Horton & Wohl's Theory

Horton and Wohl developed the para-social theory where characteristics of the mass media (television, radio, movies) tend to give the illusion of a face-to-face relationship with the performer from the viewers/listeners. This is the idea that fans have a para-social relationship with the artists they like particularly when they use direct address, real names and cultivate fan appreciation.

Some of the influence of this may be due to the creation of Web 2.0, as it allows the fans to interact with their favourite artists and idols personally through social networking sites such as Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, MySpace. Especially Twitter where fans can follow their idols and tweet them so that the artists can occasionally see what they have tweeted. Also the statuses that popular artists make tend to provide their audience with a personal viewing of them, such as when Katy Perry tweets about her personal experiences or writes about her fans, this builds up the para-social relationship with the artist.
An example of Katy Perry's tweets is:

"For that I say THANK YOU. I hope you are enjoying all the colors #PRISM has to offer. I promise to continue to give back.. tour next year..."

From looking at this theory of Horton and Wohl's, I can clarify that we as a group HAVE to know what our fans of the chosen artist expect but also attract a new audience and people into the genre of Indie.