Japanese anime song fandom in crisis: Live music attendance during and after the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

I focus on Japanese anime song fandom during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, analyzing the changes in fans' live music attendance and their social relationships. Specifically, semistructured interviews were carried out with nineteen fans of anime song singer Nana Mizuki, all of whom had regularly attended her live music events before the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants were recruited using snowball sampling; twelve of the interviews were conducted online. During the temporary cancellation of in-person live shows, fans of Nana Mizuki experienced a suspension of the everyday routines arranged for live music attendance. Some accumulated a desire for live music, whereas others experienced mental health struggles. Online streaming did not serve as an alternative to in-person shows because it was completely different from the form of participation that fans enjoyed before the pandemic. After the restart of in-person shows, fans' decisions (not) to attend them depended on their relationships with their family members, neighbors, and colleagues. Refraining from attending for a few years caused some fans to lose enthusiasm for fandom and close ties with fellow fans. While scholars of live music have studied the extent to which the COVID-19 crisis damaged the music industry, it was not only a crisis in the music industry but also a crisis in fans' everyday lives and fandom.