1,000 True Fans

Kevin Kelly is a tech-thinking guy who founded Wired Magazine and has done lots of writing about technology over the years. One of his thoughts that I just came upon has to do with the distribution of work by artists. He thinks it is possible for artists to have just 1,000 True Fans to make a living. What's a 'True Fan'?

A True Fan is defined as someone who will purchase anything and everything you produce. They will drive 200 miles to see you sing. They will buy the super deluxe re-issued hi-res box set of your stuff even though they have the low-res version. They have a Google Alert set for your name. They bookmark the eBay page where your out-of-print editions show up. They come to your openings. They have you sign their copies. They buy the t-shirt, and the mug, and the hat. They can't wait till you issue your next work. They are true fans.

He goes on to say that much of this requires a lot of direct fan contact management, which requires taking advantage of lots of the new technologies for keeping people updated with your biz, like Twitter and Facebook. Keep them engaged, let them know what you're doing, and keep them hungry.

It's an interesting read, with lots of interesting comments to the post. Give it a look here.