What Luminate’s 2025 Year-End Report Reveals About Modern Fan Engagement

In its 2025 Year-End Report, Luminate takes a deep dive into how music fans in the U.S. (and globally) move from being a casual listener to a true superfan. The findings reinforce something we’ve inherently known all along: not all fans are created equal, and the way they engage with the artist is the difference.

The Fan Engagement Funnel

Luminate frames fandom as a “Fan Engagement Funnel,” that illuistrates how music listeners gradually deepen their relationship with artists. At the very top is anyone who consumes music in any form. From there, the funnel narrows as listeners become true fans thanks to ever more financial support and more focused attention.

Here’s how the U.S. audience breaks down:

All Music Listeners (100%) – Everyone who listens to music.
Casual Fans (82%) – Primarily users of free, ad-supported, or programmed streaming services.
Active Fans (66%) – Paid DSP subscribers or casual fans who purchase physical music.
Engaged Fans (37%) – Paying fans who interact with artists across at least 3 of 13 activation channels.
Superfans (20%) – Highly invested consumers who engage across 5 or more of those channels.

The big takeaway here is that one in five U.S. music listeners qualifies as a superfan, which seems much higher than I would have thought. The thing is that these fans are disproportionately responsible for revenue and long-term artist sustainability, so a greater pool of these fans is what ever artist desires.

Why Superfans Matter More Than Ever

Superfans don’t just listen, they participate. They show up, they buy, they talk, and they share. And while superfandom can look different depending on culture and market, Luminate’s data reveals that live music is the glue that binds superfandom together.

For instance, in the United States, the top five activities among superfans are:

Attending in-person live music performances
Talking about artists with friends and family
Purchasing physical merchandise
Purchasing physical music
Attending virtual live music performances

This tells us that U.S. superfans highly value artist-related experiences, then want to share it with others. They don’t just consume music, but turn it into conversation and community.

There are differences in other countries however. In Japan, physical formats and fan clubs remain central to superfandom, while India places more emphasis on digital music purchases and virtual experiences. Despite these differences, attending live performances, either in person or virtually, is central to fan engagement in every market.

Discovery: How Superfans Find New Music

Another critical insight from Luminate’s report is how superfans discover music. Several channels consistently rise to the top.

In the United States, the leading sources of music discovery among superfans are:

Video and audio streaming platforms
Social media
Friends and relatives
Short-form video platforms (such as TikTok)
Movies and movie soundtracks

Streaming platforms may be the primary channel, but social sharing still plays a massive role. This tells us that discovery isn’t just based on an algorithm, but still has a human quality involved.

Screen-based storytelling also matters. Movies and television are important to artists across regions, showing artists and rights holders that sync placements are more than just revenue opportunities – they’re true discovery engines that can deepen fan engagement.

What This Means for Artists and Marketers

The biggest lesson from Luminate’s Fan Engagement Funnel is that superfans are cultivated, not simply found. Moving someone from casual listener to engaged fan (and eventually to superfan) requires engagement from the artist for that to happen.

That might mean:

Turning passive streamers into email subscribers
Encouraging social sharing and conversation
Offering merch to deepen the emotional investment
Creating live and virtual experiences that encourage connection

But what it really all means is that superfans want more than music. They want access, identity, and belonging. That’s why fan clubs have existed for the last 60 years.

Today, the artists who thrive are the ones who understand this funnel and design their careers around moving fans one step closer, one interaction at a time.