Your Own Social Media Platform
Now that the majority of us are stuck at home, we’re perhaps more reliant than ever on our devices for entertainment and we’re certainly not stuck for choice. In fact, it’s hard to know what content to engage with.
The One World: Together At Home event saw rock n roll royalty The Rolling Stones perform on a bill that included other megastars Beyonce, Lady Gaga, Billie Eilish and Sir Paul McCartney. In fact, we’ve seen countless artists and celebrities engaging with their audiences over the last few weeks, at a level
they’d never dream of in normal circumstances, but why?
Or more importantly, why now?
Just like us normal folk, they have realised the value in communities. The emotional value of feeling connected in a time of crisis and that special feeling of engaging one on one with someone amid an ocean of throwaway culture – one more Tiger King meme and my phone is going out the window.
But most of these artists have had global audiences for a long time, way before this happened – but what happens when this is all over- is it enough to just swing into town every few years, sell out an arena and move on to the next? Is social media alone really providing the level of connection fans look for these days?
Leading tech entrepreneur and founder of FanCircles, Kevin Brown, has understood the fractured and malnourished nature of social media platforms for some time now. For artists, he has recognised the need for a hub to build their communities around, a place where like minded people can congregate and truly be part of something. Any fans of Robbie Williams, Neck Deep, The Pearl Harts or British legends UB40 (to name a few) will tell you that the custom fan engagement platform have been providing them with just that – a place to be. Far from the noise and desperate clambering for attention, they are free to be a fan of an artist in the truest sense, immersed and engaged, supporting and being supported.
“We provides an fan platforms for a wide range of artists and personalities in music and beyond, which essentially gives them their own direct to fan channel away from social media and the major streaming services. That’s not to say we’re on some crazy mission to bring these companies down - quite the opposite, we want artists to have somewhere for all those roads to lead to rather than taking fans around in circles, through social network after social network. We’re all creatives ourselves and wanted to make it easy for artists to control their own content without getting bogged down in tech and the analytics that go with it - more time to create and share. We are the missing link in the ecosystem. Fancircles bridges the gap between social media, streaming and retail. A perfect solution for artists at any stage of their career with support from a team of music obsessives who have complete understanding of the evolving music and tech marriage.
Exclusive content, personal messages, exclusive ticket and merch preorders all give your fan community platform the feel of a traditional fan club.
But something has evolved…
Just last week, the members of UB40 performed live for their subscribers, reaching all four corners of the world, making full use of the platform’s Live Broadcast features. This has allowed artists to dial in from their respective locations and use top quality camera and sound equipment – elevating the
experience from singing into an iPhone, to something much more compelling and
worthy of audience attention and money.
Speaking of money
Right now is bloody hard for everyone. We won’t dwell on how messed up this situation is, but instead highlight the opportunity that FanCircles presents to artists at every level. To be able to directly sell to fans, to engage and encourage mutual support, to show what the monthly subscription fee will go towards. Many artists don’t realise they already have a business, it’s their talent! Kevin and all the guys at FanCircles are passionate about enabling artists and creating strong communities, whose engagement figures would withstand an intensive audit (unlike some we’d best not mention) – real, honest, valuable, emotionally and financially beneficial bonds between artist and fan.
It’s patronage for the 21st century, in the form of artist to fan platforms.
Author: Kevin Brown
Kevin, the CEO of FanCircles, is a serial entrepreneur with extensive experience in both the tech and music industries. He has managed arena-level artists and founded Affiliate Window (Awin.com), which he successfully exited in 2012 after its acquisition by Axel Springer. Recognizing the needs of artists and labels to connect directly with fans, he embarked on the journey of establishing FanCircles.
