At a time when people risk being fined by the federal government, rather than pay for an artists’ music, loyalty, bordering on the obsessive, is essential for survival. A smart artist realizes that simply releasing quality music is no longer enough. Fans may play a record until the words are engrained in their minds, but artists need devoted followers to gain lasting power.
Die-hard fans will subscribe to an entire lifestyle. They happily follow the object of their obsession via every social networking site possible, will blow rent money to go to a show, and proudly wear a nickname bestowed on them by their artist of choice.
Just as the Grateful Dead encouraged the growth of the “Dead Heads” back in the 1970s, everyone from Nicki Minaj to Clay Aiken has realized the power of nicknaming their fans. Having a Dead Head-esque fanbase, willing to follow a tour from city to city for months on end, can keep a musician’s career alive for decades.
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Barbies-
Nicki Minaj’s habit of calling her fans “Barbies” probably gets the strongest, polarizing reactions from listeners. Her fans wear the nickname proudly, incorporating it into their Facebook middle names — we all know at least one Ashley ItsBarbieBish Jones — and Twitter usernames. On the other hand, other listeners seem to get personally offended whenever they hear the term “Barbie”, unless it’s printed on a Mattel box.
Nicki Minaj initially referred to herself as “the Harajuku Barbie”, combining her love of Harajuku culture and everything girly. Barbies tend to emulate the female rapper’s style by sewing neon-colored tracks in their hair, quoting her at random and referring to themselves as Barbies in regular conversation. The appeal of the nickname is clear. Since Mattel released the first Barbie doll in 1959, she’s been marketed as the woman that girls wants to be – attractive, fly and capable of being everything from a model to a paratrooper. Nicki wants to do the same.
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Little Monsters –
In her slightly-scary-but-still-fabulous fashion, Lady Gaga affectionately refers to her fans “Little Monsters.” The phenomenon first started during the “Manifesto of Little Monsters” interlude from her second studio album, The Fame Monster where she said,
‘…the real truth about Lady Gaga fans, my Little Monsters, lies in this sentiment: they are the kings, they are the queens, they write the history of the kingdom, and I am something of a devoted Jester.”
In February, Lady Gaga took her devotion to her Little Monsters a step further when she sent a Twitpic of a tattoo dedicated to her “Little Monsters.” Gaga tweeted, “Look what i did last night. little monsters forever, on the arm that holds my mic.” The move was perfectly weird enough to suit Gaga&rsq
