The online community that bases itself around a shared appreciation of Kylie Minogue is centred on three main websites. The first is Minogue’s official website simply called Kylie and referred to within the fan community as Dotcom. The second site is LiMBO Kylie Minogue Online and its associated message board, SayHey! The Ultimate Kylie Minogue Forum . This site is referred to as SayHey. The final site included in this analysis is a message board called Togerland.com, which is usually simplified to Togerland. Each of these sites plays a different role within the online fan community and each attracts a diverse range of fans. The main resource for the fans at each site is its message board. A message was posted to all three message boards inviting members to participate in a brief survey regarding their use of the boards and membership in an online fan community. The online survey was made available for a period of seven days and there were 61 respondents. Considering that the combined number of registered users across all three sites is 19,401 (as of 28 May 2007) this response is not adequate to form any relevant statistical data. However, the survey was not intended to be used for a scientific analysis of the community in question but rather as a device to gather responses from concerned members of the community.
As it is the official site/homepage for Kylie Minogue, Dotcom is a natural first stop for fans. After a lengthy introduction the reader is transported to the homepage of the site where a list of the latest Kylie-related news is presented alongside advertisements for Minogue’s latest product releases. The news items that are supplied are highly selective and apparently of a more general and promotional nature as opposed to genuine news articles. The site menu has hyperlinks to other areas of the site such as, ‘Music’, ‘Media’, ‘Shop Kylie’ and ‘bLA, bLA, bLA’, which is where the Message Board is found. The message board is powered by phpBB open source forum software. The Board has three main areas: ‘Kylie Chat’, ‘Off Topic Chat’ and ‘Your Say’. The ‘Kylie Chat’ section has various sub-forums, but it is the sub-form also called ‘Kylie Chat’ that is the primary area of the site. Dotcom is the corporate face of Kylie Minogue and is, in comparison to the other sites that will be analysed, tightly controlled and moderated.
LiMBO / SayHey is older than Dotcom, having been established in 1997. Both site titles refer to Kylie Minogue songs from her 1997 album Impossible Princess. LiMBO acts as resource similar to that of Dotcom in that it also supplies updated news and advertising, a shop and discography.The news that is provided is written and submitted by readers of the site and is much more likely to include information that is not necessarily ‘official’. For example, the news article ‘Kylie Reveals Her Plans’ reports on a Daily Mail item about the accidental disclosure of some of Minogue’s upcoming business ventures. This information is not reported on the official site. The message board, SayHey, is the primary mechanism for community interaction. It is structured very much like the Dotcom board, with sections entitled ‘100% Kylie’, ‘50% Kylie’ and ‘0% Kylie’. Within the ‘100% Kylie’ section there are a number of sub-forums – ‘News Discussion’, ‘Trading Post & Ebay Watch’ and ‘Fan Artwork, Media & Mixes’. The latter is an area in which members of the community can present examples of their own creations that are based on Minogue’s works. The forum is powered by Invision Power Board software.
Togerland is a message board that is not specifically devoted to Kylie Minogue. It was formed in July 2006 by former members of the SayHey community. These members were disillusioned with the administration of the SayHey forum. The hacking of SayHey by disgruntled former members, and the subsequent disclosure of apparently private internal communications between the administrators and moderators of the forum regarding some members was also a factor in an exodus to Togerland, which is named after one of the site founders. The forum is divided into four areas: ‘Togerland.com’, ‘Music Source’, ‘Music Discussion’ and ‘Adult’. The ‘Togerland.com’ sub-forum ‘The Lounge’ is essentially the same as the ‘Off Topic’ sub-forums of Dotcom and SayHey. It is within ‘The Lounge’ that Kylie Minogue fans interact. The ‘Music Source’ sub-forum is used to openly trade copies of Minogue’s (and other artists’) music. Although Togerland is not dedicated to Kylie Minogue thirty-six percent of respondents to the survey noted the forum as their primary Kylie community (compared to only 13% from the larger Dotcom community). Togerland also uses Invision Power Board software to run the forum. If Dotcom is the corporate portal for Kylie Minogue, and SayHey the slightly more questioning facet of the fan population, then Togerland is the anarchistic component of the community. The forum is only sporadically moderated and virtually any sort of topic or comment is allowed. Music and video files are openly traded with no regard to copyright issues. The other forums discourage and police the use of profanity or inflammatory language and the posting of pornographic material but Togerland does not.
Members of the three online communities were asked, ‘As a Kylie fan who participates in an online community (Say Hey, Togerland, Dotcom) what are your major concerns regarding Kylie and the online communities?’ Responses ranged from no concerns to more detailed answers encompassing concerns for Minogue’s health and security and to issues relating to the attitudes and actions of certain members of the community.
Togerland member ‘Isaac’ has ‘No concerns... it's all in good fun.’ Another Togerland member, ‘Travel In Light Years’, says:
[My] major concern would be Kylie's safety. There have been several 'nutters' on the forums who have either made threats against Kylie or others, or have just behaved in a bizarre or obsessive manner…Obsessed fans of Kylie and other people often frequent the boards with an unhealthy obsession with their "star", and almost see them as some kind of religious figure.
This sentiment is echoed by ‘DoubleDelight’ of SayHey:
My main concern regards some fans' belief that they have 'ownership' over Kylie and her career. So much so that they criticise anything that doesn't please them and have a mind set that indicates that Kylie is there to please their own agenda.
Other responses touched on the very nature of online communities: member ‘nickipee’ from Togerland says, ‘official websites or fan-supportive ones tend to be sycophantic or overly-uncritical, which does not make for interesting discussions.’ The obsessive nature of some fans has caused a split in the community. Topics such as, ‘Why We Love Kylie’ on Dotcom are countered by Topics like, ‘Kylie is Shit’ on Togerland. This schism is centred around the self-styled ‘real’ or ‘true’ fans and those who refer to them as ‘Al-Kylieda’ (a word-play on the fanaticism of Al-Qaeda).
For most of the respondents the main reason they used the message boards and participated in the online community was to interact with other fans. ‘kyliegrace’ from Dotcom says, ‘I think it is great to talk about my favourite celebrity and share my views with other people.’ Other fans responded that they use the forums because they are where Kylie-related news is first reported: ‘Travel In Light Years’ claims ‘the forums are generally where news happens first.’ Some participants answered that they return to the forums even though being a Kylie Minogue fan is no longer their main motivation. ‘Chris_Sydney’ on the Togerland forum says:
It's the off-topic sections that keep me coming back. Initially it was about Kylie but now it's news about other artists / discussion topics. When Kylie releases a record or goes on tour, I'll venture into the Kylie topics.
‘Maggs!’, also from Togerland, has a similar attitude:
Despite being a Kylie fan, Kylie could be [the] least i talk about when i'm in the forums, pretty much because talking about the same artist over and over again would be boring, i go there to have fun, interact with other people from other countries and cultures, so it's fun.
When asked, ‘Are there any connections between your online presence and the offline world?’ the answers fell into three broad categories. Firstly, there were those who were appalled at the idea:
Good God no!........ Some of these folks terrify me over the cables and pipes of [the] interweb, never mind the thought of meeting them. *shudder* ‘Usha_Uthup’, Togerland
Dear God, no.
‘Drew’, Togerland
The second group where those who had made offline friends as a result of their online presence but who no longer viewed the concept of merging the two worlds as desirable:
I generally wouldn't bother meeting someone from a Kylie forum today. From past experience, just because someone else is a Kylie fan doesn't mean you have anything meaningful in common with them.
‘isoboy’, SayHey
The final group consisted of those members of the community who maintained off-forum relationships that were mediated through other technologies. Respondents noted their use of instant messaging software and mobile phone text messaging as methods of keeping in touch with fellow community members.
While it can’t be assumed that the administrators of these forums would consider their sites queer spaces it is worth noting that sixty-four percent of respondents identified themselves as homosexual and eight percent as bisexual. Eighty percent of respondents identified themselves as male. Nina Wakeford’s assertion that, ‘Cyberqueer spaces may compensate for the social or geographical isolation of sexual minorities by operating as a medium through which contacts can be more easily facilitated’ would seem to apply to the Kylie Minogue online fan community. Some respondents mentioned their geographical isolation as a factor in their membership of the community and one gay man indicated that Togerland provided a space through which he met a boyfriend.
Members of the community were asked if they ever produced their own artworks that incorporated Kylie-related material. ‘JianVIP’ from SayHey has designed a magazine cover for a College assignment. Togerland member ‘OogieBoogieBoogie’ records acoustic versions of Minogue’s songs, videos himself playing them, and then uploads the videos to YouTube under the username ‘UltimateMrBoogie’. The SayHey sub-forum ‘Fan Artwork, Media & Mixes’ provides an outlet for members to showcase their efforts at designing CD covers or their fan remixes of Minogue tracks. ‘Ellectrika’ regularly creates her own remixes, uploads them as .mp3 files to third-party hosting sites, such as Rapidshare, and then provides links to the hosted file in Topics on the message boards.
The final question of the survey asked community members to convey their opinion regarding the issue of illegally trading music files. Responses indicated that eighty percent had illegally traded Kylie Minogue material. Most answers were a variation on the notion that, as fans they will buy the product when (and if) it is made available. The fans made a clear distinction between the trading of commercially available product, which was seen as unnecessary, and the trading of non-commercially available ‘leaks’ of unused material, which is deemed acceptable. The response from ‘DoubleDelight’ is typical:
The only tracks I ever dwonload [sic] are unreleased tracks. I purchase all Kylie singles/albums (sometimes in multiple format)/DVDs etc... I purchase merchandise at shows and go to many concerts. My personal feeling is that I have certainly contributed to the KylieCoffers [sic]. If there are unreleased songs that record companies can't keep posession [sic] of, then although I recognise the illeagality [sic] of it, I do not feel that it is equatable [sic] to downloading tracks from artists whose releases I don't buy...I do not approve of people downloading commercially available tracks.
Kylie Minogue fans use the resources of the websites Kylie, LiMBO / SayHey and Togerland to maintain an online community. Each of these sites has a message board that is the focus of the community. Individuals use the message boards to interact with other fans, to share their own multi-media cultural productions and to illegally trade Kylie-related material. The three sites represent different points on a scale of activity, degree of civility and acceptance of practices such as file trading. Fans tend to naturally reside on the sites that best fit their personal philosophies. Members of these sites were invited to answer a number of questions about their online experiences. The number of responses was low, compared to the overall membership of the sites, but still provided valuable insights into the functioning of an online fan community.
1 comments:
Interesting read.
Fan artwork, mixes and such are merely a tribute to an artist’s work - such as the material I create.
Whilst I agree sharing actual original studio versions of tracks, especially before release, is wrong and something I've regretted playing a part in in the past, it is something that happens on a large scale throughout the internet in many areas including films, music, games etc. It's kind of like a bush fire which has become erratic and entirely uncontrollable.
Maybe if, for a great part, record labels hadn't spent so long ripping off people with monotonous stuff they put out and instead listened to what fans (the people who buy it) really want then there would maybe be a little sympathy for what is going on.
The only people I think this kind of thing should stop for (the illegal file sharing) is the artists who write and create the material.
In the past I've been guilty of sharing some Kylie demos, unreleased material etc via download links and it's something, aside from my own unofficial mixes/productions, that I try not to play a part in any more.
It's so easy to become wrapped up in the world and fan community of artists and celebrities etc that it's equally easy to share things with other fans, due to your shared love of the specific artist/celebrity.
None of it is usually done with malicious intent but, agreed; in the long run it does affect the whole scope of sales and the music industry as a whole.
It's very easy to say "Oh, I'm only downloading one song" but if we all did that then essentially it's just like walking into a shop and thinking it's okay to pick up a CD and walk out and collectively it’s very damaging. Agreed, it is indeed 'theft' but, as I said, I don't think a lot of fans do it with malicious intent and many don't realise the damage it causes because, to them, downloading the latest Kylie or Madonna demo (or whatever) is like a second nature, almost a habit.
I shared some unreleased demos from Kylie's 'X' project last year (May 2007) before they were released and looking back it's something I entirely regret but, at the time, I was so caught up in the excitement I didn't realise the damage it could cause. Also, equally, I was also misinformed that the demos shared were not going to be used on the final album/project which kind of made me feel like it was not such a big deal to share them. Of course, that turned out not to be the case - but, we all learn from our mistakes and experiences.
I've shared other Kylie demos in the past from old projects and essentially tracks that will never see the light of day unless used in a special package for collectors. It's those demos that give fans an insight into the unseen world and recording history of an artist they love and if those demos being leaked aren't affecting any sales (i.e.: they are never going to be released) then it's not such a big deal and even Parlophone Records have acknowledges old demos leaking and admitted they aren't "so bothered" about them as they are basically rejects.
But, yes, Kylie might not want them released and I guess that needs to be respected too but not all have remained unreleased due to Kylie's say-so!! A lot have remained unreleased because the record label rejected them or because they didn't 'fit' into the project, in their eyes.
My mixes are unofficial and I make no profit from them. A lot of people love my mixes and they've had a lot of success in their own rights, even appearing on a CD in Hong Kong, being played on TV in the Netherlands and being played in various clubs around the world. I've even had my own edit of Kylie's track 'The One' used as an official download recently. I enjoy making them and is something I will continue to do.
I often get messages from people saying they've heard my mixes here, there and everywhere. In my eyes, that's only serving to promote Kylie's music and mixes are great for clubs and collectors love them too. I see no harm in that whatsoever and Kylie's record label have no problems with fan mixes.
I think in Kylie's fan community there are a lot of very 'self-righteous' fans and many of them insecure in their own ways. If someone mentions something that others haven't heard of/seen etc then people instantly come back calling them a 'liar' and hurl a barrage of abuse at them!! Sometimes it gets extremely personal and I, myself, have been on the receiving end of it for many years now. In my eyes, however, it just showcases how insecure the individuals are for making those remarks and attacks rather than any way they are trying to make me look.
I got abused for not sharing tracks and then when I did....I got more abuse again. It really is a no-win situation, but again, it stems from very insecure individuals. People who can spend time setting up hate sites, usernames and profiles etc to stalk and abuse someone (as has happened to me) clearly have serious mental-health issues and the hilarious thing is that they are trying to portray their 'subject' as being unstable when ultimately it's them (the abuser) who is going 'all-out' to be an idiot.
Kylie has a strong fan base and a lot of it is bitchy but I'm part of the fan community for my love of Kylie not for any ridiculous 'competition' of who's the biggest fan or whatever (I mean, who really is THAT tragic?).
Uploading and sharing music of artists isn’t right (fan mixes are entirely different as they are not the original recording) but equally downloading them is not right and it’s all very well for fans to wave their finger saying it’s wrong to share such material but it’s extremely hypocritical for them to then go and download it for themselves, which most of them do.
Music is there to be enjoyed not fought over.
Elle x
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