Photo Credit: Frenzy
Every artist knows the drill: “Check out our merch, check out our socials, check out our setlist.” Fans get bounced between five different apps and three different checkout carts just to feel connected to the show they’re already attending. Frenzy, a Seattle-based platform that desires to reshape super fan engagement at concerts and arenas, is betting this scavenger-hunt approach to fandom is over.
This article was created in collaboration with DMN partner Frenzy.
Frenzy didn’t start out trying to solve fan engagement; it started by solving a trash problem. The company’s original business was built around the wave of LED wristbands that lit up and littered stadiums and arenas, a flashy alternative to the silicone-and-battery waste those bands leave behind after their single-use concert function is over.
But as venues have moved toward built-in lighting fixtures instead of wearables, Frenzy’s team saw a bigger opportunity: instead of just lighting up an arena, why not use the same phone in everyone’s pocket to actually interact with fans and keep superfan data in the hands of artists?
That pivot became Frenzy as it exists today, a platform that turns every phone in the building into a two-way communication channel between the artist, their team, and the audience in attendance. Perhaps the biggest bonus to artist teams is that fans don’t have to be routed through Instagram, Twitter, or social media at all to interact with the concert they’re already attending. The data and information generated with fan engagement is in artists’ control, with focus in-house on the Frenzy feed, sharing only what you want to social.
At the center of Frenzy is a live event stream that fans can join in seconds, either inside an artist’s existing app or through Frenzy’s own. From there, hosts can push out three kinds of content in real time: emails before, during, or after the show; what Frenzy dubs ‘delighters,’ which are tappable content blocks with merch links, setlists, lyrics, exclusive content, show dates, or social prompts; and ‘moments’, which are the flashy, phone-synced screen flashes and haptics that turn an entire section of the crowd into a coordinated visual in tune with the concert.
The result is a single, unified feed for interacting with a live event. No more losing fans between a merch cart and a vinyl cart. No more sending people on a scavenger hunt across five platforms just to sing along to the right song at the right time. And fan interactions generate an analytics page that helps your team get better at engaging fans with every single show.
What separates Frenzy from a simple push-notification tool is its precision targeting. Hosts can segment their audience by location in the venue, by ticket tier, or by relationship to the artists or show: general admission, remote fans watching from home, backstage guests, or a dedicated superfan club. That means a VIP section can get an exclusive merch drop or a candid green-room photo the second it happens, while general admission gets the broader show content. Remote fans aren’t left out entirely; they can still follow a lighter version of the in-venue experience from hundreds of miles away.
That segmentation cuts both ways. It’s not just a perk for fans; it’s a data engine for artists and their partners. Every tap, click, and photo becomes measurable, letting a touring act see in real-time which content, which partner promo, or which merch drop is actually landing with the audience. An artist’s team can adjust their strategy on the fly rather than guessing after the fact.
Frenzy’s ‘moments’ feature doesn’t just light up the crowd, either. It turns fans into contributors. When a moment triggers, fans can snap photos or short videos directly through the app, building a real-time library of user-generated content (UGC) that’s fully owned by the artist or venue, not locked away on someone else’s social media feed.
That UGC can be recirculated instantly, pulled onto the jumbotron mid-show, dropped into a highlight reel, or stitched together after a tour wraps into something increasingly in demand right now: a fan-shot concert film, built entirely from the crowd’s own footage. And giveaways have never been so exciting—imagine after the opening act, lighting up fan phones and whittling phones’ lights to any number of winners—engagement at a very exciting fever pitch.
Frenzy’s use case isn’t just a concept pitch, either. It’s beta-testing in professional sports (NBA, MLB), concert venues, and small-show venues. Leveraging the platform for game-day fan engagement, alongside use across large venues and shows, gives the technology a real-world proving ground beyond the concert circuit. Frenzy’s use has illustrated the value that artist/team ownership of social feeds is crucial to managing the fan experience and building brand loyalty.
Frenzy (available on iOS and Android) gives artists more control rather than relying on an opaque, uncontrollable algorithm. Instead of funneling superfans back out to social platforms and hoping they return, Frenzy keeps that relationship in-house—with the data behind it—in the hands of people who are actually putting on the show.
For an industry that has spent a decade renting its fan relationships from social media platforms, that’s the real pitch: own your crowd, the UGC they produce, and stop sending your fans on a wild goose chase to feel close to the artist whose show they’re already attending.