as seen with street teamers and fansubbers discussed earlier. The power of community is seen when fans come together to make contributions well beyond what was perceived to be possible. For example, in June 2020, BTS’ ARMY came together as a community to fundraise $1 Million to match BTS’ donation to Black Lives Matter. The power of fan communities in this case pushes into the realms of social justice and making a lasting impact through “musicking.” Lastly, “musicking” shows how fans contribute significantly to circulation and accessibility of music around the world. Especially with fan subbers, their translations were some of the first ways that allowed for the globalization of music to make an impact as fans around the world were now able to understand the lyrics of a song in another language. Therefore, “musicking” acts as a foundational piece for understanding how fans, idols, and production companies interact and ultimately how fans make an impact on the overall musical landscape.

Specialist journals[]

Four issues of Intensities: The Journal of Cult Media appeared in 2001–7.^[2] Transformative Works and Cultures, an open-access publication from the Organization for Transformative Works, was founded in 2008 and described as "thriving" in 2012.^[2][6][12] A more recently founded publication is the Journal of Fandom Studies.^[8][7]

Bibliography[]

A chronological selection of some notable works include:

• Star Trek Lives!, by Jacqueline Lichtenberg, Sondra Marshak and Joan Winston (1975);^[6]
• "Romantic myth, transcendence, and Star Trek zines", by Patricia Frazer Lamb and Diane Veith (1985 or 1986);^[1][3][5][6]
• "Pornography by women, for women, with love", by Joanna Russ (1985);^[1][3][5][6]
• Textual Poachers: Television Fans & Participatory Culture, by Henry Jenkins (1992);^{[1][2][5][6][7]}
• Enterprising Women: Television Fandom and the Creation of Popular Myth, by Camille Bacon-Smith (1992);^{[1][2][5][6][7]}
• "Feminism, psychoanalysis, and the study of popular culture", by Constance Penley (1992);^[1][2][6]
• The Adoring Audience, edited by Lisa A. Lewis (1992);^[1][2][3]
• "The cultural economy of fandom", by John Fiske (1992);^[7]
• Star Trek Fans and Costume Art, by Heather R. Joseph-Witham (1996) (on cosplay);^[2]
• "Legal fictions: Copyright, fan fiction, and a new common law", by Rebecca Tushnet (1997);^[6]
• Theorizing Fandom: Fans, Subculture and Identity, edited by Cheryl Harris and Alison Alexander (1998);^[7]
• Audiences: A Sociological Theory of Performance and Imagination, by Nicholas Abercrombie and Brian Longhurst (1998) (introduces the spectacle/performance paradigm);^[1][2]
• Tune In, Log On: Soaps, Fandom, and Online Community, by Nancy K. Baym (2000);^[2]
• "The sex lives of cult television characters", by Sara Gwenllian Jones (2002);^[1][5][6]
• Fan Cultures, by Matt Hills (2002);^[1][2][4]
• The Democratic Genre: Fan Fiction in a Literary Context, by Sheenagh Pugh (2005);^[2][5][6]
• Cyberspaces of Their Own: Female Fandoms Online, by Rhiannon Bury (2005);^[2][5][6]
• "'Digital Get Down': Postmodern boy band slash and the queer female space", by Kristina Busse (2005);^[5]
• Fans: The Mirror of Consumption, by Cornel Sandvoss (2005);^[1][2]
• Media Audiences and Identity: Self-construction and the Fan Experience, by Steven Bailey (2005);^[1]
• Fan Fiction and Fan Communities in the Age of the Internet, edited by Busse and Karen Hellekson (2006);^[1][2][6]
• "Archontic literature: A definition, a history, and several theories of fan fiction", by Abigail Derecho (2006);^[2][5]
• Fans, Bloggers, and Gamers: Exploring Participatory Culture, by Jenkins (2006);^[7]
• Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide, by Jenkins (2006);^[3][5][7]
• Fandom: Identities and Communities in a Mediated World, edited by Jonathan Gray, Sandvoss and C. Lee Harrington (2007);^[1][2][5]
• Adolescents and Online Fan Fiction, by Rebecca W. Black (2008);^[1][2][5]
• "Limit play: Fan authorship between source text, intertext, and context", by Louisa E. Stein and Busse (2009);^[5]
• Otaku: Japan's Database Animals, by Hiroki Azuma (translated by Jonathan E. Abel and Shion Kono; 2009);^[2]
• "A Fannish Taxonomy of Hotness", by Francesca Coppa (2009) (on fanvids);^[2]
• "A Fannish Field of Value: Online Fan Gift Culture" by Hellekson (2009);^[2]
• "Should Fan Fiction Be Free?", by Abigail De Kosnik (2009);^[2]
• "Spreadable Media: How Audiences Create Value and Meaning in a Networked Economy", Joshua Green and Jenkins (2011);^[2]
• "Fuck Yeah, Fandom Is Beautiful", by Coppa (2014) (a response to Gray, Sandvoss and Harrington; 2007).^[3]

References[]