How Kris Wu beat Grande on iTunes chart with help from China’s fan economy

The success of this multibillion-dollar “fan economy” has been so profound that Chinese brands are now actively trying to profit from it

American pop star Ariana Grande had every reason to expect that her new single, “Thank U, Next,” would race to the top of the U.S. charts when it was released earlier this month. When she checked iTunes after its release, though, she met with a surprise. Kris Wu, a superstar in China, not only |BS| had the No. 1 spot on the iTunes’ singles chart but also seven of the top 10 songs. It was an extraordinary achievement for an artist with almost no North American profile, and Grande and her camp weren’t buying it. Rumors started flying on social media that “bots” were behind Wu’s chart dominance.

Skeptics were right about one thing: There was an organized effort to boost Wu’s sales. But it was organized by Chinese fans who spent their own money to push him up the U.S. charts, not music promoters or programmers.Click Here – Ariana Grand

The campaign wasn’t unusual, either. For years, Chinese fans have gone beyond simply buying the music of their favorite stars and engaged in organized mass efforts to boost their chart positions and brand equity, and to influence their artistic decisions. Fans of the Chinese boy band TFboys have, among other activities, bought up an entire run (120,000 copies) of Harper’s Bazaar featuring a member on the cover, purchased billboards in Times Square to wish happy birthday to another member, and prepared custom textbooks for yet another member when he was prepping for China’s college entrance exam.[Business Standard] 

The success of this multibillion-dollar “fan economy” has been so profound that Chinese brands are now actively trying to profit from it. Western companies looking to break into the mainland market would be wise to pay heed.

The origins of China’s fan economy — roughly defined as the value and revenue generated by the interactions between fans and stars — predates social media. In 2005, a scrappy provincial television station launched the “Mongolian Cow Sour Yogurt Super Girl Contest,” an American Idol knock-off. [Read Full]