Superfans

The value of finding and serving your true fans.

Author

Jaime Solis
11 Apr

Welcome to Red Threads

For creators who lead.

Strategic insights at the intersection of music, podcasting, marketing, AI, and culture.

"Make something 10 people love, not something 100 people kind of like."
— Paul Graham

The Red Thread This Week

Finding Your True Fans

The music industry is relentlessly chasing “superfans,” convinced their future depends on it.

New apps. Exclusive drops. Premium tiers.
All built on one shaky assertion:
If streaming won’t pay us a premium, maybe the fans will.

But here’s the thing:

Superfans aren’t just the folks who buy more.

They believe more.

They don’t show up because of perks alone.
They show up because they see your work as part of their story.
They don’t just watch from the sidelines, they’re actively engaged in the process of creation.

They act as patrons–they insist your work continues.

This is the premise of Kevin Kelly’s 1,000 True Fans. That 1,000 true fans are at the core of how ideas spread. That 1,000 true fans can pay for a small team of people to create meaningful work.

The math is pretty simple.

If you've got 1,000 people that will come to your workshop, or gallery opening, or live show to spend time with the band, and pay $100 each, that's a hundred thousand dollars.

When you've got 1,000 true fans who are willing to subscribe to your work, paying every month, you get to keep playing the game and building more. 

Can you support a giant corporation? Of course not. But you can support an artist. A human. Somebody who wants to make a difference.

So our job as builders, working to bring our work and ideas to the world, is to discern who our true fans are with relentless focus.

To tell the difference between someone who will simply take our time–and someone who will amplify our time.

A spreadsheet can’t measure that.
But a sharp creator can feel it.

Because they have systems in place to build for belief, not just behavior.

~ Jaime

📌 If you want more true fans, stop asking how can I get more attention?
Start asking what story do my customers or my audience identify with?

🔑 The Unlock

3 Steps to Designing for True Fans

  • Define What Belief Looks Like
    Forget “top spenders.” True fans show up in different ways.
    Look for signs of alignment: sharing your work, quoting your message, defending your ideas.

  • Build With Them, Not Just For Them
    Give them a seat at the table. Create opportunities for collaboration, feedback, co-creation, and real proximity.

  • Create the Badge, Not Just the Sale
    Make your work something people use to say something about themselves. That’s how they spread it—because it helps them feel seen.

📌 Ask: What do my true fans want to feel by supporting my work? Design experiences that validate those feelings—and allow them to easily share.

💡 Creative Edge

You Don’t Need More Fans. You Need the Right Ones.

If you’re building something meaningful, you don’t need a massive audience.
You need the right 100. Then 1,000. Then maybe more.

But start here:

  • Who are the people who see themselves in your work?

  • What do they rally around—your message, your values, your aesthetic?

  • How can your work become a mirror for who they are—or better yet, who they want to be?

Because True Fans don’t need a VIP badge.
They need to feel like they’re already in the room.

Build for that.
And everything else—growth, scale, support—gets easier.

📡 Industry Pulse

  • Warner’s Superfan Bet – Warner Music is developing a new superfan app, with Ed Sheeran helping lead the rollout. But beyond tech, the real challenge is redefining what superfans actually want. Read more

  • Coachella 2025: The Final Countdown – Prices are up, hotels are packed, and last-minute planners are scrambling. But the bigger story? How experiential scarcity still drives massive cultural demand. Read more

  • YouTube’s AI Soundtrack Play – YouTube is rolling out AI-generated instrumentals for creators. Expect ripple effects across licensing, production costs, and what counts as "original" music. Read more

  • U.S. Lawmakers Revisit Deepfake Crackdown – The "No Fakes Act" is back, this time with support from OpenAI and Google. If passed, it could reshape rights around digital likeness and creative ownership. Read more

  • MrBeast Shorts Tops YouTube Branded Leaderboard – The power of short-form storytelling keeps rising, with MrBeast’s branded content outperforming traditional ads in views and engagement. Read more

  • Nas Daily’s Creator Hotel in Dubai – A new hotel built for creators with dedicated studios, set design, and co-living perks shows just how physical the creator economy is becoming. Read more

  • Nickelodeon’s New Kids Podcast Play – Partnering with Starglow, the brand is jumping into family-friendly podcasting with a slate of original audio shows designed for children. Read more

  • Sabrina Carpenter Becomes Fortnite Festival Icon – As music continues merging with gaming, Carpenter becomes the latest star to anchor Fortnite’s cross-medium entertainment push. Read more

📈 By The Numbers

Source: Sounds Profitable

What it says: The age profile of ad-supported podcast listeners is significantly younger than that of the general U.S. population..

What it means: Ad-supported podcasting is skewing younger than the population as a whole—making it a key channel for reaching Millennial and Gen Z audiences, especially in environments of high attention and trust.

🛠️ Trending AI Tools

  • DeepCast Creator - AI-powered companion for podcast creators, providing marketing tools, transcripts, metadata enhancement, and more.

  • OneTask – An AI executive assistant that organizes tasks, automates follow-ups, and helps manage your schedule intelligently.

  • PitchMe – Tailors your resume and personal brand for the AI-powered job market using dynamic skill-matching.

  • Dreamshoot AI – Generates hyper-realistic professional headshots from your selfies—no camera crew required.

  • Jobbyo – A personal AI job agent that helps you search smarter, filter listings, and customize your applications in seconds.

⚡ Final Note

Want more Red Threads in your life?

You can find daily blog posts here and connect on LinkedIn here.

You’ve got an idea. A message. A story worth telling. The only thing standing between you and your own podcast? Getting started.

That’s why I put together The 7-Day Podcast Challenge—a simple, step-by-step guide to getting your podcast live in a week. No fluff, no wasted motion. Just a clear path from idea to launch.

And thank you for spending time with Red Threads this week. I’m glad you’re here.

~ Jaime

P.S. Could you use some help with a project you’re working on? Let’s talk! 

📌 If this issue sparked something for you, forward it to a friend.

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