Can we stop pretending like streams don't matter ?

    Just saw an argument in the unpopular opinion thread about how streams apparently mean nothing because it's just the fandom streaming obsessively but album sales are super valid measures of a group's popularity :clown:


    Yes, KPOP groups make a lot more money from tours and album sales than streams. But if streams and views were not important then why:


    1. Do companies spend a fortune on play-listing and YouTube ads? 90% of fourth gen groups use ads like crazy. IVE was on all the KPOP playlists on Spotify with Love Dive, Aespa was on NMF and all the KPOP playlists with Illusion.


    2. Do companies go to such insane lengths to create TikTok challenges and videos for comebacks? It was kind of funny reading the copium from bitter losers here in anons when MONEY and Eleven went viral on TikTok and did well on the charts, dismissing both songs as "only popular because of TikTok." Do people not realize how much TikTok currently influences music trends and that kpop companies would literally kill for any of their groups to get a viral TikTok hit? I mean come on do you really think TXT invited the entire industry to HYBE to film TikToks for their last comeback just for fun?


    3. Are the biggest KPOP groups the ones with the best streaming numbers?


    Can we stop dismissing streams just because your faves do not have good ones lol (and, no, zero KPOP groups except BTS and to a lesser extent Blackpink actually have good streams, not even Twice. I really do not care that they are the most streamed gg in 2022 when the gap is now like 500K streams per day with a group that has 23 songs and has been on hiatus for 2 years. Their last comeback has not even reached 80M).

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    Colesaw vs potato salad. Streams just like sales can be manipulated with heavy playlisting

    I saw that argument but which poster said that album sales were a valid measure of a groups success? From what I saw it was that there was no measure of success because you can bulk buy and bulk stream.

    People who say this are coping. Kpop is living proof album sale is much easier to manipulate than streams. It's almost pathetic when you see kpop acts chart on billboard 200 and 99% is pure with almost no stream units

    Quote from Blanched Ginger & Honey Mammoth (568)

    Colesaw vs potato salad. Streams just like sales can be manipulated with heavy playlisting

    But how come there are so many million seller KPOP groups in the last 5 years alone but so painfully few groups able to chart high on spotify global? :whatb: If it were really so easy everyone would be doing it


    Point is, streams are inflated but clearly not to the extent of album sales in KPOP

    Quote from OP

    so painfully few groups able to chart high on spotify global?

    not every company bother to put their artist in big and popular playlist so more people will hear them. With bigger playlist reach more chances to chart in spotify global

    Spotify Monthly Listeners, and thinks like Korean Chart Unique Listeners are the best metrics of popularity.


    If you restrict your metric to distinct people you have a far better understanding then mass stream or mass bulk buy.

    Quote from OP

    But how come there are so many million seller KPOP groups in the last 5 years alone but so painfully few groups able to chart high on spotify global? :whatb: If it were really so easy everyone would be doing it


    Point is, streams are inflated but clearly not to the extent of album sales in KPOP

    Isn't this the same as the age old question of how boy groups could have such huge sales yet perform so miserably on k-charts?


    It's because the impact of hardcore fans on streaming charts, bot Korean as international ones as Spotify, is less than their impact on album sales.

    Yeah.


    Most streamed artists in Spotify in 2022 (per June, 11):

    #1 @sanbenito 7.5B

    #2 @taylorswift13 4.5B

    #3 @theweeknd 4.5B

    #4 @Drake 3.6B

    ==> #5 @BTS_twt 3.5B

    #6 @edsheeran 3.4B

    #7 @justinbieber 3.3B

    #8 KanyeWest 3B

    #9 @Eminem 2.9B

    #10 @rauwalejandro 2.6B

    #11 @JuiceWorlddd 2.6B


    BTS: 3.5B streams...


    ... The other top k-pop groups in Spotify have like, what, for 2022?

    TWICE 800M, Blackpink 700M, SKZ 600M, TXT 400M, and Red Velvet and Seventeen 300M?


    Streams matter, but if you're nowhere near the level of BTS, you're still a minor league player as a group.

    For SKZ is 700M actually :pepefrog:

    Wth is san benito lmao?

    we live in the streaming era and that's how music is consumed so idk who kpop fans think they're kidding when they pretend like physical albums (which are essentially photobooks with added CD) are more indicative of a group's success than streams. If people don't like the music, they don't like the music. One fan can buy 1k albums with enough money, companies can buy all the youtube ads they want, at the end of the day, we can still see from streams what songs people listen to and how many people bother.

    Quote from Smoked Fennel & Lime Mutton (815)

    we live in the streaming era and that's how music is consumed so idk who kpop fans think they're kidding when they pretend like physical albums (which are essentially photobooks with added CD) are more indicative of a group's success than streams. If people don't like the music, they don't like the music. One fan can buy 1k albums with enough money, companies can buy all the youtube ads they want, at the end of the day, we can still see from streams what songs people listen to and how many people bother.

    Still really confused who thinks that albums are more indicative...?

    Arguing about any of this matters even less. Kpoppies are annoying af. Look at yourselves arguing and researching other people's achievements. Sad.

    Blackpink having 700M streams in 2k22 without any cb since 2 years. :pepe-toast:

    Quote from Smoked Fennel & Lime Mutton (815)

    we live in the streaming era and that's how music is consumed so idk who kpop fans think they're kidding when they pretend like physical albums (which are essentially photobooks with added CD) are more indicative of a group's success than streams. If people don't like the music, they don't like the music. One fan can buy 1k albums with enough money, companies can buy all the youtube ads they want, at the end of the day, we can still see from streams what songs people listen to and how many people bother.

    Hate to wake you from your dream but streams, like youtube paid-by-ads views, can be bought via paid playlisting, which k-pop companies do, to varying degree.

    And BTS didn't release an album for like 2 years already 👀

    Quote from Brined Pasta & Pork (239)

    23 songs. People are quick to point out that they have an advantage for each songs to gain a lot of streams, but then forget how disadvantaged they are in total streams. :pepe-shrug:

    That's not the total amount of tracks listed on Spotify. Even if you say they have 23 'original' songs their other tracks, remixes and etc also contributed to their streams.

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