SM has a horrible understanding of the US music market [ANALYSIS]

SM marketing understand how to get into US with marvel concept and create AI Avatar for navi people that how it work

Quote from doesitneedsaying

i assume the trigger was newjeans charting on hot 100. Sm did a lot of promo for some of their groups and all of them failed to enter the chart

I see, thank you

Quote from Flowercrew

what is got?

GOT = girls on top

GOT the beat is the unit in girls on top

Funny thing is sm fans acting like sm dont want west market to feel better bco their groups flop there

I agree, SM is really clueless

on their crazy promotions, like when they throw lines like:

"First artist to do....."

i think someone on the top level throws the line, and they are those dinosaurs that live on their own SM world, and don`t know other artist are doing bigger things, or did it before. And the korean sm burocracy won`t let lower level company employees to tell them NOT TO use that line.

the same with lyrics. same with the way the pick their music...and on and on.

I think the people on the top level has no idea how to do things, little minions do their work, and in general they do the things right. But then someone on the top level wants to make an input an totaly mess up. But like they are on top no one tells them to shut up and let people who knows better, do the good work.

of corse this is all in my imagination, but for some comments from employes from SM, i think i am pretty close

Different company aims due to different company development stages. SM wants/needs to be a bigger brand/more famous than any idol or group under them so their idols have nowhere to go and their stock prices won't be effected by any one group leaving whilst Hybe just wants to get out of BTS' shadow by making a bunch of other famous groups ASAP.

Hybe doesn't even have a first renewal for the groups they debuted til 2026 (TXT) whilst SM has so many legacy groups someones contract is up every year and they want everyone to think SM can make anyone famous rather than look how amazing that idol that happens to be from SM is. Hence SM pushing the SM sound, collabs and company concept.

Quote from Btsnewjeans

Funny thing is sm fans acting like sm dont want west market to feel better bco their groups flop there

I don't know why they are saying that. It's obvious sm is trying to get that western recognition but with no success. Their music isn't gp friendly and the sound they are trying to push will never give them results they want. And they want it. Trot won't work, current sm music won't work, they aren't into that sound.

Saying that their goal is to promote their groups (focusing on aespa rn) to kpop fans makes no sense. kpop fans ARE their audience and nobody else, they don't have to preform on Macy's parade to reach them, they already know who they are. They could get on tour without any of that promo, it's a big country, kpop has its fans. Hell, i'm from a small country and our singers go to the us all the time to perform to our diaspora.

Sm wants western validation but their approach isn't working, why is it so hard to admit?

Quote from onwards

Different company aims due to different company development stages. SM wants/needs to be a bigger brand/more famous than any idol or group under them so their idols have nowhere to go and their stock prices won't be effected by any one group leaving whilst Hybe just wants to get out of BTS' shadow by making a bunch of other famous groups ASAP.

Hybe doesn't even have a first renewal for the groups they debuted til 2026 (TXT) whilst SM has so many legacy groups someones contract is up every year and they want everyone to think SM can make anyone famous rather than look how amazing that idol that happens to be from SM is. Hence SM pushing the SM sound, collabs and company concept.

Nothing you said is relevant to the thread and the us market.

Western market couldn't care less about artist' labels, i have no idea what labels my faves are under. There's no legacy and company concept. That can work in korea, but the topic isn't about korea

Also

Quote

Hybe just wants to get out of BTS' shadow by making a bunch of other famous groups ASAP.

You are saying this like that's the easiest thing to do when it's the opposite. Jype cannot even manage one new group and are ruining their older one and hybe is managing multiple groups at the same time and are doing well

I know i sound like a hybe stan lol i only like bts and le sserafim

They had their chance with Red Velvet,but they decided to push the dated,now almost stereotypical k-pop sound from 2 decades ago.

Quote from doesitneedsaying

I don't know why they are saying that. It's obvious sm is trying to get that western recognition but with no success. Their music isn't gp friendly and the sound they are trying to push will never give them results they want. And they want it. Trot won't work, current sm music won't work, they aren't into that sound.

Saying that their goal is to promote their groups (focusing on aespa rn) to kpop fans makes no sense. kpop fans ARE their audience and nobody else, they don't have to preform on Macy's parade to reach them, they already know who they are. They could get on tour without any of that promo, it's a big country, kpop has its fans. Hell, i'm from a small country and our singers go to the us all the time to perform to our diaspora.

Sm wants western validation but their approach isn't working, why is it so hard to admit?

I feel like in the beginning, SM did follow the trends and musical patterns of the time with BoA's English singles.

Her whole English album sounded like what was popular in the US in 2009 during the time when Ciara, Lady Gaga, T-Pain, Flo Rida etc were releasing techno pop hits like these;

Don't be fooled. SM knows how to appeal to the west. They've done it before. They just have a huge ego for doing it the SM way with the SM "sound".

Did they ever promote the English version of Bad Boy? Despite SM having the messiest English track record that was genuinely good

Quote from Jasmine_Waters

I feel like in the beginning, SM did follow

Don't be fooled. SM knows how to appeal to the west. They've done it before. They just have a huge ego for doing it the SM way with the SM "sound".

It's never going to happen. Somebody needs to talk to them openly snd sincerely and tell them to stop wasting money and time because it's not going to happen

I will never forgive SM for ruining Aespa's second best song, their remake of Dream Come True. We all know how incredibly terribad the English lyrics were in the original, you would imagine that a halfway decent company would have used this rare second chance to overhaul the English lyrics and make them presentable to a effing global audience - it is literally 2023 not 2008 ffs, there is NO DAMN EXCUSE for not doing this omg.

My guess is that Yoo Young Jin or someone else at SM was too damn proud to admit their mistakes, it's always mfing egos getting in the way. Jesus.

Quote from doesitneedsaying

Nothing you said is relevant to the thread and the us market.

Western market couldn't care less about artist' labels, i have no idea what labels my faves are under. There's no legacy and company concept. That can work in korea, but the topic isn't about korea

Also

You are saying this like that's the easiest thing to do when it's the opposite. Jype cannot even manage one new group and are ruining their older one and hybe is managing multiple groups at the same time and are doing well

I know i sound like a hybe stan lol i only like bts and le sserafim

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My point being thats why SM is sticking to the SM sound whilst trying to break into the US market, its less that they don't understand what would be popular but more that they want the company to be more famous than the individual groups. The whole SuperM thing was the hope the mashup group became popular then they could show how impressive they are to have 3 mega successful groups. Lifes too short was likely pushed by Aespa's american label.

And kind of, all the methods Hybe has used to make groups is a back door to lots of attention. They bought fully successful groups, create produce like tv shows, bought already famous idols and got a producer famous for being involved in making very successful groups. So yes I'd class it as easy because the thing they lack least is money and all 4 methods is throwing money and seeing what sticks.

As for JYPE, its not like they can't give them a more conventional concept, they just don't want to. They want to make their version of a leader in the noise music market and not overlap with their other groups. This is their experiment, its not like they need it to come to fruit now, they have 3 big groups under them for at least a couple more years and its not like NMIXX are a flop, they are gaining a pretty solid fanbase. People are just used to JYP GG's coming out swinging with a daesang nom in the first year and getting smash after smash but their sales increased with the CB, people know the members individually, check out their content and are always talking about their talent. Just because they aren't breaking records doesn't make them flops and their older groups are still growing in popularity, their sales and achievements are only getting bigger, so are their tours so I don't get the ruining older groups bit when the fandom growth says otherwise.