TheTechnium:1,000TrueFans

Thelongtailisfamouslygoodnewsfortwoclassesofpeopleafewluckyaggregators,suchasAmazon
andNetflix,and6billionconsumers.Ofthosetwo,Ithinkconsumersearnthegreaterrewardfromthe
wealthhiddenininfiniteniches.
Butthelongtailisadecidedlymixedblessingforcreators.Individualartists,producers,inventorsand
makersareoverlookedintheequation.Thelongtaildoesnotraisethesalesofcreatorsmuch,butitdoes
addmassivecompetitionandendlessdownwardpressureonprices.Unlessartistsbecomealarge
aggregatorofotherartistsworks,thelongtailoffersnopathoutofthequietdoldrumsofminusculesales.
Otherthanaimforablockbusterhit,whatcananartistdotoescapethelongtail?
Onesolutionistofind1,000TrueFans.Whilesomeartistshavediscoveredthispathwithoutcallingitthat,I
thinkitisworthtryingtoformalize.Thegistof1,000TrueFanscanbestatedsimply:
Acreator,suchasanartist,musician,photographer,craftsperson,performer,animator,designer,
videomaker,orauthorinotherwords,anyoneproducingworksofartneedstoacquireonly1,000True
Fanstomakealiving.
ATrueFanisdefinedassomeonewhowillpurchaseanythingandeverythingyouproduce.Theywilldrive
200milestoseeyousing.Theywillbuythesuperdeluxereissuedhiresboxsetofyourstuffeventhough
theyhavethelowresversion.TheyhaveaGoogleAlertsetforyourname.TheybookmarktheeBaypage
whereyouroutofprinteditionsshowup.Theycometoyouropenings.Theyhaveyousigntheircopies.
Theybuythetshirt,andthemug,andthehat.Theycantwaittillyouissueyournextwork.Theyaretrue
fans.

ToraiseyoursalesoutoftheflatlineofthelongtailyouneedtoconnectwithyourTrueFansdirectly.
Anotherwaytostatethisis,youneedtoconvertathousandLesserFansintoathousandTrueFans.
AssumeconservativelythatyourTrueFanswilleachspendonedayswagesperyearinsupportofwhatyou

do.Thatonedaywageisanaverage,becauseofcourseyourtruestfanswillspendalotmorethanthat.
LetspegthatperdiemeachTrueFanspendsat$100peryear.Ifyouhave1,000fansthatsumsupto
$100,000peryear,whichminussomemodestexpenses,isalivingformostfolks.
Onethousandisafeasiblenumber.Youcouldcountto1,000.Ifyouaddedonefanaday,itwouldtakeonly
threeyears.TrueFanshipisdoable.PleasingaTrueFanispleasurable,andinvigorating.Itrewardsthe
artisttoremaintrue,tofocusontheuniqueaspectsoftheirwork,thequalitiesthatTrueFansappreciate.
Thekeychallengeisthatyouhavetomaintaindirectcontactwithyour1,000TrueFans.Theyaregivingyou
theirsupportdirectly.Maybetheycometoyourhouseconcerts,ortheyarebuyingyourDVDsfromyour
website,ortheyorderyourprintsfromPictopia.Asmuchaspossibleyouretainthefullamountoftheir
support.Youalsobenefitfromthedirectfeedbackandlove.
Thetechnologiesofconnectionandsmalltimemanufacturingmakethiscirclepossible.BlogsandRSS
feedstrickleoutnews,andupcomingappearancesornewworks.Websiteshostgalleriesofyourpastwork,
archivesofbiographicalinformation,andcatalogsofparaphernalia.Diskmakers,Blurb,rapidprototyping
shops,Myspace,Facebook,andtheentiredigitaldomainallconspiretomakeduplicationanddissemination
insmallquantitiesfast,cheapandeasy.Youdontneedamillionfanstojustifyproducingsomethingnew.A
mereonethousandissufficient.
Thissmallcircleofdiehardfans,whichcanprovideyouwithaliving,issurroundedbyconcentriccirclesof
LesserFans.Thesefolkswillnotpurchaseeverythingyoudo,andmaynotseekoutdirectcontact,butthey
willbuymuchofwhatyouproduce.TheprocessesyoudeveloptofeedyourTrueFanswillalsonurture
LesserFans.AsyouacquirenewTrueFans,youcanalsoaddmanymoreLesserFans.Ifyoukeepgoing,
youmayindeedendupwithmillionsoffansandreachahit.Idontknowofanycreatorwhoisnotinterested
inhavingamillionfans.
Butthepointofthisstrategyistosaythatyoudontneedahittosurvive.Youdontneedtoaimfortheshort
headofbestsellerdomtoescapethelongtail.Thereisaplaceinthemiddle,thatisnotveryfarawayfrom
thetail,whereyoucanatleastmakealiving.Thatmidwayhaveniscalled1,000TrueFans.Itisan
alternatedestinationforanartisttoaimfor.
Youngartistsstartingoutinthisdigitallymediatedworldhaveanotherpathotherthanstardom,apathmade
possiblebytheverytechnologythatcreatesthelongtail.Insteadoftryingtoreachthenarrowandunlikely
peaksofplatinumhits,bestsellerblockbusters,andcelebritystatus,theycanaimfordirectconnectionwith
1,000TrueFans.Itsamuchsanerdestinationtohopefor.Youmakealivinginsteadofafortune.Youare
surroundednotbyfadandfashionableinfatuation,butbyTrueFans.Andyouaremuchmorelikelyto
actuallyarrivethere.
Afewcaveats.ThisformulaonethousanddirectTrueFansiscraftedforoneperson,thesoloartist.
Whathappensinaduet,orquartet,ormoviecrew?Obviously,youllneedmorefans.Buttheadditionalfans
youllneedareindirectgeometricproportiontotheincreaseofyourcreativegroup.Inotherwords,ifyou
increaseyourgroupsizeby33%,youneedaddonly33%morefans.Thislineargrowthisincontrasttothe
exponentialgrowthbywhichmanythingsinthedigitaldomaininflate.Iwouldnotbesurprisedtofindthat
thevalueofyourTrueFansnetworkfollowsthestandardnetworkeffectsrule,andincreasesasthesquare
ofthenumberofFans.AsyourTrueFansconnectwitheachother,theywillmorereadilyincreasetheir
averagespendingonyourworks.Sowhileincreasingthenumbersofartistsinvolvedincreationincreases

thenumberofTrueFansneeded,theincreasedoesnotexplode,butrisesgentlyandinproportion.
Amoreimportantcaution:Noteveryartistiscutout,orwilling,tobeanurtureroffans.Manymusiciansjust
wanttoplaymusic,orphotographersjustwanttoshoot,orpainterspaint,andtheytemperamentallydont
wanttodealwithfans,especiallyTrueFans.Forthesecreatives,theyneedamediator,amanager,a
handler,anagent,agalleryistsomeonetomanagetheirfans.Nonetheless,theycanstillaimforthe
samemiddledestinationof1,000TrueFans.Theyarejustworkinginaduet.
Thirddistinction.Directfansarebest.ThenumberofTrueFansneededtomakealivingindirectlyinflates
fast,butnotinfinitely.Takebloggingasanexample.Becausefansupportforabloggerroutesthrough
advertisingclicks(exceptintheoccasionaltipjar),morefansareneededforabloggertomakealiving.But
whilethismovesthedestinationtowardstheleftonthelongtailcurve,itisstillfarshortofblockbuster
territory.Sameistrueinbookpublishing.Whenyouhavecorporationsinvolvedintakingthemajorityofthe
revenueforyourwork,thenittakesmanytimesmoreTrueFanstosupportyou.Tothedegreeanauthor
cultivatesdirectcontactwithhis/herfans,thesmallerthenumberneeded.
Lastly,theactualnumbermayvarydependingonthemedia.Maybeitis500TrueFansforapainterand
5,000TrueFansforavideomaker.Thenumbersmustsurelyvaryaroundtheworld.Butinfacttheactual
numberisnotcritical,becauseitcannotbedeterminedexceptbyattemptingit.Onceyouareinthatmode,
theactualnumberwillbecomeevident.ThatwillbetheTrueFannumberthatworksforyou.Myformula
maybeoffbyanorderofmagnitude,butevenso,itsfarlessthanamillion.
IvebeenscouringtheliteratureforanyreferencestotheTrueFannumber.Suck.comcofounderCarl
Steadmanhadtheoryaboutmicrocelebrities.Byhiscount,amicrocelebritywassomeonefamousto1,500
people.Sothosefifteenhundredwouldraveaboutyou.AsquotedbyDannyOBrien,Onepersoninevery
towninBritainlikesyourdumbonlinecomic.Thatsenoughtokeepyouinbeers(orTshirtsales)allyear.
Otherscallthismicrocelebritysupportmicropatronage,ordistributedpatronage.
In1999JohnKelseyandBruceSchneierpublishedamodelforthisinFirstMonday,anonlinejournal.They
calledittheStreetPerformerProtocol.
Usingthelogicofastreetperformer,theauthorgoesdirectlytothereadersbeforethebookispublished
perhapsevenbeforethebookiswritten.Theauthorbypassesthepublisherandmakesapublic
statementontheorderof:WhenIget$100,000indonations,Iwillreleasethenextnovelinthisseries.
ReaderscangototheauthorsWebsite,seehowmuchmoneyhasalreadybeendonated,anddonate
moneytothecauseofgettinghisnovelout.Notethattheauthordoesntcarewhopaystogetthenext
chapteroutnordoeshecarehowmanypeoplereadthebookthatdidntpayforit.Hejustcaresthathis
$100,000potgetsfilled.Whenitdoes,hepublishesthenextbook.Inthiscasepublishsimplymeans
makeavailable,notbindanddistributethroughbookstores.Thebookismadeavailable,freeof
charge,toeveryone:thosewhopaidforitandthosewhodidnot.
In2004authorLawrenceWattEvansusedthismodeltopublishhisnewestnovel.HeaskedhisTrueFans
tocollectivelypay$100permonth.Whenhegot$100hepostedthenextchapterofthenovel.Theentire
bookwaspublishedonlineforhisTrueFans,andthenlaterinpaperforallhisfans.Heisnowwritinga
secondnovelthisway.Hegetsbyonanestimated200TrueFansbecausehealsopublishesinthe
traditionalmannerwithadvancesfromapublishersupportedbythousandsofLesserFans.Other

authorswhousefanstodirectlysupporttheirworkareDianeDuane,SharonLeeandSteveMiller,andDon
Sakers.GamedesignerGregStolzeemployedasimilarTrueFanmodeltolaunchtwoprefinancedgames.
FiftyofhisTrueFanscontributedseedmoneyforhisdevelopmentcosts.
ThegeniusoftheTrueFanmodelisthatthefansareabletomoveanartistawayfromtheedgesofthe
longtailtoadegreelargerthantheirnumbersindicate.Theycandothisinthreeways:bypurchasingmore
perperson,byspendingdirectlysothecreatorkeepsmorepersale,andbyenablingnewmodelsof
support.
Newmodelsofsupportincludemicropatronage.Anothermodelisprefinancingthestartupcosts.Digital
technologyenablesthisfansupporttotakemanyshapes.Fundableisawebbasedenterprisewhichallows
anyonetoraiseafixedamountofmoneyforaproject,whilereassuringthebackerstheprojectwillhappen.
Fundablewithholdsthemoneyuntilthefullamountiscollected.Theyreturnthemoneyiftheminimumisnot
reached.

HeresanexamplefromFundablessite
Amelia,atwentyyearoldclassicalsopranosinger,presoldherfirstCDbeforeenteringarecording
studio.IfIget$400inpreorders,Iwillbeabletoaffordtherest[ofthestudiocosts],shetoldpotential
contributors.Fundablesallornothingmodelensuredthatnoneofhercustomerswouldlosemoneyif
shefellshortofhergoal.Ameliasoldover$940inalbums.
Athousanddollarswontkeepevenastarvingartistalivelong,butwithseriousattention,adedicatedartist
candobetterwiththeirTrueFans.JillSobule,amusicianwhohasnurturedasizablefollowingovermany
yearsoftouringandrecording,isdoingwellrelyingonherTrueFans.Recentlyshedecidedtogotoher
fanstofinancethe$75,000professionalrecordingfeessheneededforhernextalbum.Shehasraised
closeto$50,000sofar.Bydirectlysupportingherviatheirpatronage,thefansgainintimacywiththeirartist.
AccordingtotheAssociatedPress:
Contributorscanchoosealevelofpledgesrangingfromthe$10unpolishedrock,whichearnsthema
freedigitaldownloadofherdiscwhenitsmade,tothe$10,000weaponsgradeplutoniumlevel,where
shepromisesyougettocomeandsingonmyCD.Dontworryifyoucantsingwecanfixthatonour
end.Fora$5,000contribution,Sobulesaidshellperformaconcertinthedonorshouse.Thelower
levelsaremorepopular,wheredonorscanearnthingslikeanadvancedcopyoftheCD,amentioninthe
linernotesandaTshirtidentifyingthemasajuniorexecutiveproduceroftheCD.
TheusualalternativetomakingalivingbasedonTrueFansispoverty.Astudyasrecentlyas1995showed
thattheacceptedpriceofbeinganartistwaslarge.SociologistRuthTowsesurveyedartistsinBritianand

determinedthatonaveragetheyearnedbelowpovertysubsistencelevels.
Iamsuggestingthereisahomeforcreativesinbetweenpovertyandstardom.Somewherelowerthan
stratosphericbestsellerdom,buthigherthantheobscurityofthelongtail.Idontknowtheactualtrue
number,butIthinkadedicatedartistcouldcultivate1,000TrueFans,andbytheirdirectsupportusingnew
technology,makeanhonestliving.Idlovetohearfromanyonewhomighthavesettledonsuchapath.
Updates:
OneartistwhopartiallyreliesonTrueFansrespondswithadisclosureofhisfinances:
TheRealityofDependingonTrueFans
IreporttheresultsofmysurveyofartistssupportedbyTrueFans:TheCaseAgainst1000TrueFans