Clash Issue 132 – Fan Life

Fans are the life blood of the music industry. Theyre the people who support new artists, who celebrate their wins, and spread the good word. Its the kid at the merch desk, buying his first t-shirt; its the fan at the crash barrier, making sure she gets the best spot; and its the person at home, soaking up the action through social media. Those champions are fundamental to understanding how music works in 2025, andin truthwe would always count ourselves as fans, first and foremost.

Spotifys Fan Life campaign aims to both explore and expand on this. Across two instalments the global endeavour pinpoints the movement, sound, and energy of fan communities, looking at fandoms who coalesce around artists as disparate as Charli xcx and Sleep Token, Lil Uzi Vert and Pitbull.

Working in tandem with Spotify, CLASH brought together three representatives from potent UK fandoms: three young people with different takes on what it means to be a music obsessive in 2025. Neesha has travelled from Sheffield where she overseesCentralCee_Media, an Instagram fan account with more than 600,000 followers. James lives in rural Lincolnshire, and he heads up the official Yungblud Discord channel, the fulcrum of the British stars Black Hearts Club. Arriving from Brighton, Megan runs CreepyCrawlerHQ, a safe space for fans of Warrington alt group The Crawlers.

Allowing these three music fans to open up, CLASH invites you to experience 21st century fandom through the eyes of those championing it.

You get to meet so many new people. You get to meet so many new friends. You get to create a sense of community around yourself with people who love the same artist that you do, reflects Megan Its such a beautiful thing to involve yourself with.

Pre-order your copy now. Magazines will be shipping out from the UK from Friday 14th November 2025, please allow sufficient time for your copy to arrive.

Words: Robin Murray

Photography: Dan Boulton

Styling: Sabrina Soormally