There have been many studies into the different types of music fans…basically, they can be broken down into four types… At the bottom of the pyramid are people who aren’t fans at all…they don’t like you or don’t care about you…they may not even know who you are…so for the purposes of this discussion, they don’t matter… The next level is casual fans…they sort of like you or your music, but they can take or leave what you’re selling…they have zero investment in your career… Going up another level, we have true fans…they love you enough that they’ll spend money on you…they’ll stream your music faithfully, buy physical product like CD’s or vinyl from time to time, probably own a t-shirt or two, and will go to your shows and have a very good time… At the very top are the superfans…superfans love, love, love you…they’re evangelists…they follow your every move…they’ll buy everything…they’ll get involved and donate to your charitable causes…and they’ll go to all of the shows…they may total 10% of your total fanbase but are the source of the majority of your income—like 60, 70, even 80%...they are the top of the fan pyramid… From there, though, we can cross over to the dark side…this is where we find the fantasists, the deluded, the obsessed, the trolls, and the insane…they are dangerous people, a threat to you and the people around you…and they show up when you least expect it…and if they break into your online world, that’s a whole new level of terror… Have I got a story for you…The Linkin Park cyberstalker. Show contact info: X (formerly Twitter): @AlanCross Website: curiouscast.ca Email: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices