Fangirls Run the Economy女性粉丝推动经济

From the box office to book publishing， stans1 are making their influence felt.

从票房收入到作品出版，超级粉丝的影响力正在崛起。

In recent years， cultural critics have described the Internet as an “attention economy，” referring to the hot， volatile business of converting views and clicks into dollars. But in 2023， we watched fandom burst to the forefront， and the truth became undeniable： We’ve exited the attention economy and entered something less transient.

近年来，文化评论家把互联网称为“注意力经济”，意即这是一种快速传播又迅速变化的热门商业模式，能将浏览量和点击量变现。但在2023年，我们看到粉丝群体突然闯进大众视野的中心，其背后的真相无可争辩：注意力经济已成过去，人们的关注变得持久。

“The attention economy is the brief focus on nearly any subject as algorithms focus on engagement，” says Jamie Cohen， Ph.D.， an assistant professor of media studies at City University of New York’s Queens College. “This， of course， results in the temporary uplift into mainstream media and a short marketable trend. On the other hand， the fangirl economy is far more powerful because a small group of passionate users is far more valuable than millions of flash-in-the-pan2 trend followers.”

“受算法注重参与度的影响，注意力经济对几乎所有话题的关注都很短暂。”纽约市立大学皇后学院主攻媒体研究的助理教授杰米·科恩博士说，“注意力经济的确能暂时增加主流媒体的流量，短期拉动市场走势。然而，女性粉丝群体的经济力量要强大得多，因为她们人数虽少，但比起众多来去匆匆的关注者，胜在热情持久，商业价值大得多。”

On some level， fans’ economic impact isn’t new. In 2016， for instance， Red Lobster sales spiked after Beyoncé name-dropped3 the restaurant in the lyrics of “Formation.” But the double-header of Swift’s Eras tour and Beyoncé’s Renaissance tour in 2023 marked a turning point. These weren’t just high-grossing tours; they were full-on stan tours， complete with unofficial dress codes and community-building activ-ities.

从某种程度来说，粉丝经济的影响力早已有之。例如，早在2016年，碧昂丝在单曲《编队》的歌词中提到海鲜餐厅“红龙虾”，这使得餐厅营业额一度飙升。不过，粉丝经济崛起的关键点是2023年两位歌坛巨星的演唱会：泰勒·斯威夫特的“时代”巡回演唱会和碧昂丝的“文艺复兴”巡回演唱会。她们的巡演不仅收入颇丰，而且完完全全是属于超级粉丝的盛会——歌迷自发统一着装，还组织丰富多彩的社群活动。

All that fan passion yielded more than just ticket sales： Swift’s three-night stretch in Houston resulted in the city’s highest hotel revenue week of 2023， Axios reported; a special report for the California Center for Jobs confirmed that her SoFi Stadium shows brought in an estimated $320 million in tourism revenues， taxes， and extra jobs for Los Angeles County alone. As for the Renaissance tour， visitors to Houston shows spent $18.2 million at area hotels alone， and Danske Bank economists believe the kickoff show in Stockholm contributed to higher inflation in Sweden.

歌迷的热情不仅带来了演出收入：据美国新闻网站“爱可信”报道，斯威夫特在休斯敦连续三晚的演唱会，让该市酒店当周收入一举创下2023年之最；加利福尼亚州就业中心的专题报告证实，斯威夫特在索菲体育场的演唱会仅为洛杉矶县一地就预计带来3.2亿美元的旅游收入和税收，还创造了大量临时就业岗位。再以碧昂丝的“文艺复兴”巡回演唱会为例，前往休斯敦的观众光是在当地酒店住宿就花了1820万美元。丹斯克银行的经济学家认为，碧昂丝在斯德哥尔摩的巡演首秀甚至导致瑞典的通胀走高。

“A digital standom is charged with energy， so you only need a small amount of push into the marketplace to create a vast consumer response or even a civic mobilization，” says Cohen. “The tighter knit the passionate standom， the more they are ready to act either with their wallet or with their feet4.”

“数字时代的超级粉丝群体能量十足，只需轻轻刺激市场，就能激发消费者的强烈反应，甚至能动员全民。”科恩博士说，“超级粉丝越是紧密团结，他们对营销做出的反应就越快，要么掏钱购买产品，要么用行动抗议。”

The trend extends beyond music-al superstars. Many authors are getting their first break into publishing by gaining steam on fandom sites like Archive of Our Own5， and fan fiction is now being developed into film—Anne Hathaway’s film， Amazon Prime’s The Idea of You， is based on a fic that may have been inspired by One Direction， and Netflix’s hit series Heartstopper is based on the webtoon6 of the same name.

粉丝的影响力也扩散到了音乐巨星以外的群体。在以“我们自己的档案”为代表的粉丝平台上，许多作者收获热度，从而首次涉足实体出版业。如今，粉丝小说甚至能搬上大银幕——由亚马逊流媒体平台出品、安妮·海瑟薇主演的电影《对你的想象》就翻拍自粉丝小说，而这部小说的灵感可能来自单向乐队；奈飞热门剧《心跳漏一拍》则改编自同名网络漫画。

More than just supporting their faves economically， fangirls have the power to shift marketing strategies， product creation， and narratives in their favor. Take the way that the Brit Awards changed its rules after initially denying Rina Sawayama entry to the competition because she was not a U.K. citizen， though she has lived there for 26 years. Fans got #SawayamaIsBritish trending on Twitter in 2021， ultimately convincing the organization to change its criteria to include long-term residents.

女性粉丝不仅花钱支持自己最喜欢的偶像，她们还能够扭转营销策略、产品开发和叙事方向，使之对自己的偶像有利。例如，歌手泽山璃奈在英国生活了26年，却因非英国公民的身份而无缘入围全英音乐奖。2021年，她的粉丝把话题“泽山是英国人”刷上推特趋势，最终成功说服主办组织改写评奖规则，将久居英国的歌手纳入参评范围。

On BookTok and BookTwt， a single video or tweet within the community can spark mass interest for a new piece of literature or an upcoming artist. “Fan fiction on a wider basis is having more commercial success， with stories adapted for publication or even giving those writers a platform and the confidence in their storytelling skills to pursue a career as an author，” says Beth Reekles， author of the Kissing Booth book series， which was adapted as a Jacob Elordi-starring Netflix franchise. “Fandom-driven literature on platforms like Wattpad often becomes major hit film adaptations.”

在TikTok和推特的荐书社区里，一个视频或一条推文就可能激起大众对某部文学新作或某位新晋艺术家的兴趣。“亲吻亭”系列小说的作者贝丝·里克尔斯指出：“粉丝小说在更广泛的领域里正在取得更多商业上的成功——许多网络故事经改编后出版发行；粉丝小说甚至为写手提供了写作平台，提升了他们对自己叙事技巧的信心，进而鼓励他们踏上职业作家之路。”里克尔斯的“亲吻亭”系列小说已改编为奈飞系列电影，由雅各布·埃洛迪主演。里克尔斯还说：“在以 ‘沃帕德’为代表的电子书平台上，粉丝创作的文学作品往往会改编为大热电影。”