Social Interaction: Decline of the Traditional Rationale for Joining an Elvis Fan Club

by Dr John Walker

When one thinks of Elvis fan clubs one necessarily conjures up images of small groups of Elvis worshippers who regularly congregate at fan club meetings and social outings. Elvis Presley Enterprises (EPE) maintains a register of fan clubs worldwide. The number exceeds 650 and is still growing. These clubs vary in size from a handful of people to many thousands. In fact the British fan club headed by Todd Slaughter claims a membership exceeding 10,000 fans, although this is half its post 1977 peak of 20,000 and well below its very heady days in the early 1960s under the stewardship of the late Albert Hand, when it boasted a membership in six figures.

The majority of these fan clubs are located in Elvis's home country, the USA. The USA tally is around 500 with the European Community registering nearly 100 clubs and Australia 26. Other clubs can be found in South America, Japan, China, South-East Asia and India. Elvis is truly a global phenomenon. It is probably not too far a stretch to suggest that if and when the first colony is established on the Moon, it won't be long before the first non-terrestrial Elvis fan club is formed.

Typically, clubs have a membership between 15 (the number required to be registered with EPE) and 50. The relatively small membership numbers in each club make it difficult for clubs to have an effective voice. In Britain, The British fan club was astute enough to organise itself into an umbrella body with chapters located throughout the Commonwealth. For many years the combined strength of the British fan club gave it considerable influence with both EPE and BMG. Today, its numbers are significantly less and it has serious competition from two other British Elvis organisations, Essential Elvis and Elvisly Yours. Despite a number of failed attempts to replicate the British structure, the US clubs largely operate locally and independently of each other and wield little influence with the decision makers in EPE and BMG. The pseudonymous John Carpenter, in his paper 'How Great Thou Art: A Status Report on the Kingdom of Elvis Aaron Presley' correctly identified that the egoistic nature of most Elvis fan club hierarchies precluded the network of Elvis fan clubs from having any serious political muscle. Whether this is a good or bad thing is a moot point. To Carpenter it was a case of a golden chance gone begging. Privately, a number of Elvis fan club presidents echo Carpenter's sentiment.

Many fans express the sentiment that they join a fan club for the social interaction or comraderie. They appreciate the atmosphere of meeting in a social context with like-minded people. But what are the characteristics of these 'socially directed or inclined' fans? And why are many fan clubs stating that the golden days of social activities are long over with dwindling numbers attending social functions?

On the first question, some would claim that those who attend fan club get togethers are generally social misfits who nevertheless hope to find gratification from sharing in their love or appreciation for Elvis. While this position is simplistic, there is an observational fact that the socially challenged fans "stand out" and leave a lasting impression because of their social shortcoming. The reality is that most fans, be they socially inclined or cyberspace inclined, are ordinary people like you, me or our next door neighbour.

The second question has a contemporary indice in the recent phenomenon of "Meet-Up" (www.meetup.com). Started by an enterprising group in the USA, this monthly meeting of people in hundreds of cities around the world has made an immediate impact. The question must be asked however, how long will the impact last? Elvis fans are one group that has taken to the monthly Meet-Up- in significant numbers. More than 4,700 Elvis fans in 475 cities had signed on to "Meet-Up" by 30 June 2003. Of the 475 cities only 72 had numbers of 20 or more, 145 cities had numbers of at least 10 and around 330 had numbers less than 10. Most cities reported a good turnout for the first Elvis Meet-Up in May 2003. However, since then the monthly gatherings have been consistently cancelled due to lack of patronage, especially in cities with a smaller numbers of fans registered. It appears that a significant percentage of those who do attend a meet-up are the same people who attend regular fan club meetings or social outings. Crucially, few "new" fans are attending the meet-ups. The meet-up experience parallels the experience of most fan clubs that have been established for more than two years (newer fan clubs usually experience a vibrant and exciting "honeymoon" period where attendance is high and commitment strong).

While the number and pervasiveness of Elvis fan clubs continue to spread their wings, they are being impacted by a new technology - the Internet. To some, the socially based fan clubs are under threat by the new communication medium, to others they see it as a welcome, supplementary medium that can only strengthen fan clubs.

Where have all the Young Fans Gone?....Not far, far away!

A cursory examination of the myriad of fan club newsletters/magazines reveals that the average age of those attending social activities would be in the 45-60 demographic bracket. This raises the question: where are all the young fans, those that will carry the Elvis torch over the next twenty to thirty years? No-one doubts they exist, although as numerous fan club officials will attest, many are not enamoured when attending their first (and often their last) club function to find it is run by "dinosaurs" and where most of those present are approaching retirement! I contend that the younger fans constitute the average Elvis fan in cyberspace. While a quantitative research study is required to prove or disprove my contention I doubt that I'm far off the mark. If my contention is valid, what does this mean for socially based fan clubs? Will their numbers continue to dwindle as members pass away or find other interests in the later stages of their lives? Or will a quasi-University of the Third Age demographic appear as more and more older fans enmesh themselves in cyberspace? There is some evidence to suggest the latter is happening but the numbers are very small. Perhaps it is too early to tell.

A reality is that the fan base is evolving. The older demographic is still potent but the future lies in the developing younger demographic. This demographic operates largely within "cyberspace" and its reliance on "Elvis" social interaction is significantly less than the previous generation of Elfans.

The management at EPE is clearly aware of not only this change but also the need to foster it, as the following excerpt from an article on August 10, 2003 in Memphis' Commercial Appeal newspaper highlights (note in particular the mention by EPE CEO, Jack Soden, about the percentage of younger Elfans):

"While Soden says Elvis needs no repackaging, Graceland is, in fact, constantly repackaging him and watching his fan base grow progressively younger. Elvis would have been 68 this year. His manager, Col. Tom Parker, once paired Elvis with Frank Sinatra in a TV special in hopes of making the notorious "Elvis the Pelvis" appeal to an older audience. The trick now is to make dead Elvis appeal to the young.

Soden says 53 percent of the fan base is 35 or younger.

The Disney movie Lilo & Stitch last year exposed Elvis and his music to young children with four Elvis songs and a running Elvis theme. It reinforced Elvis as indivisible from American culture and as much a part of history as George Washington, the Louisiana Purchase or Bob Hope."

The Elvis Phenomenon becomes an Internet Phenomenon

Elvis on the Internet is an amazing beast. If you punch in 'Elvis Presley' to any search engine the result will be somewhere in the order of 600,00 web results. Using only the name 'Elvis' brings up a number exceeding 3 million web results. Admittedly this includes many results for the 'other' Elvises in our lives: Elvis Costello, Elvis Grbac, Elvis Stojko etc.

Analysis of the types of web sites devoted to Elvis reveals a wide-ranging classification list:

The sites themselves are an interesting mix from the agricultural to the sophisticated. There are probably only half a dozen or so major sites that have cornered a substantial part of the Elvis Internet market. They include:

The Battleground: Social Gratification vs. Information Elitism

Whether or not the Internet is friend or foe to traditional fan clubs is typically determined by the access a club has to the medium. Clubs without Internet access are increasingly finding themselves becoming 'information marginalised' ie. they lack capability with respect to timely access to and dissemination of the latest Elvis information. As their individual members go online this can mean a lessening of interest in the fan club as an immediate and amazing Elvis fix is found in the exoteric realms of cyberspace, rather than the esoteric inner sanctum of the club hierarchy. Only if the psychological gratification of the fan club 'social gathering' functions at an equal or higher level than the gratification of instant information, will 'socially' based clubs be able to survive in any great numbers for any great length of time.

But it's not all rosy for the cyberspace champions. For online clubs who have quickly become the Elvis 'information elite' there could be a delicate balancing act to perform. Do they simply appeal to those fans most comfortable communicating in cyberspace or do they also undertake activities that satisfy the needs of socially directed fans?

The Internet Sub-Cultures

Beyond the surface regions of Elvis on the Internet there are several intriguing sub-cultures, from the many, varied Elvis message boards to Elvis chat groups and entrance ways to those within the inner Elvis circles of BMG, Graceland and the Memphis Mafia. With a little cyberspace detective work, the average fan can soon be communicating with Ernst Jorgensen (the current Elvis music guru in BMG) or if your interest is what it was like living with The King: Joe Esposito or Charlie Hodge. Those with particular curiosities will find great pleasure participating in the often vitriolic discussions on the prolific Elvis messageboards or forums. There is a forum for every Elvis perspective: general discussions, the Elvis Chronology, Lisa Marie Presley, Elvis impersonators, Is Elvis Alive? etc. What is impressive about many of the boards is the large amount of traffic, both postings and viewings, that they attract.

Many fans are finding the Internet a godsend. Formerly, they could only communicate with their Elvis friends overseas by "snail" mail or by running up high telephone bills. Today, they can email or chat online in an instant. It is indeed an "Elvis" information revolution - one that is not only structurally altering information flows, but by inference, also changing the power relationships within the traditional Elvis political landscape.

Influence in the Information Age

I commented earlier on the ineffectiveness of most Elvis fan clubs because of their low membership numbers and locally parochial, structural arrangements. An interesting development in the information age is that some cyberspace identities/web sites are finding they have a growing influence with or access to key decision makers on Elvis matters in EPE and BMG. This development can only serve to further distance the socially based clubs from their cyberspace counterparts.

The dynamic that is happening has to do with access to the key players and the power of the Internet to promote and sell merchandise and ideas. The major non-EPE Elvis web sites register between 100,000 and 150,000 unique sessions each month and many operate financially successful Elvis shops. The main loci of influence have, not surprisingly, occurred in the European Community (EC) and the USA - the EC being where BMG's main Elvis man', Ernst Jorgensen resides and the USA being home to Graceland (EPE) and the headquarters of Elvis's record company, BMG. BMG's 'global' Elvis policy is determined in New York.

The key to obtaining influence is in forming a close relationship with Ernst Jorgensen, senior managers in BMG USA and the marketing arm of EPE. Clubs/webmasters who achieve this suddenly find they are able to 'break' the latest news to the Elvis world. In Holland, the site For Elvis CD Collectors has benefited by forming a close relationship with Ernst Jorgensen while super-collector and dealer, Paul Dowling, has broken numerous CD title and track listings due to his connections with BMG USA, and Dowling is also the first point of promotion for new book releases from prolific Elvis photo-book publisher, Joseph. A. Tunzi.

Another recent Elvis web site, EP Gold, operating out of the EC, regularly publishes news direct from Charlie Stanford of BMG UK, although on some occasions the information has not been entirely reliable.

Access to key decision makers and being able to break important news lends sites a credibility that over time becomes self-reinforcing. The power bases of the EC and Dowling sites must surely annoy the Elvis Information Network (EIN), an organisation that operates from Australia. EIN is one of the world's top Elvis web sites but suffers due to its geographical distance from centres of key decision making.

Conclusion

The last decade has seen an accelerating and distinct evolutionary shift in the Elvis world - a shift away from locally based gatherings of Elvis fans to participation in an instantaneous, global Internet community.

Clubs with an online capability or presence (ie. the 'information elite') are likely to thrive in the next decade. They can immediately update their members through instant email advices, they can obtain the latest new release information in a few minutes, they can converse in 'same time' with their peers thousands of kilometres away, they can publish online newsletters and update their sites as often as they have the time. Theirs is the age of true, immediate information! Fan clubs excluded from the benefits of the new communication technology (ie. those who are 'information marginalised') run a double risk: one, they lack what fans will increasingly demand - instant information, and two, their membership is undoubtedly ageing, meaning their numbers will inevitably dwindle in the next decade.

The cry "Elvis lives" has never been as true and relevant, and the possibility for "The King's" continued existence in this new and exciting technological environment will be realised in increasingly rich and rewarding ways.

Sources:

 

July 2003