Consistently a top country music artist since her American Idol win in 2005 and part of iHeartRadio’s list of the top 15 country music fan clubs, Carrie Underwood has offered a fan cub since 2006 (Snapp). While the concept of fan clubs is typical within the country music industry, as an American Idol, Underwood likely learned the importance of establishing connections with fans very early in her career. Since the success of contestants is based on audience votes, the reality television show ensures that exclusive content of the artists is shared in order to create a connection (Slade 262-263). In addition, since she won through fan votes, Underwood’s efforts to connect with her fans in such intimate ways through her fan club are likely an indicator of her gratitude.
Through her fan club, Underwood updates her fans with blog posts, a more direct way than a general social media post. Membership also entails an exclusive package for joining, tour pre-sale codes and exclusive merchandise offers, contests for free meet and greets for each show, and even fan club parties every year during the Country Music Association (CMA) Festival in Nashville (The Official Carrie…). While there is a base fee of $24.99 per year for the fan club membership, Underwood is one of few artists to offer fan club parties at no additional cost (Amburgey). At this event, she typically performs songs she rarely sings live, sometimes even based on pre-entered fan requests. She also usually brings a few fans on stage to play a game with her, gives away some exclusive items, and takes a group photo with the audience (See Figures 18 & 19). This directly furthers her relationship with the fans that attend, especially since it is all very direct and authentic. Such established relationships are what keeps many fans engaging with Underwood and her music; fans often desire to support her after seeing her go out of her way to nurture her relationship with her fans. This shows how strategies of offering exclusivity can help in fostering artist brands and relationships with fans, often resulting in a higher engagement with their music.
