Fandom, Youth and Western Pop Music in China

In the wake of globalization and social media, fan culture in China has undergone huge transformation. However, in the context of a socialist market economy (Fung, 2009) and state control, Chinese fan culture has shown different characteristics from elsewhere. This article attempts to provide a political and economic background that examines the development of fandom in China and investigates the relationship between young people and fan culture by looking into the practices of fan communities across western pop music.