I think this is a good uptake on Company stans and Kpop industry

Quote from ohpuhlease

GGs shell life always seem to be shorter than BGs. We all know it’s bcos of some of the obvious reasons why.

I thought I knew, but now I wonder why.

I mean, yes, girl groups often have a smaller, less hardcore fanbase than boy groups do, and their casual fans are often more fickle and prone to jump to newer girl groups.

But the stronger, more popular girl groups, those had enough sustainability to keep on going, with a fanbase and general public interest that might have kept them going on for far longer: SNSD could have easily kept going on with 5 or 8 people and kept thriving and active with regular comebacks up till now. Sistar and Wonder Girls too, they could have kept going on, releasing Summer songs and other songs year after year and there would have been enough interest in those.

Yet all of those groups didn't.

They could have, and they could have made a solid living with it, maybe not at the peak they once were but still comfortable enough. But they didn't.

It almost feels like with girl groups, that their members have less the drive to keep going on as a group, as artists in the music scene, than boy groups and fall quicker for distractions and other ambitions (relationships, marriage, acting careers, etc).

The day people stop talking about companies is the day kpop idols will be “artists”

For a lot of soloist I don’t know their agencies because that’s not a topic of conversation for most soloist or OST singers.

For idols it’s always company first. There is never an exception.

the thing is that a good company should do both, constantly release new groups and artists and promote their older groups, but they choose a priority of playing the long game so they do the first, giving nothing to their older groups gives the company a bad image and it can also result on loosing money, so if they wanted to grow and were smart they would go both sides. Kpop is very manufactured so there will always be talks about the companies, no need to mismanage their older artists.

Kpop idols aren't indie artists. You can't just take everything the companies do for their idols (training, music production, image building, branding, marketing, promotional gigs etc) for granted and then expect or demand for the idols to receive all the credit for their success, musicality and popularity. Not a single kpop idol is a self produced musician, they all rely on their companies to differing degrees and in different aspects. As long as there's this dynamic in kpop, there won't be a talk about groups without their companies.

So this take is like preaching to the choir.

Quote from ArmyBlink0

Me and the other school computer folks-

Are We A Joke To You?

exactly !!!

Quote from chounim

Kpop idols aren't indie artists. You can't just take everything the companies do for their idols (training, music production, image building, branding, marketing, promotional gigs etc) for granted and then expect or demand for the idols to receive all the credit for their success, musicality and popularity. Not a single kpop idol is a self produced musician, they all rely on their companies to differing degrees and in different aspects. As long as there's this dynamic in kpop, there won't be a talk about groups without their companies.

So this take is like preaching to the choir.

It’s when kpop stans pretend their favs don’t fall in the exact same mold that it becomes funny. No you’re not special.

Quote from Tic_tac_toe

It’s when kpop stans pretend their favs don’t fall in the exact same mold that it becomes funny. No you’re not special.

Exactly. This kind of criticism is meaningless when it comes from someone who is actively supporting the same thing they're criticising and helping it thrive. It's delusional for any kpop fan to think they or their faves are an exception.

Quote from chounim

Exactly. This kind of criticism is meaningless when it comes from someone who is actively supporting the same thing they're criticising and helping it thrive. It's delusional for any kpop fan to think they or their faves are an exception.

The problem is not the way companies operate and manage groups. The problem is how fans hype to the moon groups that don't even exist yet for the sole reason these upcoming groups are hailing from a particular company: YG, SM, JYP, you name it. So you have future groups like "YGNNG", no one knows its name, no one knows its members, no one knows their concept and music direction, yet they're being talked about more than actual groups of today.

So obviously companies shape their groups as products and intend for us to consume these products. But we fans don't have to fall for it. We don't have to believe the groundless hype just because it's JYP, or YG, or SM, or whatever. And honestly, companies don't even have to do much for fans to swallow it up; fans are doing all the promo work by themselves no problem.

You can't run away from this, in the end you'll check big3 groups when they debut.

I never was a SM stan, all that family thing is just a product, the same way friendship between members of the same group became a product.

Armys are here only for bts. Can't relate

Quote from Tic_tac_toe

For idols it’s always company first. There is never an exception.

well Bts is an exception. Bts always comes first before bighit

Quote from Alex_Murphy

Company stans are basically Marvel fans.

LMAOOOO that's kinda accurate even tho I didn't like ant man, I still paid to watch it in the cinema lol

Quote from flopppy

well Bts is an exception. Bts always comes first before bighit

BTS is the only group who always ranks higher than both their company and CEO in the industry power rankings.

BTS>BH

For others its the other way around.

Quote from ohpuhlease

This is probably not a news to kpop stans. Some of us pretty much alr know this.

I saw this tweet and just realised this probably the reason why company stans exist and this is how they are cultivated.

Many talented groups disappear once their “shell life” is over according to the company.

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I don’t like Hybe but I don’t hate them either. The company is a testament of BTS blood sweat and tears. It’s the accomplishment of all their hard work. It’s basically their wallet so I can’t help but not hate on them.

The brand BTS is bigger than hybe though. It’s always BTS company or BTS big hit but never hybe’s BTS.

Quote from Alex_Murphy

The problem is not the way companies operate and manage groups. The problem is how fans hype to the moon groups that don't even exist yet for the sole reason these upcoming groups are hailing from a particular company: YG, SM, JYP, you name it. So you have future groups like "YGNNG", no one knows its name, no one knows its members, no one knows their concept and music direction, yet they're being talked about more than actual groups of today.

So obviously companies shape their groups as products and intend for us to consume these products. But we fans don't have to fall for it. We don't have to believe the groundless hype just because it's JYP, or YG, or SM, or whatever. And honestly, companies don't even have to do much for fans to swallow it up; fans are doing all the promo work by themselves no problem.

The way companies operate is the reason fans buy into the whole brand tactic and look forward to future groups from the same company. It's because companies are too involved in the groups' career, it's not just a matter of management but actual philosophy that carries through all the groups under the same company. This is why you often feel like a certain company has a certain style, it's because different companies value different skill sets and characteristics in their idols and focus in different areas and traits in their groups. So if you're interested in one group because of a certain aspect (or more), chances are you'll be more inclined to like groups from the same company because they'll most likely share those same traits that you are attracted to, rather than groups from different companies with entirely different styles and values.

But this is only true for consistent companies that have actually produced several groups, enough for patterns to emerge.

Let's take SME for example, it's a fact that SM groups always have competent Main vocalists (so far the best vocalists from every generation have been from SM) and focus a lot on harmonisations and unison singing. So if these 2 things are some of the main aspects you like in a group, chances are you'll prefer other SM groups to, say, groups from JYPE who are known for the half breath half sound singing style and no harmonisations and unison singing. But of course this is not a rule.

It's because companies are too involved that there'd be a pattern to speak of. That's why as long as there's this kind of dynamic and extreme control and involvement from the companies, kpop groups will continue to be consumed as products and companies as brands.

Quote from chounim

Kpop idols aren't indie artists. You can't just take everything the companies do for their idols (training, music production, image building, branding, marketing, promotional gigs etc) for granted and then expect or demand for the idols to receive all the credit for their success, musicality and popularity. Not a single kpop idol is a self produced musician, they all rely on their companies to differing degrees and in different aspects. As long as there's this dynamic in kpop, there won't be a talk about groups without their companies.

So this take is like preaching to the choir.

I agree. I feel like there are no Kpop groups that is started from scratch (used to play music with friends and then went "Hey let's release music for real!").

i prefer porsche over ford

company stan

Yeah the companies want it that way, and the saddest part is kpop fans play right into their hand.

Kpop companies want their brand to be the center of everything, that is the big companies love to pretend they have some sort of philosophy and lifestyle, so they make you interested in them, it's also why companies love to push the whole family agenda which is literally just there to try and convert as many fans of their groups into company stans because families support each other right ?

This is why I never understand it when fans of groups are fighting over which group is the face of a company, or when instead of comparing the stats of individual groups people focus way too much on overall company numbers which creates a certain competitive spirit in the fandom of groups under the companies and make them invested in the entire company.

At the end of the day this is all done to benefit the companies while being completely negative for the artists, the only time an artist benefit from it is when they debut so they get to gain company stans and when they become the senior group now they have to get their fans siphoned from them into whoever is the new rookie.

Capitalism