Abstract
This article traces the formation of popular music idol industries in China and the emergence of data fandom. It charts the growth of digital platforms and historicizes the commercial and geopolitical itinerations linking cultural production in Japan, South Korea, and China. It locates data fandom as an integral part of the popular music industries reconfigured by digital social media platforms; a structural change from the production-to-consumption ‘supply chain’ model of the recording era towards emergent circuits of content that integrate industries and audiences. Data fans understand how their online activities are tracked, and adopt individual and collective strategies to influence metric and semantic information reported on digital platforms and social media. This article analyses how the practices of data fans impact upon charts, media and content traffic, illustrating how this activity benefits the idols they are following, and enhances a fan’s sense of achievement and agency.
Highlights
This article traces the formation of popular music idol industries in China and the emergence of data fandom
We emphasize how fandom is an integral component of popular music idol industries that have been reconfigured by social media, digital platforms and data visualization
This article is offered as an addition to knowledge of the historical development of popular music idol industries in China since the emergence of the digital platform economy and social media (Li, 2013; Tang and Lyons, 2016)
Summary
Chart beating (dǎ bǎng, 打榜) illustrates how data is visualized and used strategically. The rapid growth in China of social media, mobile communications and digital platforms has reconfigured chart beating; from purchasing CDs in retails stores to influencing download sales and streaming statistics, and clicking positive endorsements that contribute to an artist’s visibility. Miaozhen Systems produced a list of the ‘most commercially valuable’ Chinese idols for 2018 based on data collected from major platforms, including Sina Weibo, Taobao, WeChat, Baidu and TikTok (Liu, 2019) These chart visualizations of amalgamated data orient the marketing strategies of businesses seeking to sponsor or gain product endorsements from idols, and inspire ever more activity from data fans. This contributes to the rankings of popular hashtags and, more broadly, feeds into fans’ knowledge and awareness; it has an impact on the way fans attempt to influence a wide range of charts
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
