Taxing Fan Loyalty

Larger than life artists are exactly like large corporations, they have to be concerned with the fan, who is their customer. However, in recent years these corporations/artists have turned their backs on their fans as we have been hosed with the $20 cd, the $20 service charge and lawsuits. There is no big picture focus in the music industry. Instead there are a bunch of "yes" men working for these artists who are bleeding every last cent out of the fans and it's beginning to show. Just five-years ago I saw a band I will refer to as "Artist A". "Artist A" rocked 60,000 people to their core over two nights. This artist was at the top of their game and they brought a killer package out on the road with them at affordable prices. Just a few weeks ago, I saw "Artist A" once again and less than one-fifth of the crowd witnessed a stellar performance. Even though they were charging more in a smaller venue, they couldn't sell it out. One good friend who has seen this artist twenty-plus times in the last decade sat this one out and when I asked him why, he told me "Tony, I'm sick of paying these ridiculous prices". Here's a guy who five-years ago swore he would never miss a show by this act and yet he sat this one out without even thinking twice. This artist hasn't had a big picture focus in quite some time and as a result, some of their most devout fans are not just missing shows, but have moved on to other acts because they feel they have been taken advantage of.

Relationships with customers are fragile and we live in a world where we are always trying to redefine them. People leave companies, new names and faces make the job with large customers challenging to move forward. However, there are always a core group of clients I know my company can depend on. They've been doing business with us for years and let me tell you, there are a sense or urgency and loyalty with these clients because even though the sales officer may never hit a grand slam with them breaking sales records, they know they can always depend on them for a certain amount of business yearly.

This should be the same relationship artists have with their fans. You are never going to sell ten-million records every time out of the gate and trying to be a mistake. It'll lead to disgruntled fans and more importantly, lack of credibility for the artist. Can anyone tell me the last great single Michael Jackson had? Jackson got high off of the success of 'Thriller' and wanted to be bigger. His follow-ups, while not entirely bad, didn't quite reach the soaring heights 'Thriller' did and there's nothing wrong with that, but Jackson wanted more. Instead of writing from his gut, following his instinct and keeping Quincy Jones on board as a producer, Jackson tried to copy and follow trends which go against what made him so popular in the first place. Regardless of what has occurred in his personal life, his music was on a downswing. On the flipside is Bruce Springsteen. After selling upwards of 30 million records worldwide with 'Born In The USA', Bruce turned inward and released the introspective and brooding 'Tunnel of Love' in 1987. It didn't sell as well as 'Bad' or even Jackson's follow-up 'Dangerous', but the album is a cult classic two-decades later and more importantly, Springsteen can still fill arenas nationwide. He may not be able to crack the Top-40 any longer, but he still has his credibility and has grossed more in the last five-years of his career than Jackson did in the last fifteen.

Relationships with fans and clients are very fragile. If the lead on my account ignored a long standing relationship for another client who would bring in more money in the short term versus the long term, that long standing relationship would be in doubt. My general rule of thumb is to always give the proper attention and detail to the reliable and more importantly, loyal client. These are the clients that keep you employed and will keep you afloat during lean years by buying products and services no one else will. When you go for the grand slam deal, there's no guarantee that client will be around in a year or two and even worse, will the contacts at that client move on leaving you with an up hill battle?

Over the last few years I have noticed one artist who has continually gone for the out of the park grand slam. I know this because every time this artist, who I will refer to as "Artist B", does something discouraging to the fans, I get dozens of emails from disgruntled "customers". "Artist B" wasn't always as big as they are now and in the not too distant past some of their concerts had "Buy one ticket get three free" types of deals. However, despite these lean years they had a very loyal following that followed their every move and often traveled with the band city to city on their tours. Now that they have a higher profile they have rewarded these long standing fans with a client experience that is not just appalling, but catastrophic. Just in the last week, these members found out that future ticket sales through their fan club would include a convenience fee of $45 added to every ticket above the face value of the price. To say my inbox flooded with responses is like saying Moses parted a pond. I've never seen such anger, frustration and vehemence towards a fan club like the emails I received. I wasn't surprised because I saw this coming.

Here is the fault of "Artist B". They need to put their most loyal fans ahead of everyone. Plain and simple. They must exceed expectations because the prices and service fees they are instituting will drive these fans away in droves. More importantly, they are alienating their core base. These are fans that will fight for this artist and follow them down any path. However, they have come to the realization that quick money grabs like this and auctions means that it is all about the money and has very little to do with the music. One such fan emailed me telling me that they can no longer enjoy the music because they feel like "Artist B" is "a hypocrite of the worse kind". More expensive tickets and service fees result in fewer shows attended by not just the faithful but by everyone. As a result, is anyone surprised record sales are down 50% from a decade ago? Look at "Artist A" mentioned above. They've seen their concert sales decline over 60%. Fewer people seeing concerts=fewer records, DVD's and T-shirts sold. Not a smart business plan.

Once the relationship between band and fan is destroyed, it will most likely never be repaired. These fans will mend their broken heart by hopping back on the saddle and finding someone else whose music is not only just as good but whom will treat them with loyalty and respect. Relationships live and die on respect and "Artist A and B" have shown none to the fans as of late recently based on the emails I have received. Now, instead of chastising the fans and saying they are "overreacting", maybe the organization that runs these fan clubs should sit back and begin to rethink their strategy. It's not too late. Let me give you three examples, all involving ticket sales, of how bad press has affected fan clubs recently.

#1 The Rolling Stones
In 2002 the Rolling Stones partnered with Sam Goody and charged $50 to gain exclusive access to a pre-ordering system designed to assist with the fan experience. It wound up being a nightmare and as a result the Stones refunded the $50 fee to anyone who did not get tickets. However, I do not know of a single person who ever thought of doing that deal ever again because of the bad press and bad experience and it was no surprise that this service was not widely adopted.

#2 The Police
Earlier this year, the Police charged $100 for their fan club and when fans logged on they found out they had access to the worse seats in the house. Now, despite protests and numerous articles written about this experience, no apologies were made by the band and they did nothing to improve the process as the tour went on. It was the ultimate act of disrespect and one they will never recover from. They will be the number-one grossing tour of the year, but NO ONE will pay those prices for tickets in the future and more importantly, none of them will ever join a fan club by this organization ever again. It boils down to this once again, what is more important, the quick buck or sustaining a long term relationship? To the Police it was all about the money and nothing more.

#3 U2
In early 2005, U2 put their shows on-sale and the pre-sale for their fan club was messy, disorganized and flat out disrespectful. Their previous fan club, Propaganda, while it had flaws, attempted to provide a unique connection between band and fan. The online ticketing system for the fan club was a faux pas of immense proportions. In short, I did buy a pair of tickets but when I bought a pair for a friend a few days later, his were better. The fans were disgruntled and the press got wind of it and in short, the band was crucified in the press. It came to light that due to the on again/off again nature of the tour (one of the band members had an ill family member) that the band admitted to not paying attention to the fan club sale.

Despite the public backlash, when U2 won a Grammy a few weeks later, drummer Larry Mullen went up to the microphone and made a public apology for what happened. This is important for a couple of reasons. Not only was it an acknowledgement from the biggest band on the planet that they messed up, but they did so during the Grammy's to make sure people knew they had apologized. Screw well worded press releases, but here is a guy who despises the limelight (Larry Mullen) taking responsibility, being the sacrificial lamb and apologizing. Some say that love is what makes the world go round. I say by forgiving someone you love. U2 apologized and because they did it with class, we forgave them and I didn't seem to care that I had four very lousy sets of seats.

Seriously, how often do you see an artist apologize timely for a mistake they made? Have we seen a press release from Springsteen about his management's disastrous handling of the GA situation? When an artist calls a performance in, do they go on their website and apologize or offer a refund? No, but U2 did. They continued their good will the following year when they took 20% off the membership fee (down to $32) and sent a free cd with some live tracks on it. They one-upped themselves the following year when they again offered a 20% discount and included an entire concert performance on 2 CD's from their 1993 tour. Sure, it was a radio broadcast most die-hard U2 fans would have, but the point was they tried. Because they tried and put a little extra effort into this, the fan feels appreciated and as a result, we will buy tickets for the next tour and most likely not remember the gargantuan mistakes of 2005.

About a month ago a friend of mine walked into an Apple store with an iPod that had stopped working. After a diagnostic test, the technician told him it was dead. There was a look of disappointment on my friends face. The technician asked him when he bought it, upon which my friend replied "June of 2006" (iPods have a warranty of twelve-months). The technician, went into a drawer, pulled out a new one and looked at my friend and said "If I heard you correctly, you said October 2006, right?" Now, that is customer service! A company like Apple realizes how fragile customers can be so they believe in servicing them and going above and beyond for them.

"Artist A" and "Artist B" have done no such things for their fan. In fact, they've widely disrespected them. "Artist A" is charging a four-figure sum to meet them, while "Artist B" has ignored all pleas from their fans for a better run organization. "Artist A" and "Artist B" have a serious problem on their hands because their customers are revolting. The members of the fan club for "Artist B" have even started an online petition because of their dissatisfaction. However, many have confided to me that they are scared to sign it for fear of being banned from the fan club. When a customer revolts and no action is taken, the next step is having them walk out the door. I must admit, I walked out the door for both of these acts a while ago when it became abundantly clear that they care more about appeasing suits rather than fans. These fans have spent their life savings following, supporting and enabling these two artists to live their lives the way they do and they deserve better.

There will come a day when a younger, more energetic artist will come around and capture the imagination of one of these fans and when they treat them with the respect they deserve, it's when they will leave "Artist A" and Artist B" in the dust. When this happens, you will see your attendance and record sales dwindle to sizes smaller than your respective fan clubs.

Please come back next week for Part 2 of our look into Fan Clubs

Anthony Kuzminski can be found at The Screen Door

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