Fake Fan, Newbie, Sony Plant…Meet the Family.

“Fake Fan….Newbie….Sony Plant!”
You’d be forgiven for thinking that we’d just stepped back into the school playground. Sadly, this is not the case. These are the words of fully-grown adults that plague the fan community on a daily basis,and for what? A cheap shot at another fan, who chances are they’ve never met in person or interacted with in more than 140 characters. As I scroll up my Twitter timeline on any given day, I see these terms being mindlessly slung at one another when a difference in opinion is raised. It’s sad that in a day and age where the ability to communicate with a larger group of people is so widely available to us, it’s used by grown adults to label, insult and attack; the very thing we advise the youth of today not to do. I decided to take a look at some of these names and seek to explore some possible motives.

Believe it or not, the term ‘Newbie’ pre-dates June 2009 and was a term that was often banded around between small groups of fans who would congregate outside Michael’s hotel en mass. “Who’s that Newbie?! I’ve not seen them before!” was all too often heard coming from a coven across the pavement. To understand this in context, let’s look at how it was used. It’s no secret that Michael’s arrival in any foreign country would cause legions of fans to halt their daily lives and take pilgrimage to the hotel. From the 2000s onwards, Michael’s presence in Europe was usually London, and whether he would drop in for business or pleasure, the fans would be there in force. Over the years, you began to recognise the same groups of people appearing again and again and whilst they may not have been a direct friend, you knew them by face. Each occurrence would bring up the odd unfamiliar face and sadly these people would be branded ‘Newbies’.

A group of fans in ’07, That’s me in the mirrored sunglasses!

Since Michael’s passing, it seems the term has been used to describe those who are new fans. With the exposure that Michael received in the days following June 25th it’s not surprising that larger audiences were exposed to his music and videos that radio stations and TV networks had long dropped from their playlists. Naturally, new fans will divide fans; they will either cause outrage or be embraced, but ultimately I believe it should come down to whether the person is someone you get on with. Too often the utopian notion has been that because we are all fans, we should get along. It’s never going to happen. You didn’t like everyone in your class at school, you don’t like everyone in your office at work…Welcome to life! It doesn’t however mean that you should attack and abuse those that are new. The world exists outside the Michael Jackson bubble (shocking, I know!) and some have taken a little longer than others to find their path.

“You’re a fake fan!”…such an interesting notion often derived from competitiveness. This is a relatively new term that has besieged the fan community following Michael’s passing and for the life of me, I fail to understand what exactly someone’s idea of a fake fan is. I would suggest that at the very basic level to be a fan of someone, you would own the albums. You’ve got to a least like Michael’s music which is the primary reason for his fame. So if you own his music and choose to talk about Michael in a positive way, how do you become ‘fake’? Being a fake fan would suggest that you are not a fan and merely pretend to be for a desired benefit, but to put it bluntly and please excuse my ignorance…where are the benefits of pretending to be a Michael Jackson fan? Let’s try to understand this in…

‘AN IDIOTS GUIDE TO FAKING A FANSHIP’
– Benefit: You’d get new/lots of friends
True, if you were to pretending to be a Michael fan, you would open yourself up to a legion of people who would follow you on social media and talk to you daily, but ultimately the only thing you’d have in common is Michael, and you don’t really like him, so no benefit there.

– Benefit: You’d get to go to events and gain a social life
Michael Jackson events have been as frequent as the London Underground in recent years, so you’d naturally be spoilt for choice. You’d also get to spend a whole day listening to and talking about Michael…Oh, but wait, you’re only pretending to be a fan, so in actual fact such an event would be your depiction of hell, and so, no benefit there either.

– Benefit: You’d get to make money
Since Michael’s passing it seems that requests for donations or MJ-based charities are 10 a penny. After finally establishing your cause after months and months of posting your pretend love for Michael and befriending fans and being involved in everything Michael 24/7, you may scam a few hundred pounds, before the vigilant among us route you out, expose you on their blog and report you to PayPal, Hotmail and the police for fraud, so ultimately no benefits there either.

These are other basic notions that may be cause for some to believe there are ‘fake’ fans among us, although 9 times out of 10, the term is used more loosely than that.

“I didn’t see you at the concert, where were you, fake fan?” That, believe it or not is a direct quote from a Michael Jackson fan’s Twitter account. Interestingly I was unaware that some fans have the inhuman ability to know every single ticket holder, to every single Michael Jackson concert around the globe; that’s quite some talent.

But on a serious note, this is a ridiculous statement. Michael is one of the most successful live performers of our time selling out arenas to millions of people. You’d be lucky to see people outside of your friendship group in such a vast crowd, let alone know exactly who is there and who isn’t. But not being there doesn’t revoke your fanship, it does not mean that suddenly you transform in to an unreal fan, forsaking your albums and memorabilia and damaging Michael’s sales records. Watching Michael live is something you experience and take with you for the rest of your life. Why would you be so concerned about those that weren’t at the concert if your own experiences were so incredible? Your focus would surely be Michael, not who isn’t in the audience.

Let’s just settle a ridiculous perception here and now. Not knowing Michael’s shoe size does not make you a ‘fake fan’, nor does not knowing his height, weight or favourite food. What it does mean is that you have alternative interests in Michael that, for you, take priority over other details that are important to others.

But fundamentally, what qualifies a fan to think they have the authority to verify or legitimise another fan?! This is not a dictatorship and there is no hierarchy. If you purchase Michael’s music, you support Michael, you talk positively about Michael and you embrace the Michael community, then you’re a fan by dictionary definition, whereby fan derives from fanatic. You’re either fanatical about Michael or you’re not, and the suggestion that some could fake it is utterly ludicrous.

Finally, the most amusing attacking stance, “You’re an Estate/Sony Plant”. Where do I begin with this one?
Ok, the Sony plant idea confuses me greatly, based on the beliefs from 2002 when Michael spoke out against Sony. I’m not disputing what Michael said (or was perceived to have said) I’m simply playing devil’s advocate. If Sony were on a mission to discredit Michael and ruin his career, then why would they waste money, time and resources placing plants in the fan community of an artist that they have no regard for?! Furthermore, following Michael’s passing, the sales of new material have been less than successful proving if there was a ‘plant’, then they’ve not had much impact on the community have they?!

Me outside Michael’s Hotel in March 09, Clearly rooting out those ‘plants’…

As for the Estate plant suggestion, this only seems to come from those who are anti everything the Estate do regardless of the situation; so really such an assertion carries no weight. But for now, we’ll entertain the idea just for the sake of debate. What would be the benefits of having an estate plant within the fan community? To pass back information about what the fans are talking about. To pass back feedback about what the fans think of certain projects. To pass back information on what the fans would like to see in the future. I’m sorry but where are the downsides to that? If such a plant did exist it could only work in favour of fan desires, unless of course you’re not interested in any new products, by which point an Estate plant would leave you completely unaffected. But as with a ‘Sony Plant’, how well would a role have fared? The Michael album was a commercial failure, Bad25 did not achieve the desired results and MJONE has not exactly seen fans rushing from all corners of the globe to see it; so if such a job existed, I think it’s fair to say someone would be seeking new employment by now.

For both of these cases, if you think they do exist, pat yourself on the back for being wise to their existence; there’s no fooling you is there. Also if you think you’ve got them sussed, why attack and abuse the people who follow them, surely you want them on your side, otherwise, if the plant appeals to people you don’t like either, where’s the problem?! And for the record, Michael Jackson fans are qualified too. We work in all sectors and industries and as a point to a particular idiotic suggestion; you can work in marketing and be a fan too. I worked as a Marketing Co-ordinator for 2 years from 2010-2012 in a recording studio. By some suggestions, that makes me automatically an Estate plant. Beware if you’re a lawyer and a Michael Jackson fan at the same time, you could apparently find yourself representing him without even realising it (fear not, I’m being sarcastic!).

Is there no space for us to have differences in opinion anymore? Must it all be my way, my beliefs or the highway?! We’re never going to all agree on everything, that doesn’t mean we should elect ourselves eligible to deem others unworthy of the extremely broad title ‘fan’. Wasn’t Michael cast out by society and the media because people didn’t understand his opinion or view points? Having been in Michael’s presence a number of times, he was always smiling, welcoming and embracing of the fans, all the fans. He never cast anyone aside or disregarded a fan in his presence, so step down from your self-elected judgemental post.

I’m well aware that by the end of this article, those who use the aforementioned term will no doubt be labelling me, which in theory proves my point about the ridiculousness and limp attachment of such terminology. I’ll be happy to share stories and pictures of my 12 active years in the fan community (and those prior) to the disapproving individuals who seek to divide people who disagree with them. I’ll even throw in a cake for good measure.

To put simply, anyone who is in the fan community and has withstood the trials, allegations, scandals, dramas and lies, as well as the personal attacks, character assassinations and denunciation more than deserves to boast the title ‘fan’ and no other fan or organisation has the right to take that away from them.

Pez.