The lesson was that a major artist with a strong fan base can release an album anytime, if a proper marketing plan is in place.
"Cancer is an issue that affects enormous amounts of families that make up our fan base," said Tim Brosnan, Major League Baseball's executive vice president for business.
He called his friend Matthew Michelsen, a well-connected technology investor and entrepreneur, to find a platform for entertainers that could help them manage their fan base across all major social networks.
Bottom line, putting a film on the big screen without a pre-established fan base or a major name attached to it or even an agent, is quite a hard task.
Exclusively Christian radio stations, stores, magazines, video shows and clubs allow bands to develop the sort of fan base that makes major-label executives lather at the mouth.
The ESPN Sports Poll, a periodic fan survey, has found that over the last five years, the fan base of all four major team sports has dropped at least 5percentt and that significantly fewer fans describe themselves as "avid".
The NBA and WNBA have the most diverse fan base of any of the major professional sports leagues.
Since 1997, each of the major sports has lost more than 7percentt of its fan base earning $30,000 or less, according to ESPN, while the number of fans earning at least $100,000 is up at least 30percentt.
While Patterson continues to write the suspenseful thriller novels his devotees clamor for as well as the children's books that have gained him a whole new fan base, he's also become a major champion for literacy.
Of Philadelphia's four major professional sports teams, the Flyers easily have the whitest fan base.
