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What has made the gap (between the big companies and smaller companies) even bigger nowadays?
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Actually, i would say the gap got smaller
Now you got smaller/medium companies like Cube, Starship or KQ having groups able to compete with group from big companies
Which wasn't the case in the past during 2nd gen or 3rd gen where SM, JYP, YG and Hybe clearly had the monopole
Now big company groups like Kickflip, Treasure, etc...are having a hard time to make a name for themselves in korea even if they are from a big 4
But in the contrary you have group from smaller companies like KIOF who are able to make a name for themselves very quickly
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I wonder if it's partly because of the international growth where the small companies don't have the ability/reach to market overseas and also because the Big4 are just sucking up all the oxygen out of the room, especially with HYBE spamming a new group every few months it seems like.
Also in relation to the first point, I think because i-fans tend to be more obsessive/dedicated (because k-pop isn't, like, just an ambient part of native culture, but something they have to seek out), they also tend to be more company stannish? IE, more likely to check out the peer groups of their faves. Which benefits the Big 4 again, because the Big 4 are the only ones marketing to them, and once they're hooked on one group, they get eyes on all their other ones?
idk.
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The explosion of costs that puts small and medium-sized companies in great difficulty from the start. This has always been the case, but it is even worse in an era where they must now also deal with the Western scene.
A BIG 4 company has significant advantages in the market with very strong relationships in the industry (producers, promoters, distributors, foreign companies, etc.). In addition, these companies have a very loyal fan base that easily turns to their new groups.
These companies being rich, have no trouble financing the various costs of a successful launch of a group that can take care of the training of idols, the promotion of their groups, the financing of MV, the promotion abroad. In addition, as said previously, we must add to this all the relationships of these companies which easily opens a lot of doors to help launch their groups.
In comparison, small and medium-sized companies have almost no connections in the industry, or very few. The fanbase is nonexistent. And the company has much less financial resources.
As a result, the company must incur enormous debt simply to train idols, finance a music video, and pay for the group's promotions. On top of that, they must build relationships and a fanbase from scratch.
Which gives rise to the simple but complex problem of these small/medium-sized companies: Their groups need more time to grow and become known but have much less given the economic pressure on the company.
Small and medium-sized groups really only have two options: either succeed from the start and string together very strong comebacks, as there's no room for error given the colossal amount of debt, or hope for a viral moment on social media and capitalize on it.
If groups fail to capitalize on these small successes, they find themselves in this gray area, as is currently the case for groups like StayC, Billlie, H1-Key, and others.
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I wonder if it's partly because of the international growth where the small companies don't have the ability/reach to market overseas and also because the Big4 are just sucking up all the oxygen out of the room, especially with HYBE spamming a new group every few months it seems like.
Also in relation to the first point, I think because i-fans tend to be more obsessive/dedicated (because k-pop isn't, like, just an ambient part of native culture, but something they have to seek out), they also tend to be more company stannish? IE, more likely to check out the peer groups of their faves. Which benefits the Big 4 again, because the Big 4 are the only ones marketing to them, and once they're hooked on one group, they get eyes on all their other ones?
idk.
I think kpop going global improved the life expectancy of groups from smaller companies. For example, a group like Dreamcatcher wouldn't be able to stick around for 5+ years. However, they had a strong international fan base, and they allowed them to exceed expectations even though numbers may have not been that great in Korea.
I think domestically is where we will see the gap have a bigger effect on groups. I think groups have more pressure to show results in the first 3 years because companies know if they have to invest elsewhere because groups from smaller companies can't recover like groups from bigger companies can. I think the major reason the gap looks big between big 4 and other groups because there's oversaturation, so it's easier to pinpoint groups not performing that well.
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Citron said it best.
The difference is that big companies are able to better shrug off the increased expenses of operating a group with the ability to reach farther (internationally). Big companies can shrug off relativepy mediocre sales while small company groups really don't have that luxury. Big company groups also have a built in audience that will at least give a group a listen or two, or even all comebacks. Small company groups don't have that pre-installed base of listeners.
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I think when you look at domestic popularity it's not noticeably different now to how it was before. IVE is one of the most popular groups in Korea, and has 1 of the country's it girls. Allday Project is the trendiest group in Korea right now. Groups like QWER are basically permanent fixtures on the Melon top 100. Rookies like H1-key and Rescene pull in good chart numbers too. TripleS have very strong album sales. The Blacklabel as a company is on the rise.
What's different is you have groups that have elevated themselves above the domestic market and now have a massive global fanbase. These are generally the 3rd gen groups with a few older 4th gen groups being added to their ranks as time goes on. BTS, Stray Kids, Blackpink, Twice etc.
Korea is a country of trends. Stuff blazes hot and then fizzles out moments later. One winter everyone will be wearing black North Face "long padding". The next winter, there will be no padded jackets in sight and everyone is wearing long coats instead. Groups rise and fall in Korea at the same speed.
The global market however moves at a much much slower pace and has given groups a longevity they never had before. It has also expanded the appetite for KPOP massively. If you look at the YouTube streams and spotify numbers of even a nugu group now, it is massive compared to most other music scenes. Just being "KPOP", opens up a massive market for you that wasn't there before, and I think there's certainly enough money to be made to keep you afloat as long as you keep your overheads as low as you can.
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