Why does SM have so few girl groups compared to boy groups (compared to JYP, Hybe)?

  • Hybe is a new company yet they already have 3 girl groups, pretty equal number to their 4 boy groups. JYP also has more female groups/idols than males. SM has only 17 female idols yet close to 50 male idols. Female idols are outdoing male idols in everything now, so what excuse they have for not making for girl groups?

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  • SM doesn't have faith in their girl groups and gives up on them too quickly

  • "Now"? Ggs only started to actually exceed boygroups this year, and debuting groups take time. There's probably gonna be a lot more ggs debuting next year now that they are doing so well and a non big4 gg showed that they can be challenge to big companies.

  • Because SM goes where the money is and until recently boygroups have been more profitable than girlgroups. I wouldn't be surprised if they start churning out ggs now.

  • What 3 groups? they just debuted newjeans and lsf, gfriend is already disbanded. SM, has 3 active ggs.

    Why does jyp has just one bg compared to sm?

    It just happens to be that way, jyp is better with ggs and sm with bgs

  • The lie though


    Sm is the best company making girl groups

    I mean im not talking about music quality or concept thats kinda subjective (i prefer sm ggs over jyp's) but the fact that jyp saw more profit with its ggs and knew how to manage them that now it became a pattern and they are known for a gg company.

  • SM bgs make too much money to ignore so they prioritise them first and foremost.


    Excluding SNSD SM ggs are far behind their male counterparts.

    Fx didn’t have many digital hits, their album sales were good for only a couple years and half the members didn’t want to be idols anymore

    RV big digitally but still far behind on albums and touring. In recent years they’ve appeared less for various reason which also hurst them

    Aespa are the next step in that they are good digitally but also albums and have a lot international appeal which can be very lucrative.

  • I’ll charitably assume it is because SNSD got so big they sucked all of the oxygen out of the room, so to speak, for over a decade. I don’t think Red Velvet was ever marketed properly, f(x) was considered an “experimental” group, and aespa is too new, yet. Check back in 2-3 years - aespa will be the unchallenged #1 GG and people will be asking why the other companies can’t manage girl groups as well as SM. :-)

  • Sm never invested in their girl groups seriously like in their bgs until aespa. That's why they're seeing bigger results and it's ridiculous they never invested as much in their ggs prrior

  • Bgs are more profitable. Between album sales, merch and touring, SM makes a ton of money off its bgs for a longer period of time. SuJu and TVXQ are in their late 30 (maybe even 40s) and can still sell out concert tours. Groups like Shinee and EXO get minimal promotion and still rank high in annual sales lists. And that’s not even counting the money to be had off these members promoting as soloists.


    The SMTOWN concert really highlighted this - the crowd was primarily NCTzens (current bg) plus shawols (old bg) and sones (old gg).


    The company’s sales reports tell the story - for many years the business was driven by EXO, now it’s by NCT. But even the older groups build a solid steady income stream.


    We might be entering a paradigm shift - many of the currently successful gg have large female fandoms comparable to bgs and they are selling like bg. Can they have the longevity of sales or will people shift to the next hot gg? It certainly seems like misogyny plays a role in the longevity of those groups (people consider Irene old for being 31) but maybe that will change with the new group of fans?


    If they can sustain the momentum, then SM would probably shift to add more gg if they think there’s long term money to be had there.

  • Sm never invested in their girl groups seriously like in their bgs until aespa. That's why they're seeing bigger results and it's ridiculous they never invested as much in their ggs prrior

    Yeah Aespa from day 1 has been treated very different from previous ggs. Their entire concept of avatars, an entire company spanning lore built around them, a lot more social media focus, constant music releases and recently with American promo.


    I think that realised their gg plan looks shit compared to other labels who were killing like BP and Twice when they were put front and center so went all out for Aespa.

  • Other than FX which I would say is the exception not the rule SM is the best aren’t they for GGs. SNSD are actually releasing music and doing well. Which older JYP group is active…oh wait. None. RV will also continue to release music.


    TVXQ SUJU SHINEE EXO NCT

    SNSD FX RV Aespa


    A 4:5 ratio doesn’t look bad.


    NCT as a system is huge and ambitious so it does feel like sausage fest. But it never felt like they had fewer GGs.

  • Snsd is active? Since when? It took 5 years for them to comeback, is that what you consider active?

    Using fx as the example? Why not ses and other dead sm groups? Sm only has 2 groups frequently having comebacks

    SM, like any other company, is misogynistic. Didn't someone I don't remember who say even male trainees would get less scolding? But yeah, male groups are still more profitable since their fans are more willing to buy merch/they always sell more ticket sales. The only gg who can rival male groups is blackpink, I think.

    Hybe will also debut iland 2 gg next year, so it will be 4 groups

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