I Made an App to Amplify the Female Fan Experience

From the moment I realised I wanted to work in the music industry, I was conditioned to believe I had to grow out of being a fangirl to be taken seriously.

Well, here I am to tell you that you don’t. It turns out being a fangirl is actually my superpower and I’m here to tell you that it’s yours as well. 

My journey into the music industry started in 2009 when I was just 13. I was watching TV on my couch and this brown eyed, floppy-haired boy appeared on my TV screen. It took two seconds for me to become completely mesmerised by this kid, and I ran downstairs to the family computer and quickly typed in his name. I was compelled to know everything I possibly could about him, ending up down the rabbit hole of watching YouTube video after YouTube video. I was completely amazed by his voice and cute smile. Any guesses who this is yet?

You never realise just how important such a small, and at the time, insignificant moment can single-handedly change the entire course of your life. In my case, turning on the TV and catching my first glimpse of Justin Bieber would change everything for me. From that moment forward, I completely immersed myself in the world of fandom, stan Twitter, and concerts. I had fallen in love not only with the young pop star but with what it meant to be a fangirl too. 

Since that day in 2009, I have attended hundreds of concerts (maybe one day I’ll try to count), travelled to 10+ different countries for shows, met my best friends through music, worked with some of my favourite artists, started my own company dedicated to improving the fan experience, and danced on stage dressed as a penguin with Bebe Rexha.

I get asked the question, “How did you transition from being a fan to working in music?” a lot. And the answer is that I didn’t. I am still just as big a fan now as I was when I was 13. I still follow bands around on tour, spend too much money on merch, get waitlisted by Ticketmaster, scream when Taylor Swift plays my dream surprise song without me there, and sleep on cool cement for the barricade. The only difference is now, I get paid to use that passion to help artists build their fanbase. What started as a hobby soon spiralled into something I would go on to dedicate my entire life to – so, let’s go over how exactly we got here. 

My journey into the industry

2016 was another one of those “you don’t realise how much a tiny moment can change your life” moments. Who would have thought a boyband being announced would turn into a five-year-long adventure? This particular adventure included going to every single show on a tour, embarrassing meet and greet photos, lots of time laying on the floor, doing school work outside concert venues, road trips, getting stranded on the side of the road in various countries, and the ultimate realisation that I wanted to work in the industry, particularly for said band. Spoiler alert: I did.

Since this whole experience happened over course of five years, I’ll give you the quick sparknote version. I immediately knew I wanted to work for Why Don’t We the first time I saw them live in 2017. I built fan projects and went to as many shows as I could. In 2019, Crowd Surf (a company that worked with the band at the time) offered me an internship because of everything I did as a fan. At the end of that year, I told the band I wasn’t going to see them again until I was working with them and that’s exactly what I did.

In 2020, Crowd Surf offered me my first full-time music industry job as a Publicity Assistant, before I made the move to Digital Marketing in 2021. Crowd Surf was the first time I felt celebrated for being a fan. The value they placed on my fan experience and the belief they had in me simply because of my love of boy bands had such a huge impact on shifting my entire mindset.

Between 2017 and 2020, I had convinced myself that in order to work within this industry, I had to hide being a fan. I thought no one was ever going to trust me or take me seriously. As fans, I think we are often in settings where we feel looked down upon or judged for being passionate. I was lucky enough to find people who feel the opposite.

My time at Crowd Surf taught me more than I could ever imagine. I got to work with multiple dream artists and learned so much about building marketing campaigns, social media rollout plans, content creation, and more. There were also some hard lessons: how to balance work and personal life, the complexities of mixing professional and personal relationships, and the realisation that not everyone you work with is going to treat you with respect. I loved my time at Crowd Surf, but eventually realised my heart belongs to being a fan. 

After spending a lot of time in rooms with different levels of professionals, I learnt that most of the conversations were centred around three things – building fanbases, making songs go viral, and how to sell tickets. Very few of the conversations were ever about the fans’ best interests. There are hundreds of people working with the artists and there are many that care about the fans, but who is working for the fans?

And then Blueprint was born

That’s when I decided to build The Blueprint Stan Experience. I want to be the person who sees the problems we fans deal with and be able to do something about it. Safety at shows, affordable tickets, access to information, and inclusive merch sizing are just a few aspects we hope to dive into improving. We still have a long way to go before even beginning to scratch the surface of making a difference.

But phase one is the newly launched Blueprint App for fans. The Blueprint Stan Experience app is the ultimate destination for music lovers. The app is designed to connect fans directly with other fans and their favourite artists, with in-app features focusing on improving and amplifying the everyday lives of fans everywhere. Through fan communities, connection and access to important information, Blueprint is the new up-and-coming app dedicated to building and amplifying a fanbase.

We create unique and authentic interaction for fans and their favorite artists and provide what is needed to grow, encourage and maintain an active fanbase. By building fan communities, fan experiences, and specialised events, we emphasise the importance of rewarding fans for being fans.

There will be a second version coming later this year with even more features focused on amplifying the fan experience. Eventually, I hope to run my own music festival, being able to provide thousands of concert tickets to fans for free and continue to improve the concert environment. My end goal is simple: to share the magic of concerts and fandom with as many people as possible.

When you’re in a room filled with strangers who are all singing every word, phone lights flashing, and people dancing, the building is filled with this euphoric energy and nothing in the world matters other than that moment. Everyone feels united with the sole purpose of having fun. The only word used to describe it is magic. That is what Blueprint is all about.

So if you learned anything from my story, I hope it’s that you should never apologise for the way you passionately love something. Scream it proudly! I will shamelessly share my love of being a fan for the rest of my life and no, much to many people’s dismay, it never was just a phase. 

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