For rising artists, there’s a good side to groupies

You’re a musician with no groupies? Get some. Believe it or not, groupies don’t have to be just one of the many vices of success in the entertainment industry, and they don’t have to be trophies in the game of fame. In fact, they can ultimately foster greater success.

Let’s break it down. According to Wikipedia, a groupie is a person, usually a woman, who seeks emotional and sexual intimacy with a celebrity or public figure. Traditionally condemned as being more enthusiastic about an intimate relationship with the artist than the music itself, groupies can efficiently render the service of direct and cheap marketing without being a source of exploitation.

For any artist or product, marketing is a vital component for success. Those who network well make use of their relationships to advance a career.

I’ve learned through higher education that the bulk of my future opportunities will depend on how great my network is. Similarly, the degree of an entertainer’s success can be amplified by the strength and willingness of his network — namely, his network of groupies.

The bonds created by an intimate relationship, sexual or not, are perhaps stronger than any follow-up email or business dinner. Whether a good or bad interaction, it’s a promise that the artist’s name will be shared with her friends.

In Tupac Shakur’s last interview before his 1996 murder, he advised male entertainers to target the female demographic when making music. His reasoning? Women are the ones that buy the albums and that like the music. The men join to impress or entertain them.

I can’t agree or confirm. However, IPC Media published a study in 2011 quasi-validating the late rapper’s claim. According to the study, men spend more to own music, but women’s purchasing of merchandise and tickets trumps that of men.

Thus, a clever marketing ploy would target women. Groupies make for the most resourceful and zealous ones.

In my experience, women hear about new products through female friends. More importantly, they become invested in a product by feeling a direct or vicarious relationship with it. Here, the artist is the product.

Thus, the chance or illusion of a close relationship — platonic, sexual or professional — yields interest not just from the super fan, to put it politely, but from her groupie network as well.

So if you have groupies, engage them. You never know who in their network will invest in your art as a result.

Contact the desk editor at diversions@dailytarheel.com.