Fanclub is an exciting Irish owned music platform that offers exclusive music videos from a wide range of artists both at home and abroad. With Irish musicians dotted all over the globe, to the latest upcoming and established musicians from the US, UK and Europe, there is something for everyone on this one-of-a-kind music website.
In addition to a host of acoustic and full production exclusive music videos, fanclub offers artist news, gig guides, links to ticket sales and discussion forums between the artists and their fans. The fanclub community is passionate about music and discovering new artists.
Founder of fanclub, Declan Magennis, first dreamed up the fanclub model while in lockdown in 2020. “In a world where all interaction was virtual, gigs were non-existent, artists were disillusioned and fans were bored, life as we knew it was turned on its head. All the things we took for granted, suddenly disappeared and the ‘new normal’ was born.” He noted that while some artists such as Sophie Ellis Bexter were hosting kitchen discos, other artists were trying to find new ways to share their music, giving it away on Facebook and Instagram in live sessions. Life was tough, artists could not perform live, couldn’t get into the studio and couldn’t make any money. There had to be a way for artists to share their music and receive fair recompense for their efforts. Equally, for the discerning fan, if you wanted to go back and revisit some music you’d enjoyed on Instagram or Facebook, with all of the noise and traffic online, it was often difficult to retrieve the track/performance that you’d viewed previously. Welcome fanclub.
“In essence, fanclub is a virtual hub for music fans”, explains Magennis. “With flexible subscription plans offering competitive annual ($49.99) and monthly ($4.99) rates, there is something for everyone”. In addition to following a favorite fanclub artist, fans can choose to discover new music with access to ALL content on the site. Create playlists, collections, listen on the go with audio only options, or enjoy the full video experience. fanclub adapts. Cutting edge technology enables fans to engage with their artists, chat in the forum or view upcoming gig guides and news articles, explore new music through the featured artist lists or just choose a playlist from a specific genre that has been created with the fan in mind. The artists on the other hand have full control of their pages through their own personalized dashboard, that enables them to view their stats, easily upload new music, automatically generate thumbnails, profile pictures and helps even the most tech dinosaur to easily navigate their profiles and video uploads. How does it work? When joining the fanclub community, each fan nominates an artist that has drawn them to the site. That artist then receives a significant commission for the fans they’ve attracted to the site, while the fan has unlimited access to everything available on the platform.
Following a year of web development and consultation with artists, in the summer of 2022 fanclub quietly went live. “This was the most nerve-wracking part of the process” explains Magennis, “I had thought of nothing else over the past two years and suddenly, here we were going live and exposing ourselves to a market where I was a virtual unknown”. However, once he had the opportunity to explain the concept and demo the site, artists embraced it and jumped on board with many choosing to ditch their own websites in favour of the simplicity of the fanclub technology and model. They in turn spoke to other artists and fanclub started to grow organically, slowly and steadily.
How does it work?
It’s a website and an app. Non-subscribers can browse and view the site but only subscribers can play the music and view the videos. Each artist has their own homepage with a bio, a news section, upcoming gigs and their music videos. All music videos are exclusive to fanclub and vary from fully produced music videos, home recordings in the kitchen, onstage performances, raw busking videos, festival appearances and even sitting on a country wall in Kerry with breathtaking views as a backdrop!
In October 2022 fanclub held its first gig at the Sound House in Dublin. Ten artists performed on the night and all songs were recorded and uploaded to the site. Mike Hanrahan and Rebecca McRedmond performed their own sets followed by a duet together. Other artists on the night were George Murphy, A.Leigh, Lára, John Lynch, Christian Wethered, Shaun Finn, Lisa Keane and Amy Ellen.
On 30th January 2023 fanclub is back at the Sound House with six acts playing about twenty minutes each. Tickets are available from the Sound House ( https://thesoundhouse.ie/events/ ) and the line up on the night will be: Mike Hanrahan performing with Leslie Dowdall and followed by exciting new female Irish artists Nessa McHugh, Avelina, Eva Campbell, Leila Jane and Larabelle.
As the new kid on the block fanclub is fresh, exciting and just getting started. With a London gig on the cards in March and many more opportunities for the community to come together virtually and in person, the future looks very bright.
Check out fanclub for yourself on www.fanclubltd.com. With competitive subscription rates and artists from all over the globe, everyone is encouraged to dive in, a new wave of music awaits.
