mega thread The state of the Brony fandom (Numbers, Popularly, Future)

[Guest]

This question has been asked many times and the answer is "probably not". While it's possible in reality we aren't seeing so many people leaving so much as the amount of people coming in shrinking. This is more than likely due to a couple of factors:

 

1. Most people that would have been interested in the show have already heard about it, so they are already in the fandom.
2. The "craze" is slowly dying down. Remember when it came out it was "new" and "interesting", many of the trenders have moved on to the next big thing. Sadly a lot of people just follow what is popular.
3. More and more people have cut their cable connection so a lot of people aren't able to watch the show on TV anymore.
4. The fanbase became saturated fast. Remember people get tired of stuff faster when it's everywhere.
5. As far as creative goes, a lot of creative people have left due to many factors. One of them being that the creative part of this fandom is so saturated that it's hard to get your stuff noticed these days. To top that off, Cease and desist orders on larger projects have made people definitely think twice about starting big projects.

So while the fandom itself is probably not shrinking, there is a possibility that the amount of people coming in is shrinking, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.

[Moved to Elsewhere 11,331]

The only reason people think the fandom is shrinking is because Bronies aren't the the top of the trends right now. That makes sense since the fandoms been around for several years at this point so it won't be the main trend forever.
 

Most of the people watching the show because it's cool are long gone. It actually makes it better because you get more people who genuinely like the show besides people trying to be popular. 

[cmarston1 5,959]

Well the fanbase has at least gotten a lot less vocal when it comes to seasons 5 and 6.

[Mesme Rize 15,683]

I think it's shrinking, but in terms of the bad fans.

I think it's shrinking, but in terms of the bad fans.

 

What do you consider "bad fans?" Would that mean fans that just move on with their Lives, because they lost interest?

 

I know guys like those personally, and eventhough the lost interest, they remember these moments fondly.

[Powderpuff 390]

I wouldn't say that the people who've left are posers and hipsters. Of all the bronies I knew in 2011, I am the only one who still watches it. And I don't believe my friends were being hipsters. Most say that the quality of the show has gone down, and the don't enjoy it anymore. Like it's lost something. I dunno. But that doesn't sound like a poser thing to say, they genuinely loved the show at one point, up until the whole experience turned into something they were no longer interested in. 

 

I don't fully agree with that, because there have been great moments in recent episodes that I think surpass what we saw early on. The one last season with Moondancer, for instance, was one of my favorite ones. But I can see what they mean - the whole thing gets tiring, and several of them mentioned it was the fandom itself that pushed them away. Which I can get, because fandoms definitely aren't for everyone. 

 

I definitely do think the fandom's shrinking, and I agree that what's left is a more hardcore following. I'm sure a good chunk of people who left that were only on for the bandwagon, but I just want to suggest that there's more than "posers and hipsters". 

Edited April 16, 2016 by Powderpuff

[Moon Sugar 532]

I think so--When the fandom started getting really 'weird' is when a lot of people left. Some energy is definitely missing--But hopefully that void could be filled again.

[Brony Lounge 102]

I don't really know, it could just be that the vocal minority have stopped, I still see pony avatars on YouTube all the time. Or perhaps its that the fan base has just gone like any other, smaller and at a state where it can keep going for years to come

[Leave a Whisper 703]

No. Because overall whether you want to admit it or not, your part of the MLP fanbase as a collective whole. There are three generations of loyal fans behind you and there's a strong possibility of several more generations ahead. New fans will come, some will stay and some will go. That's just the way of things.

Edited April 21, 2016 by Leave a Whisper

[JohnerPony 1]

shrinking yes. it is undenyable no matter how invested you are in the show that the fanbase is getting smaller

[El Duderino 879]

I think that the number of fans may have peaked already. Like any show, the fanbase will probably start to shrink before the show ends. It may go back up, or not. I don't think, however, that the fanbase will become too small. There will always be a fanbase. 

[gLItcHyGeAR 11]

I feel like this thread is close to home, but misses the heart of things.

 

Yes, Tomb and MandoPony and all those other iconic originals DID make brilliant contributions to the fandom... back when they were essentially the only good musicians around! Simple fact - there aren't as many "iconic" content creators, but there's more content creators overall by a long shot. In every aspect, from newer news sites like Horse Music Herald to simple old analysis videos, there's more people making pony stuff overall, and thus less people getting big and recognizable from it. (If you exclude art, that one's still pretty much the same as it was day 1.)

 

There were about a million bronies toward the back half of s2. Recent estimates from season 5 suggest minimum 10 million, and some more recent studies pose the possibility of over 20 million.

 

While I don't agree that even a fraction of the s2 bronies were "edgy hipsters", as these comments seem to suggest, the effect of even a few of those hipster-like people really makes an impact. In a somewhat recent editorial, EqD lamented the days when 20 glitchy, unplayable "Rainbow Dash bounces a ball" flash games would pop up within an hour of an episode, and a couple hundred by the end of the day. Apply the same logic to all other communities, especially art. Would you prefer lots of doodles people spent probably 20 minutes on or a few expansive pictures people will spend months or years making beautiful? Extreme case here, but you get what I mean. There are more content creators who are every bit as devoted as those who came before, they just prefer to take their time for quality's sake... and as a result, make less content per day than we did in s2.

 

Besides, look at it like this - a year ago, Hasbro deemed MLP needed better marketing. This very year, less than a month ago now, it was deemed by far the most profitable franchise they own. Tell me then, how is the fandom dying or even shrinking when it's spending more than it ever has?

 

I don't perceive the fandom to be dying... I don't perceive it to be shrinking or dying down. I perceive it to be growing into accepted pop culture, what with our Deadpool references and celeb members. It's all perspective - a comparison is fine, so long as you do it in the right context. Just blindly stating "more" or "less" and using that as your basis doesn't provide a very stable argument; real life is more varied and nuanced than that, and it's admittedly hard to get a comprehensive view of the fandom as a whole these days.

 

I don't know, maybe I'm overthinking. I haven't seen anyone give this argument before, any counterpoint or other comments?

Edited April 24, 2016 by gLItcHyGeAR

[Emiko Gale 199]

Huh...I thought the fanbase was still pretty big considering I was just at Babscon and it was quadruple filled. I recently returned myself being on and off after the 3rd season. I intend to stay around this time because while I originally wanted the show to just end already so I can appreciate the show...I am looking forward to watching new episodes...And becoming part of the diverse fandom.

 

I am quite surprised...I thought the MLP fandom was still big and I was envious...I wanted to be just as into it as the others.

[BlinkZ 1,151]

I can't really comment on tis issue all tat much. I don't go on EqD very muc but The people I do follow on youtube ave coment on ow tey still like mlp but ave oter tings they need to do or are focusing on other projects.

As for ipsters i'm not sure. Some left for very poof reasons just cause the show was changing(oh no the character are getting developed the horror) or other things. I mean leaving cause of other interests is fine but most left with tantrums.

[EverEverOn 346]

I can't say this for all bronies out there, but here's my side of all this:

 

I love the show no less than I used to, but I'm not visiting Equestria Daily or even these forums on a regular basis like I used to. This doesn't mean I've left the fandom, I'm just participating in it a little less. I'm sure this is the case for others as well.

[gLItcHyGeAR 11]

Huh...I thought the fanbase was still pretty big considering I was just at Babscon and it was quadruple filled. I recently returned myself being on and off after the 3rd season. I intend to stay around this time because while I originally wanted the show to just end already so I can appreciate the show...I am looking forward to watching new episodes...And becoming part of the diverse fandom.

 

I am quite surprised...I thought the MLP fandom was still big and I was envious...I wanted to be just as into it as the others.

A few people don't go on some places as much, but so many others go on it far, far more. I used the same evidences you did - things like "more con attendance than ever". It's just that people don't see the most fervor-filled members in places like MLP forums, they're in places like the comment section of obscure yet awesome youtube musician "Rusty Thorsell" and obscure yet awesome fandom news site Horsemusicherald.com. My comment is directly above yours - there's definite proof that the fandom isn't shrinking. Not collectively anyway... The OLDEST sector of the fandom is what's shrinking here. There's a really, really big difference between the two.

 

Some of the oldest members have left entirely, while so many others simply moved on to join the "new" fandom sector nearly everyone in this string seems to just be flat out ignoring. The fandom isn't dying or shrinking, in the slightest, it's growing and changing - this string, the experiences of the people here, it's just remnants of the season 2 fandom, a group that hasn't yet moved into the season 6 fandom and its sometimes obscure, always enjoyable alleyways.

[Chuckles4lyfe 441]

Hi everyone!

 

So as the title suggests, do you think the show and the fandom has reached its high point yet? After being on the air for nearly 6 years, I think that it's fair to pose this question to everyone now. 

 

In my honest opinion, I believe that the show and the fandom reached its highest point in popularity back in 2013 (around the time of the season finale and the release of the 1st EQG film). I still remember the whole Twilicorn and humans debacle that went down during the Summer months while waiting for season 4. You couldn't browse the internet w/o seeing a pony avatar somewhere followed by a thread of nasty comments (whether it be on Facebook, Youtube, you name it). It was also all over the news too! Maybe not to the extent like Pokemon Go, but I remember when news stations and articles would write up about the Brony phenomenon and the early rise of the convention scene.

 

Nowadays, we don't get the same attention that we received a few years prior. I guess that's just the nature with this sort of thing. The show was new and challenged the stereotype that only girls could enjoy this type of media. With it being on the air for so long and lasting far longer than any of us could have imagined, it was only natural that its popularity would slowly die down. Nowadays, MLP videos on Youtube don't get the same traffic like they used to, and plenty of musicians, artists, and animators have moved on to other outlets to express their creativity.

 

For those of us who are still here eagerly waiting for new episodes every Saturday, I commend you for your tenacity and dedication. Plenty of fandoms come and go, but we've shown people that the Brony community was not just a fad, and that we are here to stay for years to come  . 

[Kyoshi Frost Wolf 41,614]

I also think that the popularity of the fandom peaked entirely a few years back, mostly in 2011 and 2012. 2013 was the beginning of the decline in that aspect. 2013 was such a bad year overall. :\ It was like a negativity factory and I think that hurt enthusiasm a lot. I personally think the fandom is at a higher point than what it was in 2014 and 2015 though.

[Snow 7,057]

according to google trends "MLP FIM" reached its peak in April 2012 and its been on a jagged decline since, kinda sad to see tbh
 

[cmarston1 5,959]

I would argue that season 4 was the peak of the fandom's growth or at least the peak of my enjoyment that I have had in the fandom.

[PoisonClaw 8,164]

Yep, I would say the fandom peaked around the end of S3. Up until then, this was still something seen as spectacular with the sheer amount of people watching a show that many assumed would crash and burn and that's not even getting into the deluge of conventions and such popping up around then. After that though, it became more accepted and less news worthy, so the media largely stopped reporting on it and people started associating it more as "A thing that's happening." 

[Foxy Socks 2,599]

Around S2 and 3 as others said, though I wasn't in the fandom then. It seems there has been a decrease in the fandom, but not anything major or worrisome. 

 

The fandom popularity was at its peak then probably because the attention and controversy. It has since died down and became more stable.

 

 

It isn't a very bad thing and in ways is good, because there isn't as much conflict. 2013 seemed to be the most caustic due to many silly things, which is why it is seen as the most popular. It was more loud and obnoxious.

 

Now it has calmed down and has become a more friendly still popular community.

[Sunny Shimmer 259]

Depends on how you look at it. I think we are doing fine. People just slowly mellow out after a while and Twilight being an alicorn wasn't the apocolyspe so it has grown into a friendlier place to be.

 

It's like a sugar rush. You get all excited in the beginning. But in the end, you calm down.

 

Sister was up in arms about Twilight being an alicorn back when but now she doesn't even care anymore.

From my quick research our peak was January 2014. Doesn't look bad to me. We're still going strong so far.

Edited September 5, 2016 by RainbowDarth

[Mesme Rize 15,683]

I would certainly say that the hype has died down. But it dosen't mean it's dead. It just means that we have settled in and are like every other normal fandom out there.

[Vlazamal 338]

It went from being a meme to being an actual fandom similar to Star Wars. From what I can tell, most of the people in 2011 didn't actually care for the show.

[Miss 6,230]

Well, I think it hit it's peak in 2013, but idk I wasn't there.

Also I went around the internet and never heard of a brony or seen any pony content until 2014 when my cousin told me about it. And even then I never saw it unless I looked for it myself.

Became a brony in 2015.

I think one of the biggest reasons why pony content isn't everywhere is because there are websites, like this one, designated for mlp content, and large abundance of websites like this. Before there really wasn't so bronies/pegasisters/people who like mlp just talked about pony anywhere.

However, I don't think there was a huge drop in popularity. If there were, just an example, 200,000 bronies before I think there are about 170,000 now. (some left but new bronies come all the time too).

Honestly, this fandom is awesome! Proud to be a brony. An incredible show that has given me a greater drive to do great things.

Also, I think the brony fandom could possibly have another spike too. It won't last long but I'm pretty sure it will happen. MLP is awesome!

 

Also I never really understood all the bitching about Twilight becoming an alicorn or EQG. MMC is one of my fav episodes and Princess Twilight is awesome! Equestria Girls is also very awesome! I love it!

Edited September 5, 2016 by Misscellanio