Bruce Springsteen fan behavior and identification

This research studied Bruce Springsteen fans and investigated their fanship and fandom, fan-related behavior, worship, and psychological functions for listening to Springsteen’s music. In total, 600 Springsteen fans from the United States, Canada, Europe, the Nordic countries, South Africa, and South America filled an online survey distributed to them via fan forums. The results showed that on average the respondents had been Springsteen’s fans for three decades and had attended 27 shows in total. The primary function of listening to Springsteen’s music was to achieve self-awareness. More than half of the respondents listened to Springsteen’s music daily, and on average, more than half of the fans’ total music consumption was by Springsteen. The fans were also heavily involved in popular forms of fan consumption. Analyses showed some gender and cultural differences, particularly with females scoring higher level of fan identification and consumption, but no age differences. These findings indicate that it was possible to identify quantitative differences between fan behavior and identification, which have implications for the rock music marketing and management industry.