Connoisseur of Connoisseurs

In discussing fan culture a few weeks back, I did not mention my perspective on the subject, which, in lieu of subsequent topics, may have been kind of interesting. I am a die-hard fan of a record label--Stones Throw Records to be specific--as opposed to say a particular artist, author, or 'creator.' This notion goes along with our collective hypothesis that fan culture has shifted notably in the configurable culture era, because I am basically a fan of fans of music.
A clearer example of what I'm getting at is the Criterion Collection (on my mind as of late due to an sizable sale on their website). Criterion, if you're unfamiliar, is a DVD reissue label that began by releasing obscure arthouse/international films that were previously unavailable to the public, but it has now become a tastemaker enterprise that touts a catalog of "important classic and contemporary films" and "cinema at its finest." Without discussing the complex copyright issues inherent to a reissue label of any kind and Criterion's seeming immunity towards those issues, the postmodern notion that a DVD distribution company can establish a fanbase (2 discussion board forums with hundreds of thousands of comments and almost universal critical praise) is in many ways contradictory to the notion of a participatory media era.
Aggregators like reissue labels, record labels, blogs, and tastemakers across the board are definitely restructuring the flow of culture, but a hierarchichal framework still presides over unmitigated anarchy. Whereas historically you might rush to see the new Warner Brothers movie, you may now pick up the new Criterion DVD or the new Stones Throw album instead of a David Bowie affiliated record. Perhaps this will manifest itself more clearly as a meritocracy, the name of the game is branding, and all of the best brands are now coinnoisseur connoisseurs.