The Importance of Fan Engagement for Artists and Fans

By Rebecca Sobrevilla

Have you had an unforgettable interaction with one of your favorite artists? While establishing an artist-fan relationship is an exciting concept for listeners, it is equally as important to the artist's career. 

Fan Engagement

Fan-engagement is when an artist interacts with their fans before, during or after an event. These interactions can be in the form of meet and greets, reading signs, contests and more. Fan-engagement has also increased immensely through digital platforms. Liking, commenting and DMing have become new ways for artists to engage with their fandoms. Multiple artists also have community chats and discord and broadcast channels to have a direct line of communication with fans.

The purpose of fan-engagement is to create a personal bond and strengthen the relationship between the artist and the fan. Establishing these personal connections can mean a great deal for the success and sustainability of an artist's career. It creates an impact on everything from tour sales, streaming numbers and overall brand identity. Some artists also appreciate these connections as they rely on feeding off the energy of others. 

As a huge fangirl myself, I’ve been fortunate to have so many great interactions with my favorite artists, whether it be online or in person. From a fan’s perspective, something as simple as a like on social media or a wave of acknowledgement at a show can really go a long way. There have been multiple occasions on which my love and support for an artist has amplified in response to interactions with them 

Personal Fan-Experiences

One of the best fan-experiences I’ve had occurred at an Aidan Bissett concert this past April in Sacramento, CA. Aidan is a rising indie artist who made a name for himself by sharing his music on TikTok. With some of his songs going viral on social media platforms, he signed his first record deal with Capitol Records in High School. Since then, he has released multiple singles and three EPs. While I’m a huge fan of his music, I’ve always admired his persona and how interactive he is with fans. From responding to comments, interacting with posts, DMs and more, he has been consistently engaging with his followers from the start of his career. 

From seeing the relationship he builds with fans and his overall charismatic character, I was inspired to create a memorable interaction for him and myself at this concert. Leading up to the show, I decided to bring a sign that said: “Rock, Paper, Scissors? I win, I go on stage with you (for one song).” Since it’s a pretty bold proposition, I truly wasn’t expecting anything to come of it. Little did I know that the sign I had made that day would lead to such an unforgettable moment. 

When Aidan initially saw the sign, he looked intrigued and motioned that he would get to it soon. He sang two songs after reading it, so I figured he had forgotten. Sure enough, as the band continued on to the next number on the setlist, he stopped them. He then read the sign aloud and said he’d never seen a sign like that before and was up for the challenge. 

Although I lost twice, he was kind enough to still let me join him on stage to sing “Out of My League", which, coincidentally, is one of my favorite songs of his. This moment felt surreal to happen in such a wayI would not be surprised if this track will be the top song on my 2024 Apple Music Replay due to the amount of times I’ve replayed it since this event. Surprisingly, I was able to stay calm throughout the performance, sing all the lyrics correctly and most importantly, enjoy the moment. 

To add to this amazing experience, I was also able to meet him before and after the show, as well as getting autographs, and have him repost the video of us on stage. Not many artists take the time and effort to go above and beyond like this for their fans. Because of this, I left that show with further respect and appreciation for Aidan and his team. Now I'm eagerly looking forward to his new music, upcoming shows and hopefully a rock, paper, scissors rematch (this time just for fun and for my pride). 

Another standout fan-experience I’ve had happened with artist Jonah Marais. Jonah jump started his career with the popular boy band Why Don’t We. The band formed in 2016 and announced a break in 2022. Since then, each member, including Jonah, has been working on solo projects. Jonah recently had his first solo project release in June 2024 and is touring his music this Fall. He is another perfect example of an artist who goes the extra mile for his fans. From reposts, DMs, following sprees, calling fans, hosting events and more, the amount of online and in-person engagement he does is truly remarkable and unlike most artists.

With Jonah in particular, I have been able to experience his kindness through interactions on multiple occasions. In 2021, my sister and I met him at a baseball game in Modesto, CA. Here, we were able to talk to him for a while and he even asked to take a selfie with us, which he later posted to his Instagram story saying, “just met the sweetest fans at the game.” At this point, this was one of our first interactions with an artist we loved, and he went out of his way to make it a special moment for us and it made us love him even more. 

Fast forward 3 years later, we won the opportunity to attend a fan event with Jonah at the 997NOW radio station in the Bay Area. This event was created for fans to meet him, hear previews of his upcoming solo music, and ultimately hang out with him in the studio as he answered questions in person and on-air. Not only were we excited to reunite with him, but we were also curious to see if he happened to remember us from a couple years prior. To further enhance our experience, we had the opportunity to talk to him on-air about memories we’ve had as fans and meeting him at the baseball game in Modesto, which he shockingly remembered. He even commented on how much older my sister looked.  

What really stood out to me about this event and the whole interaction was the fact that it was truly genuine. It wasn’t a typical meet and greet where you only take a picture and move on. He made sure to include every single person in attendance and make them feel special. It really felt like one big hangout. Creating events like this is something he has done a lot recently. With having a busy schedule, he still finds time to have these engaging moments with fans. It’s artists like these that remind me why I love being a fangirl so much. 

Conclusion

Since I am so passionate about music and my favorite artists, these interactions truly mean the world to me. The bond between a fan and their favorite artist can be so special through the power of fan engagement. Thank you to all the artists who take the time to create these memorable interactions with their fans.