The initial sales are always the highest for every album not only in kpop, but the front-loaded sales are more visible in kpop since we have Gaon chart to check each month the amount the albums “sold”.
We all know Gaon are shipments not actual sales, many of those albums are unsold and in the boxes at stores.
I have different points of the possible reasons behind:
1. Labels do most of the shipments in the first months due to the preorders and demand is higher through this period, therefore they have many unsold albums and shipping more will look like what it is: “overshipment”
2. Most kpop groups have small gaps between album releases which deflect the focus of fans into a new project abandoning the previous one so if stores ain’t seeing the album having good sales they ain’t going to ask for more to sell just as simple as that.
3. The fans that actual buy the albums most of the time will do it just upon the release so keeping shipping an album that will barely get sold is kinda useless.
4. The most used by fandoms: the label is just not shipping the albums, honestly with this I ain’t going to lie it sounds most of the time as an excuse. If there is a HIGH demand for the album the label will ship them, do I believe some labels just dont even try? Yes I do but like I previously said if many stores are seeing the HIGH demand the label will ship them.
4. I have no idea about business but I just can’t imagine a label starting a whole album production just for 1000 copies for example. So when I say HIGH demand in the point 3 I’m talking about at least 10k for an album that the production stopped months or years ago.
What do you guys think?
