YouTube's 2024 latest annual 'Culture and Trends' Report includes data analysis which suggests that a sensational 65% of Gen Z participants described themselves as 'video content creators', as 57% of the participants admitted to watching fan-made videos about artists, personalities, or issues of interest in the previous year.

80% of fans between the ages of 14 and 44 check out videos on YouTube once a week that interest them. Sixty-six percent of Generation Z Americans would rather watch original content that examines or analyzes their interests than original stuff.

Trends Report Highlights Increase in Fandom Engagement

A SmithGeiger survey found that among Gen Z fans, 42% are casual fans, 29% are huge fans, 21% are super fans, and 8% are professionals. 74% of Gen Z fans, or online 14–24-year-olds who consider themselves fans, said they enjoy it when businesses interact with the things they love. Sixty-five percent of Gen Z respondents identified as "creators." Of Generation Z, 8% consider themselves to be professional fans who make money from what they do.

YouTube's 2024
Image Source: vidIQ

That number is up 25% since YouTube last published its annual Trends Report. Like last year — when YouTube brought in Airrack to dissect its community — fandoms are the most consistent through-line in the report. “We’re seeing a fundamental shift in video viewership,” reads the preamble to the report. “Today, 89% of Gen Z describe themselves as a fan of someone or something. And as more people become engaged fans, fans have also moved from being consumers of culture to directly shaping it.”

YouTube's 2024 Report: The Rise of Super Fans and Content Creators

This pattern indicates that while most fans love watching videos, super fans also enjoy making them. This statistic is a vital reminder to the music industry that the 2024 'Super fans' trend is about more than just business deals, even though it is not surprising. Fandoms are paramount on YouTube, and it's where they congregate to interact with other enthusiasts.

According to the Trends Report poll, 73% of fans watch YouTube for fandom-related content. According to YouTube, the number is 32% greater than comparable numbers on other sites. YouTube's most recent report identifies that 65% of Gen-Zs call themselves as content creators. Larger changes are being hinted at by emerging tendencies in video culture. YouTube suggests that marketers concentrate on remixes, personalized products, and offering templates so that fans may make their content. The report mentions a few music campaigns that successfully utilized this approach.

Recommendations for Marketers: Embrace Fan Communities

According to the paper, fandom will no longer only be a reaction to pop culture, but will eventually become a major cause of it as creative AI and new video technologies advance. Companies that don't methodically interact with fans run the danger of falling behind. Numerous individuals and companies that highlight YouTube's ties to international pop culture fandoms are included in the research. YouTube's early success with the NFL Sunday Ticket package is largely responsible for the explosion of creator-led football videos on the site. As the upcoming NFL season approaches, all 32 clubs had positive feedback from their humorous schedule announcement films.

YouTube publishes a "Culture & Trends Report" every year that is mostly intended for advertisers and looks at user behavior. The report's primary goal is to encourage advertising investment, but it also provides useful facts. The most current edition, published in 2024, focuses on the growing trend of fans who also produce material. Among other suggestions, YouTube advised brands to “empower fan creation, lean into fan communities, and show up where creators are.” Sponsors who heed that advice could become case studies in the 2025 Culture and Trends Report.

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