WOMMA/Summit - Day 2: Sister Hazel - No Fan, No Band
Sister Hazel Mantra: "No fan, no band"
Band wanted to build a community, something bigger than any song or show.
They made themselves incredibly accessible
Started with college towns, since music plays such a role in that point in your life. For every cassette they'd give away, they'd sell two.
When they'd expand to new cities, they could clearly see the impact of fans from other cities.
When people were waiting in the cold to get into a Sister Hazel show, the band would come out and do an acoustic set for them, buy them pizza. They were honestly concerned about their fans.
Fans had a sense of ownership, a sense that they "knew them".... which of course they did!
One of the "Hazelnuts" (the Sister Hazel fan group) says "I never wanted to bug the band, didn't want to be 'that guy'... but here I am!"
The band comes out after *every* show to sign CDs.
Jake: There is a clear vibe from the band that they truly appreciate the fans, and that they're not afraid of a little extra/hard work. Clearly it's showing a return. They also pay attention to the efforts of the fans, even if they seem a bit "weird".
Rock Boat (bands + cruise ship + fans) was pure - it embodied the spirit of what they were trying to do going back to their college days. No record execs, no spreadsheets, just fans, fan love, and the bands. (Each year's cruise now sells out in 24 hours) The band would sit down with their fans and ask about their year, see what they could do to help them.
Fantastic quote about the Sister Hazel fan community (or really any community):
It's something that when you're on the outside looking in, you can't understand it. If you're on the inside looking out you can't explain it.
How do these efforts drive financial success? There'd be no band without these efforts.
Hazelnut Fan: I participate because he's at a point in his life where he doesn't need "stuff" he needs experience. Refreshing to him, as a fan, that the band will come out before/after the show and talk to the fans by name, asking about their families, etc.
Jake: You know, the work Sister Hazel does is really work. It's tough to spend extra time on doing things like remembering a fan's family history, or taking time after the show to sign as many CDs as there are people. This social work is tough, it takes time, but the rewards are fantastic. I sometimes feel like the marketing industry is more concerned with leaving at straight up 5p every day than creating great ideas.
Band reserves a block of tickets for the Hazelnuts to bring a friend to introduce (indoctrinate) that friend into the Hazelnut culture, meeting the band, being backstage.
How do they measure success? They can see it because people keep showing up to their shows!
Don't like using the word "fan", or "customer"... it doesn't give the respect deserved. They call them friends.
Hazelnut fan: "It's like religion to me".
"The things we were doing back in 1994 have showed a return"
Keywords that sum up the session:
* Trust
* Empathy
* Hard work
* Passion
