We’re a community of music lovers, and contributing lyrics transcriptions, syncs, and translations is an example of how we express our love for our favourite songs and artists. It’s not the only way though; there’s a wide range of actions that music lovers engage in to express their enthusiasm. Some like to sing their favourite songs amongst other fans at concerts, while others prefer to repeat-stream in their room; some support their top artist by singing their praises on social media, while others find buying merch the best way to express their passion.
We were really interested to hear how our community felt about this topic, and so asked you on our Community Workspace. Let’s see what you had to say!
Some thought the extent of a listener’s enthusiasm for an artist could be understood by how deep they jump into their discographies. Hindi and English Curator Harkesh is of this view, claiming that ‘a fan might just know the artist’s top tracks, but a super fan knows the entire discography, including unreleased and leaked tracks’. Nabin, who curates English and Nepali tracks, shared a similar opinion, highlighting the difference between listeners who enjoy just ‘the songs [they] find interesting’, and those who ‘actively check out everything like their lesser known songs and future releases’.
Others spoke instead of the idea of ‘engagement’, and how for some music lovers the passion extends even beyond the music itself! German Curator DiePaupi mentioned social media, and how fans with different levels of engagement may react differently to artists’ pages; some ‘kinda “consume” passively’ by following on social media, whereas others are more ‘actively engaged’ as they also comment on posts and updates. English Specialist Jen also spoke of the role of social media, as she suggested the most enthusiastic fans may be those likely to ‘cause a social media uproar if the lyrics are incorrect on streaming services’.
Another frequently raised point was that of the longevity of fans, and how their dedication for an artist can be understood by how long they’ve followed their music. Graduate Soumyadeep described fans as ‘the new people listening’ and super fans as ‘day ones who’ve seen me grow with music’. Norwegian Specialist Rareș spoke also of the timing of when an artist is discovered, stating there’s a difference between fans who discovered artists ‘when they were new to the scene’, and those who join the hype-train when the artist becomes more ‘mainstream’ and starts ‘headlining shows’.
These are only some of the views shared in what was a wonderfully active discussion! Make sure you’re a part of similar chats by joining either the Community or Curator Slack Workspace, depending on your status. The main takeaway, and general shared consensus was that all ways of celebrating artists and music are valid as long as different opinions are accepted and respected. Swedish Specialist Amelia rounded it up nicely when she said she doesn’t ‘mind when people just do what they love as long as they don't harm others’.
Loving music is lovely, and loveliest when loved lovingly!
