The most awarded American artist in Grammy history with 32 wins from her 88 nominations, Beyoncé is the blueprint for how to plot a career that maintains excellence over a span of time. Consistently displaying elevated levels of genius across the recording, performing and visual aspects of her craft; the Houston-native has leveraged her great art to build a sustainable brand. So how did Beyoncé build a fanbase with such high paid fan affinity? It lies in the combination of an incredible work ethic, documenting her creative process and building a brand that values attention to detail. Let's break it down:
New And Unique Live Experiences
Live performances are most artists primary revenue source. Whether festivals, club shows, or their own tours. Many fans have raised the bar for what "constitutes" a good live performance. A bar many artists fail to live up to in the long term, killing their performance value. Beyonce has continued to raise that bar.Whether her own tour, a one off paid show, or headlining a festival she continually brings and documents the process of creating a new fan experience. Ensuring her fans perpetually keep coming back for more! Grossing $767.3 million and selling 8.9 million tickets across 375 shows over her career according to Billboard, its no surprise that Luminate estimates that 52% of Beyonce fans in the United States are likely to purchase tickets to a nearby Bey concert. Her Coachella performance focused heavily on her past catalogue, however, it gave fans a reimagined way to experience her music. Documenting the process for her Netflix documentary only enamored fans even more.
The Devil Is In The Details
In Homecoming, Beyonce famously states "until I see my notes applied it doesn't make sense for me to make more". Often referred to as a perfectionist, Bey doesn't settle for anything less than memorable for her fans. This hands-on appraoch is evident in her music but also extends to the business side and elements of her live offerings, like overseeing the band, choreographers, dancers, lighting crew and sound teams. The Beyhive's appreciation of her attention to detail skyrockets each time they became privvy to the level of discipline necessary for a Beyonce production.
A Peek Behind The Curtains
Speaking of becoming privvy; Beyonce has shared numerous behind the scenes clips for multiple pieces of work and given her fans access to her creative process. Whether posting exclusive images of rehearsals or filming documentaries like Homecoming, Year of 4 and Making The Gift, Bey understands the value of offering her fan base an inside look into her work. This not only builds anticipation for her releases and helps justify the value of her productions, but it contributes to maintaining a relationship with her supporters.
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