you have to pay to be in a fan club

[thesloth]

This is very normal for larger bands.  Some range in price depending on many factors.

I belong to NIN fan club and it was about 65 CAN for prem but it includes a members only t-shirt, early access to the concert, sound check ect.  A few months back Trent brought the fans to a small room before the show served pizza and pop and played the entire "Year Zero" cd for them a few months before it came out. 

Pre-sale tickets are also a big part of the package.  Being able to have access to tickets before the Gen pop is a nice perk as well.