Had the chance to speak with the Economist a few weeks ago about a theory I have about the evolving role of fanship in the music industry:

To stay relevant, modern musicians need to build a social fabric: they want as many people as possible talking about the same thing. But they have to nourish their fans in an authentic way, says Kiran Gandhi, a former digital analyst for Interscope Records and a touring drummer for M.I.A, a rapper.

Social media grants a sense of entitlement that can raise questions about the relationships between bands and fans, according to Ms Gandhi. “Super fans evangelize,” she says. “But there’s that sense of growing narcissism, that all of these online tools enable fans to know they’re valuable to bands, that if they post about you, they think you’re the lucky one. If you don’t tweet back, you may appear negative in their eyes. And they can stop being your fan at any second because you didn’t give them that reaction and affirmation they’re used to.”