A fan club is an organized group of fans, generally of a

celebrity Celebrity is a condition of fame and broad public recognition of a person or group due to the attention given to them by mass media. The word is also used to refer to famous individuals. A person may attain celebrity status by having great w ...

. Most fan clubs are run by fans who devote considerable time and resources to support them. There are also "official" fan clubs that are run by someone associated with the person or organization the club is centered on. This is the case for many

musician A musician is someone who Composer, composes, Conducting, conducts, or Performing arts#Performers, performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general Terminology, term used to designate a person who fol ...

sport Sport is a physical activity or game, often Competition, competitive and organization, organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The numbe ...

s teams, etc. People in a fan club usually have either a T-shirt or a pin to indicate which fan club they are a part of. All fan clubs have unique paraphernalia that are given or sold to fans to use as an indication. Barbz, who support

Nicki Minaj Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty (born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj ( ), is a Trinidadian rapper, singer, and songwriter. Regarded as the "Queen of Rap" and one of the most influential rappers of all time, she is noted for her ...

, Hollanders, who support Tom Holland, Carats, who support Seventeen, and Swifties who support

Taylor Swift Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Known for her autobiographical songwriting, artistic versatility, and Cultural impact of Taylor Swift, cultural impact, Swift is one of the Best selling artists, w ...

are examples of a fan club.

Etymology

The origin of the term fan in reference to a dedicated zealot is unclear. The word may have emerged in the 1800s, when boxing supporters were said to take a “fancy” to pugilistic sports. Among modern sports fans, however, the title is considered a shortened version of the word fanatic, as in “boxing fanatic,” an indication of the dedication of fan club members.

Functions

Larger fan clubs may organize events and

fundraising Fundraising or fund-raising is the process of seeking and gathering voluntary financial contributions by engaging individuals, businesses, charitable foundations, or governmental agencies. Although fundraising typically refers to efforts to gathe ...

relating to what they are based on. In some cases, the money that is raised goes directly to fan club members or to fund the club itself. There are two main kinds of fan clubs, there are fan clubs that do not require an official registration process and others that do. Fan clubs that do require a formal registration usually require a membership fee. Different fan clubs have different systems, however most clubs have an annual membership fee. These fees will be used to run the foundation. If the fan clubs are for certain fashion brands, they may use those fees for advertisement. The term

groupie A groupie is a fan of a particular musical group who follows the band around while they are on tour or who attends as many of their public appearances as possible, with the hope of meeting them. The term is used mostly describing young women, a ...

is a slang that is commonly used in reference to fans of a particular musician, band, or celebrity who follow the group- or individual- while they are touring, or who attend as many of their public appearances as possible. The word is often used to describe female fans seeking sexual relationships with musicians. They often value musicians themselves over their music. Groupies are more personally affiliated with the band or celebrity they follow, however fans are not affiliated as they are more reserved than groupies would be. Most fan clubs are online and fans who are a part of these clubs, do not usually get to have personal connections with whom they are fans of.

Internet

Today, many fan clubs have

website A website (also written as a web site) is any web page whose content is identified by a common domain name and is published on at least one web server. Websites are typically dedicated to a particular topic or purpose, such as news, educatio ...

s to support their efforts. Technology allows individuals in fan clubs to communicate across the world. These sites usually have photos and information on the object of their affection. For example, a fan site dedicated to

s might have photos, videos, discussion boards, and information on upcoming

concert A concert, often known informally as a gig or show, is a live performance of music in front of an audience. The performance may be carried by a single musician, in which case it is sometimes called a recital, or by a musical ensemble such as an ...

s. Fan clubs are growing in number thanks to technological advances and influences on social media. One example of a modern fan platform i
Fansnub
a website that helps fans connect with each other, share content, and follow news about their favorite celebrities or fandoms.

References

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