Keep scrolling for the latest scandal rocking the ASMR community.
Sorry, Wall Street: Fangirls Run The Economy
From packing stadiums to shattering streaming records, fangirls wield significant economic influence, shaping trends and determining the success of brands. In a recent article for Bustle, Steffi Cao explores the power of the "fangirl economy."
While corporations and businesses have long recognised (and exploited) fangirls, pop culture has evolved, with this demographic emerging as more influential than ever.
“Last summer’s double-header of Swift’s Eras tour and Beyoncé’s Renaissance tour marked a turning point,” Cao reflects. “These weren’t just high-grossing tours; they were full-on stan tours, complete with unofficial dress codes and community-building activities.”
The fangirl economy diverges from the internet's "attention economy," which treats human attention as a hot commodity. Fangirls, by contrast, are almost too invested in their faves, both economically and otherwise.
“The attention economy is the brief focus on nearly any subject as algorithms focus on engagement,” assistant professor of media studies, Jamie Cohen explains. “The fangirl economy is far more powerful because a small group of passionate users is far more valuable than millions of flash-in-the-pan trend followers.”
With their consistent engagement and a strong sense of community, fangirls can influence marketing strategies and inspire new products.
Yet, the fangirl economy is not without its risks. Fangirls, known for their passionate loyalty, can also shift their allegiances abruptly. This fickleness, as seen in the rise and fall of trends on BookTok and BookTwt, can be a double-edged sword for creators.
“I’ve also seen the potential of people’s novels diminish or lose popularity because of nuanced situations or negative actions of the author, especially in an online space” Wattpad author, Nicole Nwosu tells the journalist.
That being said, in order to capitalise on the fangirl economy, celebrities and influencers must take time to understand its nuances and dynamics.
“You can make mistakes in the attention economy when it comes to criticism or marketing. In the fangirl economy, brands, marketers, and even journalists have to be aware of the collective power of fangirl and standom economies because they can exert power in strange ways,” Cohen says.
Read the piece via Bustle.
How “industry plants” became the internet’s hottest conspiracy
Clearly, fangirls wield considerable economic influence, but they also have an impressive ability to filter out any sort of inauthenticity. In a new piece for Vox, Kyndall Cunningham breaks down the “industry plant” phenomenon and why the internet is so obsessed with the term.
For years, the internet has fixated on the origins of a celebrity’s stardom, positioning terms like "nepo baby" and "industry plant" as pejoratives.
However, Cunningham contends that industry plant is widely misunderstood on the internet— even attributed to "longtime industry mainstays like Taylor Swift and Kanye West."
The term started popping up on hip-hop message boards through the early 2010s. It has since been used to signify an artist that has blown up suddenly and “is a record label puppet that we’ve all been brainwashed into liking.”
Cunningham notes some traits associated with "industry plants" online, noting that they typically benefit from nepotism and have "a perceived lack of talent."
Tate McRae and Gracie Abrams have both faced industry plant accusations recently. However, some social media users who use the term may not fully grasp the purpose of the music industry.
“Still, these industry plant accusations ignore the reality of the function of the music industry. Record label executives are supposed to seek out unknown talent — be they well-connected or not — and develop them into profitable artists. It’s the crux of their work,” Cunningham explains.
While it's plausible that Gen Z has a heightened awareness of industry plants (having been privy to marketing tactics their whole lives), a significant portion fail to acknowledge the profound impact that streaming platforms and social media have had on the trajectory of emerging artists.
Platforms like Spotify, with features such as "Discovery Mode," help artists to amplify their visibility on the app. Similarly, TikTok's algorithm empowers musicians to sidestep conventional career-building avenues by fostering viral content.
Whether industry plants are on the rise or not, Cunningham claims that the surge in discussions around this phenomenon stems from "compulsive skepticism" in the digital space.
“By all accounts, it seems like speculating about people and things in pop culture has become the internet’s most popular sport,” Cunningham concludes. “Still, these industry plant arguments rarely produce any real conclusions or judgments about the music industry, but more often than not, the debate about industry plants serves as a reminder that the music industry is just that — an industry.”
Read the full piece via Vox.
Exposing The Biggest Scam in ASMR History
This week, YouTuber and ASMRtist Jojo’s ASMR took to the platform to expose a third-party music label that has been scamming prominent ASMR creators.
Several months ago, a creator approached Jojo, revealing they had entered a contract with this label but had not yet received payment. Soon, more creators shared similar experiences with Jojo.
Essentially, the music label signs creators and converts their videos into audio files and uploads them onto playlists across various music streaming platforms.
“None of these creators have been paid a single cent ever since signing up with [the label]. They're all in predatory contracts,” the YouTuber explains.
Due to the ongoing legal nature of the situation, all creators remain anonymous, and Jojo refrains from naming the music label.
In the video, Jojo outlines some "red flags" in the contracts shared by creators.
“The biggest red flag when I saw this contract is the fact that it is a term of 10 years…but the worst part is that there is no terminology or exit clause or any way to break this contract,” Jojo says. “[In the contract] they also define the territory as ‘the universe,‘ which would mean that they have legal right to use your content anywhere.”
Although the contract specifies payment terms, creators may have to wait several months to receive payment, as it stipulates "120 days after a calendar quarter."
“As botched as that payment process is, if [the music label] would at least maintain its end of the deal and actually follow that bizarre criteria then fair enough,” he continues. “[But] none of the creators that have come forth and have spoken with me privately have been paid a single cent.”
Despite the label's failure to compensate creators, they continue to use their likenesses and names in promotional materials to attract other creators, leading many viewers to liken the label to an MLM.
Many users and fellow ASMRtists have praised Jojo for the video and thanked him for exposing the alleged scammers in the community.
Watch the full breakdown via YouTube.
Ready for a Chatbot Version of Your Favorite Instagram Influencers?
In a new piece for The New York Times, Sapna Maheshwari and Mike Isaac delve into Meta's latest strategy to capitalise on the AI boom— specifically Meta’s new program creating AI models after popular influencers.
Dubbed Creator AI, this program aims to facilitate influencer-fan interactions by essentially transforming influencers into chatbots.
Considering the discomfort around undisclosed AI-generated content at the moment, each comment or interaction will likely indicate that it was by an AI bot.
“[Creator AI] would allow influencers to chat with fans through direct messages on the social network and potentially through Instagram comments in the future,” the journalists write. “The program will essentially be a chatbot that mimics the ‘voice’ of the Instagram influencer to respond to fans.”
This initiative, integral to Meta's broader effort to incorporate AI across its network, serves a dual purpose. Not only does it aim to reduce the workload for influencers, but it also seeks to enhance the sense of connection among users.
“[The program gives] creators with large followings the ability to better connect with fans while decreasing the amount of work required to personally respond to large numbers of messages and comments,” Maheshwari and Isaac continue.
Creator AI expands upon Meta’s previous attempts to merge AI with influencer culture. Last year, the company introduced AI avatars modelled after celebrities such as Kendall Jenner and MrBeast.
However, creators remain cautious about AI, with many voicing concern about automating interactions with followers. They worry about potential inappropriate messages or interactions being sent to fans.
Meanwhile, other influencers see AI and human-like chatbots as powerful tools to alleviate loneliness among today's young people.
Read the story via The New York Times.
Half of Gen Z would buy a home with their BFF
Recent research from ING reveals a growing interest among Gen Z in living with friends rather than spouses or partners.
According to polling conducted by YouGov in Australia, 53% of Gen Z respondents expressed openness to purchasing a home with their best friend, marking a significant increase compared to other generations: Millennials at 35%, Gen X at 28%, and Baby Boomers at 14%.
“According to the research, the rising trend is appealing to plenty of Aussies, with around one in four saying becoming a ‘Property Pal’ allows them to share responsibilities and payments with someone else, and to have more flexibility in property locations,” a press release from ING states.
Several factors contribute to this shift, including the escalating housing prices globally. Six in ten respondents believe that purchasing a home with a friend will become common practice if house prices continue to rise.
Of course, there's a practical aspect to this trend, but we can't overlook the influence creators have on shaping the lifestyle choices of this demographic.
While the likes of Emma Chamberlain have encouraged some Gen Zers to embrace independent living, content houses (Vlog Squad and Hype House, we're looking at you) had the opposite effect.
Admittedly, many of these groups are problematic. However, they also portrayed the excitement of living with friends to young Gen Z audiences, ultimately making the concept of “Property Pals” more mainstream among this demographic.