Obsessive fans organise to push Chinese idols to top of global hit parades

American pop star Ariana Grande had every reason to expect that her new single, Thank U, Next, would race to the top of the charts in the United States when it was released earlier this month. When she checked iTunes after its release, though, she met with a surprise. Kris Wu, a superstar in China, not only had the No 1 spot on the iTunes’ singles chart but also seven of the top 10 songs.

It was an extraordinary achievement for an artist with almost no North American profile, and Grande and her camp were not buying it. Rumours started flying on social media that “bots” were behind Wu’s chart dominance.

Sceptics were right about one thing: there was an organised effort to boost Wu’s sales. But it was organised by Chinese fans who spent their own money to push him up the US charts, not music promoters or programmers.

The campaign was not unusual, either. For years, Chinese fans have gone beyond simply buying the music of their favourite stars and engaged in mass efforts to boost their chart positions and brand equity, and to influence their artistic decisions.

Fans of the Chinese boy band TFBoys have, among other activities, bought up the entire run (120,000 copies) of the Harper’s Bazaar magazine issue featuring a member on the cover, purchased billboards in Times Square, New York, to wish happy birthday to another member, and prepared custom textbooks for yet another member, when he was prepping for China’s college entrance exam.

The success of this multibillion-dollar “fan economy” has been so profound that Chinese brands are now actively trying to profit from it. Western companies looking to break into the mainland market would be wise to pay heed.