Fan-made time: How fans enjoy waiting
Fans create a block of time between the present and the anticipated.
If you are not a subscriber of The Fanbase Builder, join the dozens of artists, creators and music industry executives who receive it for free.
Let’s dive into today’s topic:
Fan-made time: How fans enjoy waiting
Nobody likes to wait, but fans know how to turn a long wait into an event to enjoy.
Why it matters
For people working in creative industries, it’s important to understand how fans enjoy the artists' creations. Such knowledge can help identify and influence strategic touchpoints in the communication between the brand and the fan.
How it works
Many music campaigns focus on the concepts of anticipation and speculation. For example:
Announcing an album and the campaign leading up to the release date.
Announcing a tour, the campaign leading up to the on-sale date, and the time in between purchasing a ticket and the event itself.
Rumours of major artists going on tour or releasing new music.
Fans predicting festival lineups.
Fan discussions about DJs playing 'IDs' at major shows.
Fandom academic Owain Gwynne introduced the concept of fan-made time in his philosophy PhD thesis at the University of Otago in New Zealand.
For two years, Gwynne analysed discussions on a popular Lord of the Rings website prior to the release of the first film in the ‘Hobbit’ trilogy. The film’s production faced many obstacles, including lengthy delays, a union strike and the departure of the original director. According to Gwynne’s thesis, these events appeared to be as emotionally engaging for fans as they expect the films themselves to be.
The pre-release period is a block of time that fans create, shape, and possess themselves. During this time, fans engage in speculation, frustration, debate, and discussion. The wait between the present and the anticipated transforms into a separate event: a special experience that's enjoyed as much as the release itself.
In her book Fangirls: Scenes from Modern Music Culture, author Hannah Ewens applies this concept to fangirls queueing for many hours for concerts. She describes the queueing as a ‘block of time created by fans’. By queueing, the girls extend the experience of a concert.
Yes, but..
It’s interesting that fans create their own enjoyable moments, almost totally separate from an artist’s creations. We like to believe that it’s all about art, but perhaps art is just a facilitator for community and experience.
Take action now
Gwynne argues that fan-made time should be considered separately from strategies of hype and marketing. I’d say that what strategists could do is facilitate fan-made time to be enjoyed. Monitor fan accounts on Instagram, TikTok, and Discord. Learn how to engage with them and send them some news once in a while.
Go deeper
Gwynne, O. (2017). Fan-made Time: Power and Play in the Production Paratext of The Hobbit (Thesis, Doctor of Philosophy). University of Otago. [link]
'Fan-made time' - a study of Hobbit fans (Otago Post)