We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Sarah Beth Perry a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Sarah Beth, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?

Our mission as a fan engagement company is to help fans and artists feel a part of something bigger than themselves. I grew up loving boybands and being a part of fandoms. After working with multiple artist teams, I saw an opportunity for artists to better engage with their fan bases. With the Band (WTB) is revolutionizing fan engagement by putting community first. We’ve been creating connections among fans and their favorite artists through Fan Crews – our modern day version of a fan club. Our vision is to be the premiere fan engagement company that enables every artist to fully engage with their fan base so that we bring more positivity to the world through music.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I grew up in Nashville and always knew I wanted to be in the music industry. I was a huge music fan, and my sister and I were the typical fangirls of the popular boy bands. I recall going to shows and fan events for bands that my sister and I followed and being disappointed that there was little engagement with the actual artist. Then, during my first year at Belmont University, I learned about all these jobs I never knew existed within the music industry. That is when I realized fan engagement was a job. I began researching fan engagement companies and found none. As a fan, I knew that the emotional connection between artists and fans was important, and artists weren’t taking advantage of this bond that could be used not only to convert their current fans into superfans but also to grow their fan base. I soon realized this significant market gap, and I wanted to create a solution to help artists engage with their fanbases better. While still a student, I hatched an idea and won a pitch contest. I then participated in many pitch contests, eventually winning enough money to start With the Band.

The primary way WTB cultivates a fan community is our Fan Crew platform, a unique modern-day fan club tool for artists to use to connect with their biggest fans. Artists and their teams choose the exclusive offers best for them and their fan base. We currently have five artists who have Fan Crews, three of them offer three tiers at $5, $25, and $100 monthly, one offers a free tier, $5 and $25 monthly and one has a $25 annual fee. Fans receive perks that coordinate with the tier they have subscribed to. Perks include a one-of-a-kind fan community and exclusive content across all artists and tiers, but they differ from here. Some popular benefits artists offer their fans include discounted merchandise, special live-stream shows, live-show experiences, early access to music, and more.

On top of giving artists and fans a new way to connect, a Fan Crew offers artists a few special perks as well. Along with the income received from subscriptions, artists can access fan feedback and comments directly from their fan base. This allows the artists to make decisions based on what their fans want. When an artist has a Fan Crew, they have access to an analytical dashboard, which gives them access to their fans’ data, including their email, phone number, location, activity within the platform, and more. This sets With the Band apart because most DSPs, ticketing services, and even fan club platforms give artists and their teams little to no fan data that they collect.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

When I launched With the Band in 2019, I initially launched the app as a place for fans to organize fan projects and meetups while working with artist teams to create large-scale fan projects at live shows. We created successful projects for the Jonas Brothers and Kacey Musgraves in 2019, and we were gaining great momentum in the fan project space. However, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, I realized I could engage artists and fans digitally through Fan Crews. While artists couldn’t go on tour to connect with their fans, Fan Crews could bring them together. Fan Crews prioritize a positive atmosphere for artists and their fans away from social media. With the majority of fan culture existing online, it’s important to create spaces where fans can engage firsthand with their favorite artists. The first Fan Crew for artist Maggie Rose was successfully launched in May of 2021, connecting her to her biggest fans and providing opportunities for community within her fandom. Since then, we have launched Fan Crew for artists of many genres and have fan club members from all around the world.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

Being a fangirl is a strength, not a weakness. The term “fangirl” has carried a negative connotation to imply that certain fan bases are hysterical and dramatic, and it is used to make an entire group of fans feel seen as young impressionable girls who don’t know about or listen to “real” music. However, this is not the case at all. I was not the popular kid in high school and constantly felt judged because of my love of boybands. Once I started joining fandoms, I realized many fangirls felt the same way. I also saw how many teenage girls struggled with mental health and felt accepted within their communities.

Now that I have turned being a fangirl into a business, I love to help other fans gain access to mental health resources and find a supportive community of friends through their favorite music. Not only do fans benefit from the friendships and acceptance within fandom, but many of the skills that fans learn from being a part of a fandom are real-world skills that can be helpful in many other aspects of life. Fans can learn many different skills like social media management, communications, website development, and how to use different platforms to create content – all from being involved in a fan community.

I also strive to emphasize the importance of superfans to artists and their teams. Without superfans, every single Top 40 artist would not have the same success they have today. Superfans and fangirls are the backbone of the music industry and without them, the music industry would suffer significantly. I think Harry Styles may have said it best himself in an interview with Rolling Stone, “Who’s to say that young girls who like pop music have worse musical taste than a 30-year-old hipster guy?’ Then he pointed out (correctly) that The Beatles became successful thanks to hoards of screaming teenage girls… ‘You gonna tell me they are not serious?”

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.withtheband.co/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/withthebandvip/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/withthebandvip
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/withthebandvip
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/withthebandvip
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@withthebandvip

Image Credits
Jonas Brothers black and white fan project – Cynthia Parkhurst