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

[~Master~ Button Mash 2,307]

I've heard people say the fandom is dying for a while.

 

...

 

Nope, still no sign of impending death.

 

In fact, it seems like the exact opposite is happening.

[Zygen 6,065]

I love the fandom still, and sure people leave the fandom, but on the same token new people come in aswell.

 

So it is changing, but I still remain to love it, so it's really how you look at it, whether you focus on the leaving, or on the new talent or whatever.

 

I personally still love the fandom and all that is done, and I will continue to, and I think the fandom will continue to be around long after the show, I'd be very shocked if it didn't.

 

I mean what bronies have is something special something awesome, i know not everyone agrees we have something special, but I've never felt so welcomed anywhere besides here in the brony fandom.

 

I think as long as people still find things to love in the fandom it won't be dieing out anytime soon.

 

Also the fact the show isn't airing puts some people on less, so there's less activity in a way.

[Sparkshower 103]

this fandom is dying the same way the internet is dying /=|

 

some people are just taking this lull between seasons to a little over reactive.

You sir, stole the words RIGHT out of my mouth. I mean really once the show starts up again fandom related posts will boom. Stop worrying people, the fandom is just taking a nap.

[rmlpwny 12]

Fandom? Dying? Inconcievable! Personally, I think you hit the nail right on the head with the Star Trek reference. Bronies are not merely a "fandom", bronies are a culture. MLP is what unites us, but it does not necessarily define us. I think the brony culture will be here for long after the show ends, and, like Star Trek, even the next generation will know about FiM.

[Oblivion 20,265]

Boy I sure hope not!   I just joined the herd and it can't die! But in all seriousness I don't see it dying anytime soon. And once season 4 comes out then I guarantee the forums will be raging stronger then ever.

[DusK 1,264]

"Dying" probably isn't the right word. That would imply that the fandom is somehow nearing death, and it's definitely not.

 

But it has dwindled. Even with season 3, activity among bronies peaked around 2011-2012, and has seen a decline since then. Creative output's down. Convention attendance is down. Hell, brony posts on social media are down.

 

I really also think that what's put out by Hasbro isn't the only contributor to the decline. There's been a fair bit of drama among the "big hitters" of the fandom. Major sites have been screwing up. And that community at large can be rather off-putting at times, especially on places like Tumblr.

 

I'd hope at least some interest remained for a long time, because I love me some pony, and God knows I'd appreciate the larger potential audience for my music. But I'm a numbers guy. I can't ignore the drops.

 

Maybe season 4 will be amazing and push fan interest back to what we saw when season 2 was airing. This forum still seems to be going pretty strong, so at least that's a plus. And I still remain fairly optimistic about Pony.fm possibly bringing back a lot of the musical talent that's departed or slowed after dealing with all the other crap pony sites that have absolutely no clue how to handle music (again, lookin' mainly at EQD here).

 

I guess what I'm trying to say here is that the fandom may be doing fine, but it hasn't been doing great since about a year ago. And after all I've experienced during my time as a brony, it's not hard to see why people wouldn't be as enthusiastic about the fan community side of MLP.

Edited July 13, 2013 by DusK

[Wonderbolt_Spitfire 235]

To answer the title of this thread in the least amount of characters as possible:

 

 

No.

 

 

 

 

also here is a more enthusiastic answer:

 

 

[Apocalyptic_Unicorn 240]

The fandom is definitely NOT dying. It just feels that way because of the dry streak between Season 3 and 4.

I mean, I'm seeing so much art, music and fanfiction coming out, not to mention official Hasbro products, and this is all while new episodes aren't airing. Imagine how much this'll increase when Season 4 hits?

[Silverhoof 2,839]

Nope, all that talk is the drama you get in the summer between seasons. Once the new season starts, then the drama switches to how each upcoming episode will kill the fandom.

[Winterbass 763]

Dying? Hell naw.

 

If anything it's still growing, there are still a lot of parts in the world that don't even know about the phenomenon. Australia, Holland, Italy, Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkey, Saudi-Arabia are just a few that come to mind. Imagine when every population in the world was semi-familiar with the whole brony thing. There'll be more bronies than ever before.

 

And does it matter if we lose fans or if we gain them? The most important fact is that we're here, the forums. As long as there's no drastic slowdown in activity, does it really matter how many of them are out there? Because you probably wouldn't even feel the difference. As long as there is a core, the fandom will never die. And that's true for every fandom, not just ours. As long as this place keeps being awesome, it won't matter even in the slightest sense.

[Karl97 47]

I will never leave a brony fandom!

Even if it's dead, I will never forget it!

 

Mostly for me important thing in this fandom - gaining new friends and care

[Rain Dance 131]

No, the fandom isn't what you call it "Dying" absolutely not, it's actually one of the most dedicated fandom i've seen so far. Obviously counting out the Star Trek fandom and those very close to scarily dedicated fandoms! 

 

Why haven't anyone told me about the other page of smileys that i just noticed btw? :/ But i guess it's just 

 

Let's keep going on the actuall subject, there are still about 100 New bronies every single day. There are people registering on these forums EVERY DAY. So no it's at this very moment at it's hot spot i would say.

Edited July 13, 2013 by Rain Dance

[NightOwl 911]

Is this fandom dying ? Nope as others have said It's just going to keep growing. Also season 4 is just a few short months away now so I expect to see it keep growing. 

 

I agree with about the Star Trek fandom. 

Edited July 13, 2013 by NightOwl

[Eureka 1,119]

Nope. Besides, even if the fandom IS dying there will always be those true bronies who will stick with it. They're just being dramatic about the whole "Alicorn Twilight" and "Equestria Girls" thing. But, they'll probably come back.

[Nerdy Luigi 2,064]

As far as I know: Hella no. 

 

If anything, the fandom is growing. There are so many dedicated Bronies out there that it's likely we'll live on after this generation's over. 

This.

From what I have seen, the fandom is growing and the hatred for them is happily decreasing. The magic is starting to work!

[~Lawful Jordo~ 2,064]

There will always be over dramatic people who claim the fandoms dying out, but if you ask me it's ridiculous. 

 

The fandom will be around as long as there are still people who enjoy FiM in any form. 

 

Plus, if these 'doomsayers' were correct, the fandom would have 'ended' at least six times by now. 

 

 

Remember when Alicorn Twilight ruined the fandom? How about Equestria Girls? 

 

 

 

Our fandom is actually growing in number, not decreasing. 

Edited July 13, 2013 by ~Lawful Jordo~

[Viking 60]

Not sure if I'm entitled to make a remark here as a new member to the fandom but even outside of it and just passively noticing things I've seen that it has died down a bit. Not dying out, just some people leaving and everyone else is mellowing out when it comes to advertising it. But hey I'm proof the fandom is still attracting people so I'm probably just insane.

[~Lawful Jordo~ 2,064]

Not sure if I'm entitled to make a remark here as a new member to the fandom but even outside of it and just passively noticing things I've seen that it has died down a bit. Not dying out, just some people leaving and everyone else is mellowing out when it comes to advertising it. But hey I'm proof the fandom is still attracting people so I'm probably just insane.

 

Well we are between seasons right now, so It makes sense that the fandom is mellowed out a bit, but the exact same thing happened in between seasons 1-2 and seasons 2-3. 

 

As soon as Season 4 hits the fandom will spike up to normal again.

[lardbobobo 1,591]

Pfft lol whenever I hear something like "THE FANDOM IS DYING OMG AAAAAAA" I'm all like "no it's not you are just losing interest for whatever reason"

 

Bronycon's right around the corner and it's going to have waaaaaaaay more attendees this year than last year.

[Dark Horn 430]

I don't think the fandom's dying at all. If anything, it's expanding and gaining new members. Eventually, it might die, and it might not last as long as Star Trek, but it'll certainly go on for a while, I believe.

[Starlighty 790]

I think the fandom will bounce back up when season 4 comes around its still there but its just slow because of season being so far out... I was kinda sad to find out it wasnt gonna be on wintet to pemier it.. :/ i mean usally they didnt really spread it THAT long.. Oh well Brony for life even after the show is over!!

[Minath Khalsi 195]

We are like Gandalf, if we do end up dying we'll just come back stronger than before, even if slightly different.

 

But yeah, we're not going away any time soon.

[Ihei 711]

It saddens me to think that the fandom is dying. I'm sure that the fandom will never die unless we stay strong and the bronies stay together. 

[Onylex 2,836]

I think the fandom is no were near dead nor dying at all. Its very much still a young fandom and if anything its only get getting bigger. There are always going to be people who just like to say the fandom is dying as with any fandom to any thing. I honestly dont see the fandom dying any time soon.(at least not while the show is still alive and well)

 

Edited July 13, 2013 by Onylex

[Freewave 1,145]

It depends. In a way it kind of is. A lot of the best brony musicians have left long ago (Not a Clever Pony, PinkiePieSwear, Jackleapp, Alex S) and others have left more recently (Makkon, Glaze (writers block actually)), H8 Seed, Voodoo Pony, Psychedelic Brony (deleted his entire channel), Glitchhog (no pony music), Lavendar (said she was done with ponies). Sure I'm sure I'm missing many more big, medium, and small names too. And still a flood of new people just keeps pouring in. Guess it's oversaturation, a lot of quality well known artists leaving, and little new material to write about that makes it feel like its been a real tough year.

 

It's not really dying but it is changing and it's been harder to see the bright side i guess. Hopefully the art side is still thriving but I'm sure they too might be tired of drawing the same fannon if there's no new cannon to inspire.