4.3 Fans’ Current Psychological Situation 12

4.4 the Number of Fans’ Weibo Follower Situation 13

4.5 Fans’ Time and Channels Spent on TFBOYS Everyday 13

4.6 Fans’ Channels to Buy light Hobby 14

4.7 Fans’ Expense on TFBOYS Monthly 15

4.8 Fans’ Attitude to the Agency 15

Chapter Five Conclusion 17

5.1 Major Findings 17

5.2 Limitation 17

5.3 Recommendation for Future Research 18

Chapter 6 Reference 19

问卷调查表 20

 Research on Economy of Fandom Marketing Strategy:the Case of Fans of TFBOYS

Chapter One Introduction

1.1 Background information

1.1.1 Background research

     With the rapid development of Internet media, cultural industry based on the network, such as weibo, has an unprecedented prosperity. On the basis of this phenomenon, new stars in domestic in endlessly, and their fans has great influences on the development of cultural industry with economic value. However, research on this aspect is almost blank. Fans are all have the spirit of utter devotion and are proactive to pay for anything related. With the development of network technology and communication technology, fans are no longer inpiduals following their idols, but an organized team. Different from the fans under traditional economy, fans are not just as consumers with the increase of degree of participation. In this process, the transformation of the fans’ identity change also affects their psychological wave motion. Members in a team perform their duties to advertise and popularize the idol. Five new roles that fans can play: sponsors, co-creators of value, stakeholders, investors, and filters. These roles are elements of new types of relationship between fans and artists, which are manifestations of the emergence of what can be called a “new economy of fandom”.(Galuszka, 2015)

1.1.2 Information about TFBOYS

     TFBOYS means the fighting boys. It is a Chinese teenage idol group formed by Time Fengjun Entertainment Ltd.. The group consists of a leader, Wang Junkai, and two members, Wang Yuan and Yi Yangqianxi. On August 6, 2013, the agency post a promotional video “Ten Years” on the Internet and declared that TFBOYS officially debuted. 

     Before they debuted, the agency had put their covers on Sina Weibo. Some of the covers gained praise by the original singer. Through these covers, their population on the Internet began to rise and  pave the way for debut.

1.2 Purpose of the Research

     The author start with the stars popular resulted from weibo promotion, and the have an in-depth study on fans economy, taking fans of TFBOYS as an example. This paper is to study present development situation of fandom economy in our country, and then to seek a way to make the development of fandom economy health in our country.