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"Superfan" has to be one of the music industry's most used words in 2024 (right after TikTok and UMG).

But artists and their partners super-serving superfans is anything but new. We talked to Eddie Meehan, someone who's been doing this in various forms since the early 00's, about his company Please & Thank You…

What does Please and Thank You do?

Please & Thank You connects fans and brands to their favorite artists and cultural moments through once-in-a-lifetime experiences. We work directly with artist teams (managers, agents, business managers, touring crew, etc.) to program, monetize, and execute both consumer and brand-related VIP packages on global tours. We also design and produce independent events adjacent to touring opportunities, like merch pop-ups and official after-parties. We're a team of event experts who genuinely love what we do.

What’s Please’s origin story?

In terms of our origin story, Please & Thank You can be seen as 'version 4.0' of a company that started in the mid-2000s called ground(ctrl). Initially, it was a group of scrappy kids in bands helping their friends with web development and design work. By 2015, ground(ctrl) had evolved to the point where its custom ticketing software was rebranded to Queue (later acquired by Eventbrite), and the artist services portion of the business became Wonderful Union (later acquired by Endeavor). During our time at Eventbrite and Endeavor, we learned a ton and made some amazing friends. In 2022, those same 'scrappy kids,' now a bit older and hopefully wiser, saw an opportunity to optimize and grow the revenue pie for the touring VIP and experiences market. To test this thesis and best position the clients we've worked with for the past 20 years, 'Please & Thank You' was officially born.

Who have you worked with?

The Backstreet Boys were one of our first clients, and we're forever grateful for the opportunity they've given us to stretch our creativity and create amazing events for their fans. Over the past 20 years, we've collaborated on thousands of projects with hundreds of amazing partners, including Drake, Justin Timberlake, Mötley Crüe, Nicki Minaj, Linkin Park, and Morgan Wallen. The total list is too long to include here, but we've had the pleasure of working with a wide range of venues, from clubs to stadiums, globally. We've been fortunate to be a part of the progression in touring with our clients as their careers develop.

What are some of your favorite projects to have worked on?

My favorite projects are the ones that truly create a 'once-in-a-lifetime' moment for the fans. Some that stand out include:

Backstreet Boys - Curated Tour Bus Experience: Fans got tickets to two shows and a bunk on a tour bus that followed the band and crew from market to market. The guys would stop by the bus and interact with the fans, who also received amazing merch like tour-branded sheets and pillowcases, and a hotel room in their stop city. One of my favorite aspects was watching the fans interact with each other, creating a sense of community that was just as valuable as their photo opportunity with the band.

Linkin Park - Fan Summit Experience in London: We curated a summit where fans got access to the band's rehearsals before a tour. A group of fans got to play the band's instruments in a 'battle of the bands,' and the winner got to play on stage with the band at the show. The look on their face when they appeared in front of 20,000 people was unforgettable.

G-Eazy - Barbershop Experience on Tour: We created a neighborhood barbershop in a bus trailer for the tour's pre-show experience. A select number of guests would sit with G in the barbershop and have their hair trimmed by his personal barber. The informal conversation, music in the background, and candid black & white photos taken by G's photographer made this a perfect micro-experience for fans and brands alike.

Who would you most like to work with but haven’t yet?

Metallica - 100%. I'm just a huge fan, and I'd work with them for free if I could.

What music industry trends are you most excited (or worried) about?

Honestly, I'm most excited about what we're working on at Please and Thank You. We have some amazing people who are working incredibly hard to centralize our partners' experiential offerings across multiple verticals - consumer, brand, and high net worth. Some of our partners have already started to reap the benefits of this consolidation effort, and I'm excited for it to reach all of our partners. Aside from that, I'm intrigued by the 'tour instrument' collectibles market. We've done a handful of packages around 'show played' guitars, basses, snare drums, etc. We've seen early success and will continue to develop our approach and resources as we work on additional tours.