Pew Finds 12% of U.S. Adults in an Online Fan Community, a Small, Young Core for a Superfan Boom

Twelve percent of U.S. adults say they are part of an online fan community, according to a Pew Research Center survey of 9,750 adults conducted May 26 to June 1, 2026 and published October 14. Pew counts fandoms of any kind, from a band to a sports team, so music's share is smaller still.

That 12% is a clean national figure for how many Americans actually join a fandom online, as opposed to streaming, following or buying. It comes from the report's own topline, which asked everyone already in an online community: “Are you part of an online fan community, like for a specific celebrity, movie, book, band, or sports team?” One in three community members said yes. Across all adults, that is 12%, roughly one in eight.

How many Americans are in an online community at all?

Thirty-six percent, which Pew rounds to nearly four in ten. Age moves the number more than anything else Pew measured: 48% of adults 18 to 29 are in one, against 40% of those 30 to 49, 32% of those 50 to 64 and 26% of those 65 and older. Pew does not print the fan-community figure by age, but it says young adults are more likely than every other age group to be in fan communities, along with gaming, beauty and screen-fandom spaces.

Fan communities tie with video games and work or profession at 12%, behind hobbies (23%), the local area (21%) and movies, books or TV (13%). Music has no category of its own in Pew's list, and Pew gives no music-only share.

Why does a small number matter to the superfan business?

Because the industry's growth story now runs through that core. Goldman Sachs' Music in the Air report, covered by Music Ally and Hypebot on October 16, forecasts global music revenue rising from $112.5 billion in 2025 to $198.1 billion in 2035, and Hypebot's summary names direct-to-consumer superfan infrastructure as one of the engines. Hypebot also reports Goldman now calls its old assumption, that superfans spend about twice what an average listener does, too conservative.

Pew's figure is a reality check on who those superfans are. The people who have joined a fandom online, not just pressed play, are one American adult in eight, skewed young, and spread across sports, film and books as well as music. Pew does not measure spending, and its count is worth reading next to the superfan subscription bubble bursting earlier this year: a monthly paywall needs a crowd that has already gathered, and by Pew’s count the gathered crowd is far smaller than the streaming totals.

Streams count listeners. Pew counted the people who actually joined, and in a country of streamers it found one adult in eight.

Do online friends count as real friends?

Most Americans say not quite. Pew found 47% think relationships formed online are not as meaningful as in-person ones, while 34% say they can be just as meaningful. Adults under 30 flip that: 54% say online bonds can match in-person ones, against 14% of those 65 and older. Inside the communities, only 18% feel extremely or very close to fellow members, though 56% visit their go-to space every day.

The detail with the most weight for the live business: about a third (36%) say their most-visited online community also holds in-person gatherings. Joining online and showing up in a room are already overlapping for a real slice of members.

What makes fans leave?

Thirty-four percent of adults have left an online community, 44% of those under 30. Among leavers, 85% say they lost interest, the top reason, and 71% say the space was not as good as it used to be. For anyone building a paid fan club, that is the warning: the joined-up core is young and engaged, and it walks when the place gets worse. Pew's survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.4 points for the full sample. The question now is whether the business builds for the one in eight it has, or the crowd it hopes for.