Is it really easy to earn money from fans?, A fluorescent stick sells for 140 yuan at a celebrity concert on Mayday | Culture | Concert | Surroundings | Idols | Fluorescent sticks | Fans | Support

Nowadays, when it comes to watching a concert, the areas that require spending money include not only tickets, accommodation, and airfare, but also a small fluorescent stick that keeps an eye on your wallet.

During this period, Mayday's "2023 Noah's Ark&Good Hope to See You" concert has been a hit in cities such as Beijing, Hangzhou, and Wuhan. It will also tour in cities such as Shenzhen and Shenyang. The official platform's fluorescent stick is priced at 140 yuan, which has caused many netizens to exclaim: Are fluorescent sticks so expensive now?

The fluorescent stick of a concert, also known as a support stick. Since the beginning of this year, with the recovery of the offline performance market, offline support culture is also becoming a trend.

It is reported that at the recent Mayday Beijing concert, official support sticks alone sold 50000 pieces, with a total amount exceeding 7 million yuan. What magic does a support stick have? Is buying aid a "cut leek" or a "youth commemoration"? Is it really easy to earn money from fans?

What magic does a 140 yuan fluorescent stick have?

Watching a Mayday concert is a nostalgic "youth" scene that Pan Pan, a Hangzhou girl born in the 1990s, has long dreamed of. However, when she saw the official fluorescent stick priced at 140 yuan, she suddenly felt that "the extra price of youth is a bit expensive.". However, considering that she had bought tickets for the concert for over 1000 yuan and didn't care about the 140 yuan, she reluctantly took out her wallet.

The Chao News reporter saw in the official peripheral online store "STAYREAL" of the Mayday concert that this "cloud interactive version LED2.0" fluorescent stick, priced at 140 yuan, has the highest sales volume. In addition, the store also sells a silicone protective case that is compatible with the fluorescent rod, priced at 50 yuan.

According to a reporter's inquiry, in 2018, the price of the fluorescent stick for the "Life Unlimited Company Tour" at Mayday Bird's Nest was only 45 yuan. The new model now costs 140 yuan, which is three times the price of the old model.

On social media platforms, fans have varying evaluations of this. Some people believe that spending an extra amount of money on a fluorescent stick makes them feel like they have been cut off.

Some people also believe that fluorescent sticks are clearly priced and not mandatory to purchase, so it is understandable for the price to increase. "But just drink a few cups of milk tea and you can buy one, which can also be used as a souvenir."

If you can't afford it, you can still rent one. The Chao News reporter saw on second-hand trading platforms such as Xianyu that the daily rental price of a Mayday fluorescent stick ranges from 20 yuan to 50 yuan, usually requiring a deposit of over 100 yuan.

In fact, selling the baton for over a hundred yuan is not an exception. In 2021, the female idol group THE9 purchased a fluorescent stick as a gift for high-end tickets. Due to its unique design, it was highly sought after in the second-hand market for 999 yuan. Even if the group has disbanded, the second-hand price of this "support stick" is now no less than 100 yuan. The limited fluorescent wands for children's Ultraman stage plays in China can also be sold for 158 yuan per piece. In the concerts of Japanese and Korean idols, triple digit fluorescent sticks are even more common, and there are even their own supporting colors to represent "fan status".

Why is it getting more and more expensive? Part of the reason is that the stick has become smarter. A senior fan of Mayday, Aqi, told Chao News reporters that nowadays concerts use field controlled fluorescent sticks. Its principle is that the central console sends signals in the form of RF broadcasting. After the chip in the fluorescent stick receives the signal, it changes colors according to the changes in music and rhythm, achieving a stunning visual effect.

In short, this type of LED fluorescent rod is more like an electronic product compared to traditional fluorescent rods, and can interact better with the stage. "If you buy a regular fluorescent stick or a knockoff product, you won't be able to accept on-site control, which will make you stand out in the crowd," Aqi said.

The new version of Mayday's fluorescent stick also has a "cloud based interaction" function. When watching concert videos on the official app, opening the Bluetooth connection on the phone and connecting the fluorescent stick can also achieve real-time color conversion of the lights, allowing for an immersive online viewing.

Despite the addition of these features, the price of 140 yuan is still considered a "windfall profit" relative to cost. Mr. Xu, a fluorescent rod merchant in Yiwu, told the Chao News reporter that electronic fluorescent rods that can accept field control are customized by Party A, and the factory price is generally around 30-50 yuan, with cheaper ones costing over 10 yuan. There is also a common liquid fluorescent rod that will light up when broken, making it even cheaper. You can buy one at a wholesale price of less than one yuan.

What makes official fluorescent sticks affordable is not only the premium brought by their features, but perhaps more of a bonus from fan sentiment.

"Only by buying the official and genuine support stick can one express their true love for Edo." "What I bought was not just an ordinary fluorescent stick, but also the companionship of my idol and the witnessing of participating in concerts." Many fans expressed their reasons for purchasing on social media.

Li Jie, a professor at the School of Media and International Culture of Zhejiang University and director of the Digital Entertainment Industry Research Center, said in an interview with Chao News that it is "normal" for a support stick to be sold for hundreds. He analyzed from the perspective of "semiotics" and believed that the secret behind the "windfall" of the aid stick lies in its symbolic nature, which carries a certain special meaning. "Its value does not lie in its physical cost, but in the money it earns from spiritual and cultural values."

Li Jie once conducted a study on the cultural industry, proposing that as a production of symbols, the cultural industry can bring about 7-20 times cultural added value to its material carrier when the spiritual value of symbols is activated. "From this perspective, a fluorescent rod costing 140 yuan is actually not expensive."

How did the support stick become a "spiritual symbol"?

"As an imported product, the aid stick is still a relatively fresh peripheral product in entertainment." Huang Zhongjun, Vice Dean of the School of Arts at Zhejiang Normal University, has conducted in-depth research on popular culture and explained to the Chao News reporter the origin of the aid culture represented by the aid stick.

The term "support" in "fan circle" originated from Japan and was originally used to describe the phenomenon of cheerleading in sports. Later, the term "support" spread to the entertainment industry, referring to fans cheering up their favorite singers at concert venues. Nowadays, the meaning of support culture is constantly expanding, and basically all actions that support or support idols, express respect and recognition, can be called support.

In the 1990s, the Korean Wave began to ferment, and Korean brokerage companies were the first to see business opportunities. Peripheral products such as support sticks, hand lights, and T-shirts with combination photos or logos are constantly being developed. Among them, the support stick with idol peripheral attributes has become a necessary representative of offline celebrity chasing for fans. Almost every idol and group in South Korea has launched their own official support baton.

According to some insiders in the entertainment industry, the central control baton used in domestic concerts has only become popular in recent years.

Generally speaking, the design of the support stick is based on elements such as idols, fans, music, and representative logos, ensuring that the content reflected on the support stick comes from the common memory of Edo and fans. Some members of idol groups even participate in the design of the support stick, such as BIGBANG member Kwon Chi lung who participated in the design of the "Crown" shaped support stick, and the hexagonal shape of the "Aili Stick" is derived from EXO member Park Can lie. Aidou's participation has given it a more special meaning to fans.

Not only that, many idol groups will also upgrade and iterate their baton styling when starting a new round of tours, launching "limited edition versions" to create buzz and scarcity for new products.

"At the concert, as all the fans waved fluorescent sticks, maintaining unprecedented consistency, the scattered starlight converged into an ocean of love, illuminating both Ai Dou and himself." Aqi recalled the concert scene, as if through a fluorescent stick, he had pulled himself closer to Ai Dou.

In Huang Zhongjun's view, the main focus of the support stick is a sense of atmosphere and emotion. As an essential prop for fans to call for idols, the support stick, due to its special emotional connection, assimilates the emotions on and off stage. It not only concretizes the emotions of individual fans, but also brings together group resonance, becoming a representative symbol of fan belonging.

"Therefore, as a special commodity, the value of aid items such as aid sticks cannot be measured by quality or practicality." Huang Zhongjun said that the biggest feature of these types of products is to make good use of the psychology of fans who love their houses and idols, and transfer their emotions towards the product. Through this, capital, celebrities, and fans have constructed an interconnected ecosystem.

From the perspective of "fan culture," Huang Zhongjun believes that fans purchasing support sticks and other peripherals is an "irrational loyalty, typical emotional consumption.". This is also why fans of such products are willing to be "cut off" despite the mismatch between price and quality.

Is it really easy to earn money from fans?

In recent years, the culture of supporting the Japanese and Korean food industry and the habit of purchasing peripherals have gradually spread to the mainland.

For example, the TF family and SNH48, which are idols in the cultivation industry, have dedicated peripheral shopping malls; Group idols such as Lehua Qizi NEXT and Kunyin Sizi ONER, who emerged from the draft, have also been listed for peripheral sales on their official websites and mini programs. Calendar, notebook, uniform of the same style, playing cards, birthday commemorative necklaces, humanoid standing cards, cartoon pillows, umbrellas, and various types of support are increasing in the surrounding area.

According to data released by global growth consulting firm Frost&Sullivan, the size of China's pan entertainment market has been increasing year by year in recent years, from 299.2 billion yuan in 2017 to 700.4 billion yuan in 2021, with a compound annual growth rate of 23.7%. The overall large market size of pan entertainment provides a high-quality soil for the breeding of fan economy.

This time, the Mayday concert support stick went viral, showing the huge market potential of supporting the surrounding industry as a fan economy.

It's not just idol companies that want a share of the pie. Many fans in China also make their own badges, keychains, PB and other merchandise to support sales in the surrounding areas. At the same time, in recent years, as many idols have come from variety shows, some video platforms have also begun to enter the market.

However, compared to countries such as Japan and South Korea, the domestic operation system for supporting neighboring industries is not mature. According to the 2022 China Fan Economy Research Report released by the Head Leopard Research Institute, only 11% of Chinese fans purchase peripheral products and the same type of product.

There are also many uncertain and unstable factors hidden behind the market potential.

An industry insider told Chao News reporters that firstly, the commercial operation of supporting the surrounding area is based on the emotional investment of fans in idols. The idol itself is closely related to the surrounding products, and once there are rumors, scandals, etc. about the idol, it will affect the sales of the idol's surrounding products. In addition, when idol companies are not trusted by fans, their willingness to purchase official merchandise will also be discounted.

In addition, the different idol monetization channels in China compared to Japan and South Korea have also hindered the development of surrounding industries. The monetization channels for Korean idols usually come from album sales, concert box office, and advertising endorsements. Therefore, idol companies need to arrange for celebrities to frequently sing and participate in public performances, and encourage fans to purchase support for their surroundings to build momentum.

But in entertainment, the path for idols to become famous is more through participating in variety shows, voting on charts, and receiving endorsements. Idol companies will pay more attention to guiding fans to contribute traffic, popularity, etc. to their idols, and their enthusiasm for developing the surrounding areas is not high.

"From this perspective, the surrounding area is just ordinary goods, and the color of the aid has also been diluted." The industry insiders mentioned above said that the fact that the support stick for the Mayday concert was accused of "cutting leeks" to some extent reflects this embarrassment.

At the same time, the idol surrounding market also needs to be regulated. Domestic aid products are often roast about high pricing, low quality control and rough design. Compared to before, fans of the limited group INTO1 had raised objections to the pricing of 198 yuan due to the simple design and texture of the support stick, but it was only for attending the last group concert of INTO1. Even if there were many problems with the support stick, they had to pay with their eyes closed.

Xiaomo, a fan of a domestic men's group, also complained to the tide reporter roast: "Some of the surrounding areas make me suspect that the company has no art workers, is ugly, expensive, and lacks creativity."

How to make idol support go better in the surrounding area?

Huang Zhongjun suggested that, on the one hand, in addition to the idols themselves having sufficient "skills" to gather a large number of willing to pay fans; On the other hand, it is necessary to carry out deeper development in the surrounding areas of the aid, improving and perfecting the product richness, overall design and quality, and industrial chain maturity, rather than just using some crude and high priced products to "cut leeks".

"As a fan economy, only by respecting fans can we have a promising future," said Huang Zhongjun.