A Melodic Connection

“You are the hole in my head, you are the space in my bed”. Weird right? This first line of “No Light, No Light” by Florence and the Machine is one of the many mind-boggling lyrics in the indie artist’s repertoire.

When I first listened to Florence and the Machine’s music, I knew if I told other people about the alternative band, they would most likely not know who I was talking about. Indeed, I was unable to find many people who knew who this band was and definitely did not find people who enjoyed the music after I showed it to them.

Not only is Florence and the Machine’s music categorized under indie/alternative (a genre composed of unconventional music), it is notoriously known to be weird. If I really wanted to relate to others on Florence’s music, I would have to attend a concert. This was highly unlikely. But, by God’s grace, pages over all different social media platforms dedicated to Florence fans started popping up. People who felt the same way as me no longer had to enjoy the mystifying music in solitude. They could hop on to virtually any social media platform and find Florence enthusiasts. Now there is no way to be a Florence and the Machine fan and feel alone.

Online Landscape

The Florence and the Machine online community is largely decentralized because of its span across multiple platforms including Instagram, Facebook, Tumblr, Reddit, and Twitter. However, within each of these platforms, certain pages can have a large number of followers or commentators. The most popular page on Facebook has 96k followers. Facebook also has more Florence pages and offers private groups (Groups that require you to be accepted).

I was surprised to find larger bases on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. These large bases also post consistently and daily. “Florence Updates” on Twitter has 11.3k members with the last post being on February 14th. “The FATM Fan Club” on Twitter has 12.3k members with the latest post also being on February 14th. “florenceandthemachinee” is the name of the Instagram community which has 22.3k followers and completely consists of pictures and videos of Florence. There are obviously additional accounts for Florence on Instagram, however “florenceandthemachinee” is the only one that has a substantial follower base.

Smaller bases are on Tik Tok and Tumblr. Tumblr has many pages on Florence but they are disorganized and have few members. “Over The Love” is the most coherent fan page for Florence on Tumblr. There are a few accounts dedicated to Florence on Tik Tok but the most popular one has 156 followers.

The Community

The online community of fans shares interests in real life and online aspects of Florence and the Machine. The real-life aspects are concerts and meet and greets. The online aspects include her music, pictures of Florence, videos created and dedicated to her, and pictures of her posts. The members in private groups on Facebook post fanart, pictures of Florence from concerts, quizzes about favorite songs, tattoos of lyrics by Florence, long paragraphs about how Florence changed their life, music videos, and merch.

The size of the community is based on the number of people who appreciate the music. There is no correlation between the size of the community and whether it is online or in person. There is a good mixture between people who have been to live concerts and people who listen to her music online. This community has no direct ties to a certain location although, if one person posts about a particular concert they went to, other people may comment on the post saying they also went to the concert.

The main topic that brings Florence fans together is the music. On most platforms, the comments on posts will be about how Florence’s music has inspired the commenter. In fact more comments can be seen on posts that ask about the fans’ favorite songs. Many comments are about how the music brought that person through a rough time or inspired them.

Comments

“Florenceandthemachinee” is the only account on Instagram that has a good number of comments on its posts even though I would prefer for there to be more. Posts with the highest comments have around 90 comments. The posts with the highest number of comments usually involve the poster asking questions like, “What would you ask Florence if you met her?”, “What song should Florence do a cover of?”, and “Which of Florence’s songs got you through a rough time?”. The same applies to pages on Facebook. On the Florence and the Machine Fan Club page which has 96k followers, the most commented on post is one where the poster asks followers what a particular album by Florence means to them.

Similarities

An interesting similarity I noticed across all pages is that the number of comments, shares, and likes on posts varies with each post. For example, one post on the “Florence and the Machine Fan Club” Facebook page has 555 likes and 25 comments while another has 1.7k likes and 12 comments. One post from a group member in a private group on Facebook named “Florence + The Machine Fan Club” received 607 likes and 55 comments. The poster received this much attention because the post was a beautifully painted portrait of Florence. However, another post which is pictures of artists not related to Florence only has 18 likes, even though the private group is made of 22.2k members.

Also, a large base does not necessarily mean that there will be more comments. For example, a reddit page has 7.1k members, but the comments rarely reach over 20 and many have 0. Another private group on Facebook named “Florence + the Machine Fan Club Community” has 2.7k members with one post getting 1 like.

The Music

Florence communities give people a sense of connection. The user feels understood because others share a passion for an integral part of the user’s life. The Music. People are so tied to music that when they meet someone with the same taste, they feel they have met their best friend. This is why music is the driving force for bringing the community together. Music is part of the user’s identity, so when they meet people with the same taste, it creates a family-like connection. Florence’s music strikes a spark in her listeners and online communities are the furnace for that flame.