Cult fandom communities exist in both physical and digital spheres as an offshoot from established subcultural hierarchies and mainstream society. Existing literature recognises the development of cult fandom within TV, film, sci-fi and musical genres with published works on goth and punk. The longevity of these cult fandom communities introduces the aging fan. Moreover, continued motivation of fans in middle age and beyond suggests cult fandom becomes an inherent part of individual’s self-identification of themselves and others. Whereas pre-digital communication and information had been shared within their cult fandom community via fanzines, the advent of internet enables global communities to form digitally, which also supports individual motivation and longevity. The degree of cult music fandom is underpinned by existing categorised fan typologies.
A research gap omits depth and clarity regarding what motivates an individual to continue cult music fandom; and why their loyalty continues beyond the natural lifespan of a cult band. This dissertation comprises a case study of UK alternative indie rock band Mansun via mixed research methods to establish how a cult music fan community differs to mainstream fandom; what fuels the motivation of Mansun fans; and how does this motivation factor in the longevity of Mansun’s cult fandom community. Quantitative content analysis of two linked official Facebook pages and their associated groups, identifies demographics data and themed posts which engage fans despite Mansun disbanding in 2003. Furthermore, a series of semi-structured interviews with a voluntary sample of 10 participant Mansun fans, outlines the importance of difference; community and belonging; emotional connection to lyrics; and memorabilia collection as reasons for longevity. The author’s positionality and reflexivity as an insider to the Mansun community enables a depth of research sufficient to devise a new spectrum of fandom which has gradient fluidity to allow the long-term motivation of cult music fans to be tracked alongside an individual’s variable personal factors. This results in an accessible and serviceable model to accurately represent participants of cult fandom communities, while recognising underpinned theory from existing literature.
Key words: Cult subculture; fandom; self-identification; subcultural capital; memorabilia collection
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