From a Front Row Fangirl

How Austin Meersman Is Redefining Fan Connection

Austin Meersman grew up a music lover. He remembers listening to classic rock around the house. Artists like Def Leppard, KISS and Journey were staples in his house. He looks at music as a soundtrack of his life. He attributes specific songs to specific parts of his life which is something truly special. He has always been attracted to music but never knew what opportunities it held for him. He has found that his love and experience with social media and music can offer him a place in the music industry. With this passion he has established his place and hopes to change it for the better.

Austin Meersman, is a high school dropout from Salt Lake City, Utah. Usually when hearing those words, you would think, lazy, unsuccessful and failure, but when it comes to Austin he is nothing of the sort. He was offered the opportunity of a lifetime as a high school dropout, so he jumped at the chance, and has been growing that success ever since.

“I dropped out of high school at 16 years old; I never went to college, but have now started my own company. I think it’s important to remember that all I have to be is me in this industry. People haven’t started to not care as much about traditional education because everyone’s journey is different.”

Growing up Meersman loved gaming, and the app Discord. He’s been a user around the age of thirteen. He always used it for gaming, until the app started to blow up on TikTok for creating online communities. When this happened he saw this as his opportunity to learn a new skill and develop his hobby further. Through this love of gaming and connecting with others on this app he learned to create communities, and connections with friends around the world. Little did he know that this hobby of his would turn into a job opportunity.

“In 2020 artists really started getting on Discord. I think it was because of the disconnect during the pandemic that people were looking for connection anywhere they could get it. I also think artists realized that without the support of their fans, they wouldn’t get anywhere, so they learned to prioritize that relationship.”

Meersman’s first experience in the music industry where he truly felt he could do this as a career, and truly wanted to pursue it was with the artist, Lexi Jayde. He attended one of her shows in Utah, on his birthday when she was opening for Clinton Kane. At this show he met her at her merch table where she told him, she could tell there was something truly special about him. She then invited him to her shows in Los Angeles, where he was able to make lasting impressions and connections with her team that he has to this day. 

A few weeks after her tour had wrapped up he was reached out to again, by her team and was asked to create a discord community. A place where fans could connect with her and each other.

With the support of his previous business partner, Jared Lerman, he started to create spaces for artists and fans to connect with one another. This all started with Lexi Jayde and the creation of her Discord. Now he is running multiple communities  as well as managing Poolhouse, an indie-rock band from Utah, and looking to launch a digital street team in the near future. 

He attributes his success to true connection. He believes that a true connection, not just a transactional one can make all the difference in the industry, and it has for him.

“I think a lot of people have the idea that it’s a dog eat dog world, but I’ve been lucky to surround myself with people that don’t see the world that way. I make it a point to make my connections deeper, and less transactional.”

He shared with me that these transactional connections are a common misconception. He also mentioned that the music industry as a whole just gets a bad wrap of toxicity which he has not experienced at all.

“Everyone thinks the music industry is so terrible, because that’s what it’s been in the past, but on the smaller level, that’s not apparent at all. Everyone is a part of the industry because they love it, and want to craft and create new things, with other creative minds.”

He combats this negativity around the industry with just being the most authentic he can be. He does his best every day to inspire and change it in the ways he can, small or big.

When asked about his favorite experience he’s had he shared that it’s been working with Faye Webster. He explained that he has appreciated what he’s learned from her. He especially loves the way she interacts with fans. Not all artists try to connect with their fans as much as she does.

“My favorite by far has been working with Faye Webster. The way she and her team runs things, everything she stands for and her overall vibe is inspiring.”

He mentioned that he felt so special when she called him “her Discord muse” when they had first met. She shared with him that she was never comfortable in that kind of setting, and the action he took to support her and show her how to connect with her fans through Discord really assisted her.

Reflecting on his few years in the industry he realized that so much more has changed than he first realized. Obviously his niche in the industry, fan connection via Discord is the biggest change.

“At my start, nobody really thought about their fans, no one was on Discord, and fan connection was near non-existent in that capacity, no one even knew what Discord was or how to navigate it.”

Artists and their teams have realized that if their fans know they are cared about they are much more likely to support that artist. Meersman shared that merch and even tickets are selling faster through Discord communities because of the fan to artist connection.

The introduction of Artificial Intelligence has also had a big impact on the industry in the way things are created. Meersman shared that he has learned to implement it into his everyday life. He uses it for writing, structure, research and creative thinking.

With all of these changes it can seem daunting to stay true to yourself and be able to adapt to the ever changing industry. Meersman said that for him it came down to remembering his vision, passion and connections. His vision of a perfect industry wouldn’t change himself in anyway, if anything it would be truer to the person he is.

“Everything I do is to connect and show my passion, as I create a more connected industry-more collaborative industry. As long as my vision stays the same, I won’t struggle to stay true to myself.”

As he has created his vision he has learned many lessons with creating valuable connections and navigating the industry. His biggest piece of advice is the same he was given by Benson Boone’s manager Jeff Burns.

“You can do anything you want to do, in the music industry it’s all about who you know, and who you connect with. But my perspective is the most important part of knowing people is truly connecting with them, because those that you know and support will always lend a hand to help out. I have implemented this in my career and it’s really made a difference so if I could share any advice it would be that.”

He continued by explaining that the importance of connections is not the only thing he’s learned. Success is relative. Everyone’s journey is not going to be linear or the same, do what feels best for your journey.

Looking to the future, Meersman is very excited about his new company Operation Fan Project. He is launching a street team in January to support  others to break into the industry and offer similar resources that he received a few years ago. He’s very excited for this launch because of the new approach they will be taking.

“We’re going to be combining the old street team structure such as grassroots marketing with our new digital age take.”

He is looking to include monthly AMA panels, workshops, mentorship programs, ambassador opportunities, fan resources and spaces for individuals to get out and create something. Their hope is to push people further than the other programs out there. He wants to give back to the industry that has blessed him with such amazing experiences.