Like turkey or sandwich bread, some traditions refuse to die. If, like MusiquePlus and Girls today, we associate them with a pre-social media era, fan clubs still exist, and some are thriving in new forms. A look at this practice which goes beyond fashion.
With a snap of her fingers, or rather of her keyboard, Line Basbous claims to be able to mobilize dozens, even hundreds of people to help her idol, Céline Dion. At the head of the Red Heads, a sort of supranational fan club of the Quebec diva, she is able to rally fervent admirers for “missions”, these public demonstrations of love for the pride of Charlemagne.
For example, last January, when the Rolling Stone had excluded Céline from its list of the 200 greatest singers of all time, around ten Red Heads took the road to New York to demonstrate in front of the magazine’s offices, with the connivance of host Julie Snyder .
“These kinds of actions make us laugh and make us proud,” explains Line Basbous. It costs almost nothing, it allows us to talk about Céline and maintain our image. »
For its part, Beatles Quebec, the Fab Four fan club in La Belle Province, has the luxury of publishing records from the group, even 50 years after its separation. Thanks to a peculiarity of Canadian copyright laws, the club was able to purchase the reproduction rights to Beatles material released in the country before 1965. Since 2020, it has released two compilation albums of the group remixed thanks to modern technology.
“We didn’t want to launch another compilation like we find in stores, another version ofShe Loves You…, explains Sébastien Tremblay, president of Beatles Quebec since 2018. We opted for compilations of songs that are just as good, but less mainstream, which people tended to forget. This way, we can stand out from the crowd. »
The Red Heads and Beatles Quebec are examples of the survival of fan clubs in the age of social networks. The two entities have become places of animation, both in the real and virtual world, but also of interactions between members.
“We witness the meeting of values and affinities, and this transforms into deeper relationships,” describes Line Basbous. Over time, we have seen couples form, marriage proposals, celebrations, unions and children born. »
Need to gather
It is this need to meet which is at the origin of fan clubs. “The idea is to want to find people who share the same interests as us, with the same intensity as us,” underlines Mélanie Millette, professor in the Department of Social and Public Communication at UQAM and specialist in fan studiesan academic field of study on fan behavior and practices.
“It’s the same basic impulse that brings Montreal Canadiens fans together to watch a game together in a bar. The idea is to share interests together, but also a moment. This need to come together, to find peers with whom we will share this passion, is increased by a degree of commitment that goes beyond the ordinary consumer. »
In his research, Mme Millette is particularly interested in the community of Swifties, these fans of Taylor Swift who appear in the digital world, particularly on social networks like TikTok and Instagram.
According to her, “it is the same identity logic” which is at work among all fans, regardless of the means of finding themselves and the generations involved.
The arrival of the Internet, however, has made it possible to exponentially increase interactions between fans, while helping to make “club” type organizations and their old paraphernalia like membership cards obsolete.
“The Internet has changed the social side and perhaps improved it. No more waiting for a public event to meet other fans. With the Internet, you are at home in your living room, and you can join a larger community of fans,” believes Sébastien Tremblay, who began getting involved with Beatles Quebec in the mid-1990s.
Since that time, the club has ditched its paper newsletter and migrated to an expanded website and waived annual membership fees. Its members are now hyperactive on Facebook, where they share content daily.
“Even 50 years after their separation, there is still something new stock who comes out,” exclaims Sébastien Tremblay, in reference to the song Now and Thengenerated in part by AI.
Out of sight…
Social media is also a lifeline for Celine Dion worshipers, deprived of their idol since she suffered from stiff person syndrome.
“For four to five years, it’s been sad: the pandemic, his health problems, the postponement of his tour, etc.,” confides Line Basbous, president of the Red Heads. We bond with the memories we have, which we constantly share,” notably the group’s Facebook page, which has more than 100,000 followers.
Virtual links can thus help satisfy admirers’ need for association, rain or shine, according to Mélanie Millette.
“Even if they are made from an individual point of view, publications on social networks are nevertheless part of a group logic, since they often respond to each other. Explicitly, we come to be part of a network, which has a collective dimension,” she says, citing the example of fans who share highlights of concerts or gatherings on TikTok for those who cannot be there.
“The collective is always present, explicitly or implicitly, especially in the musical world, very favorable for building links. The collective sense is still there. »