What Is an FC (Fan Club)? Membership Fees, Presales and Loyalty Perks in Japan

“Is it renewal time already? How many of the perks did I actually use this year?” Ever hesitated over a fan club’s renewal email? Here are the fees and the presale system, plus points to think about before you renew.

What FC (Fan Club) Means

FC is short for fan club: an official paid membership organization that fans of a particular artist, talent or team join by paying a fee. In exchange for the fee, members receive the right to apply for tickets ahead of the general public and access to exclusive content. From the operators’ side, it is also a way to collect ongoing support and funds from fans.

“FC presale” comes up constantly at genba (live events) because the value of that first line is so large. The fee is sometimes described as, in effect, the price of the right to apply for tickets.

FC membershipAn official paid fan club

• Ticket presaleLottery before general sales
• Magazine and contentPrinted, digital, men-gen streams
• Member eventsFan meetings and online events
• Exclusive goodsMembership card, joining gift
• Loyalty perksItems that change with the years

The presale right is the most valued perk.

Origins and History

The term is simply the English “fan club” rendered in Japanese, and in Japan the word koenkai (“supporters’ association”) came first. A koenkai keeps the flavor of a support organization, while a fan club is generally described as easier to join, with mostly passive activities.

Besides clubs for individual entertainers, broadcasters also moved to create organizations for viewers and listeners. According to imidas (in Japanese), FM Tokyo launched its “Listeners’ Club” in February 1998, and Fuji Television launched its “Fuji TV Club” in April of the same year.

From the late 2010s, fan club magazines moved to digital formats and apps. That flow has spread further in recent years, and, like LDH’s official fan club app (in Japanese), FCs are changing from “a place to pay fees” into “an app you open every day.” Some clubs also tie in with sports spectating through features such as attendance stamps.

1. February 1998FM TokyoLaunches its Listeners' Club
2. April 1998Fuji TelevisionLaunches the Fuji TV Club
3. Late 2010sGoing digitalMagazines move to digital and apps
4. Recent yearsEveryday appsAttendance stamps tie in with sports

FCs are changing from a place to pay fees into an app you open every day.

How It Differs From Similar Terms

Beyond big agencies’ official FCs, platforms where creators can open their own fan clubs have also spread. In an age when “there’s not necessarily only one club to join,” managing the costs of kakemochi (following several at once) has become harder.

Examples

• “Renewed the FC again this year. If I forget the renewal month it lapses, which is scary.”
• “Lost the FC presale… I’ll have to bet on general sales.”
• “The joining fee plus the annual fee came to nearly ¥10,000 after all.”
• “My membership card for year five has a new design, and I’m so happy.”
• “Ever since my oshi went on hiatus, I’ve been wondering whether to keep the FC.”

A Guide to the Cost

An article by FANTS (in Japanese), a company that runs fan communities, also shows that the amount people feel is reasonable differs by age group and the type of operator. Rather than the amount itself, it’s easier to decide by asking “how many times will I use that right this year?” If you only apply for one show a year, the annual fee is a surcharge of one ticket. Writing it down as a fixed cost in your oshi-katsu budget book keeps you from panicking in the renewal month.

From Joining to Renewing

1. Apply on the official site — Register your name and address. Your name on the account is used for ID checks, so enter it accurately
2. Pay — By card, at a convenience store and so on. At some clubs, the first year is handled differently depending on the month you join
3. A member number is issued — This number becomes your entrance when you apply for presales
4. Receive the perks — A membership card, the fan club magazine, access to members-only pages
5. Renew — Whether it’s automatic or manual depends on the club. At clubs with manual renewal, forgetting to pay resets your years of membership

1. 01ApplyEnter your name accurately
2. 02PayBy card or at a convenience store
3. 03Member numberYour entrance to presales
4. 04Receive perksCard, magazine, members-only pages
5. 05RenewManual clubs reset your years if you forget

Forgetting to renew at a manual club resets your years of membership.

When You’re Unsure Whether to Continue

Your oshi’s activity has decreased, there were no shows you wanted to go to, your priorities in life have changed. There are many reasons to think about quitting. If you can’t decide, try writing down these three points.

• How many times you used the right this year — The number of presale applications, members-only streams and event entries
• Whether you expect to use it next year — The status of tour announcements and the pace of activity
• Whether you find meaning in your years of membership — In the content of the perks, or as your own record

If the third remains, that’s a reason to continue; if it doesn’t, you can switch to supporting without spending, musen style. Many clubs let you join again, and quitting isn’t an irreversible decision.

Looking back

This year

• How many presale applications
• Members-only streams and events used

Looking ahead

Next year

• Tour announcements
• The pace of activity

Your record

Meaning

• Do the years of membership matter
• If yes, that's a reason to continue

If the third remains, continue; if not, musen-style support is an option.

Notes From The Oshi Lab: The Fee Sells a “Relationship,” Not a “Right”

Fan clubs matter to agencies because, unlike goods or tickets, they are a stock-type revenue that accumulates. At big groups, membership is said to reach the millions, and the roster itself becomes a corporate asset. Perks that scale with years of membership work as a design to prevent people from leaving.

However, this revenue depends heavily on the continued activity of particular people or groups. As long as “my oshi went on hiatus” shows up among the reasons for quitting, the fee is essentially paid for the continuation of a relationship, and can’t be fully explained as the price of a right. App-ification and attendance stamps can be read as ways to keep the relationship going even in periods without shows.

Seen this way, it also explains why reactions to a price increase or a change in perks don’t scale with the size of the amount. What fans are sensitive to is not the price but how they’re treated. The presale win rate, the volume of the fan club magazine, the response to inquiries: an unquantified feel decides which finger presses the renew button.

Related Terms

Booster club / Kakin, mitsugu, ofuse and omukae (slang for spending on your oshi) / Meigi and doko (name on the ticket and companions) / Men-gen / How to keep an oshi-katsu budget book