Why Big Bang not a physical monster like other big groups?

  • As the most popular bg from the 2nd gen, I always wonder why their physical didn't really as high as other leading groups when they do extremely well in digital. It's not that they're bad in physical sales but other groups like Shinee, Suju and Snsd sold more than them while they're more known and the leader of 2nd gen. To say they don't have big fanbase is completely a lie too. And the way they are hella popular in China that everyone know contribute a lot in album sales make me more curious. Their highest album sales so far is 200k+.

  • They had general public in korea from the start almost, one can assume the korean fandom never bothered bulk buying etc because they were already big, this in return was reflected in fandoms overseas as they grew.


    And they have what, three non japanese albums released in 16 years or something? And the last one was basically a collection of singles released a year earlier. Selling albums doesnt seem to ever have been a priority for them.

  • because they're not a strictly fandom driven group. vips were by no means a small fandom but a group that is doing as good on charts and being as popular as bigbang doesn't need their fans mass buying albums to artificially boost their numbers. they were doing just well and vips knew that. after all it's better to buy a ticket for a concert than to buy 5 copies of the same album. plus most of their streams were coming from the general public and we know the general public doesn't care about how much sales an album has

  • Tbh this is a mystery for me too, but i think the vibe? The way they were marketed and how they behaved towards the fans. They were super direct, always involved in dating scandal and even talking about their love life, always putting women on their mvs as pairs, etc.. my opinion and i could be wrong, but i never saw a group like them.

  • VIP's have always had a reputation for being a 'lazy' fandom, even during BB's infancy.


    For the most part, they never partook in mass buying, mass streaming and mass voting etc. and the members themselves never encourage this type of behaviour - though tbh they're album sales were pretty good for what it was compared to their peers at the time.


    The members used to say things like 'If you like another group, it's okay to leave us' or 'If you don't like our album don't buy a copy' - so VIP's never developed a cult-like mentality.


    Also as others have said, BB had the GP wrapped around their fingers, they didn't need the album sales for the extra validation, as they already had everything else - digitals, tour numbers, endorsements etc.

  • Quote

    It's not that they're bad in physical sales but other groups like Shinee, Suju and Snsd sold more than them while they're more known and the leader of 2nd gen.

    You are only comparing them to SM group and in 2nd gen SM groups physical sales were just not attainable by other groups/companies back then


    If you compare them with other bgs who were also very popular back in 2nd gen, those numbers(200k) were above average.

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  • so whats an example of a private limited group

    I think they were implying that most of their fans are casual music listeners in Korea. Not people that are involved in fandom activities or kpop fandom culture in Korea.

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  • Didn't GD outsell the whole group? Maybe the group wasn't as stannable for fans and they were more supportive of them as solos

    This isn't quite true - but I believe Heartbreaker did sell close to BB's highest selling album.


    GD's solo fandom is huge though, and unfortunately they move very cult-like akin to a traditional BG fandom (especially his chinese fans), which is why he has never been able to publicly date/marry like his bestie Taeyang.

  • This isn't quite true - but I believe Heartbreaker did sell close to BB's highest selling album.


    GD's solo fandom is huge though, and unfortunately they move very cult-like akin to a traditional BG fandom (especially his chinese fans), which is why he has never been able to publicly date/marry like his bestie Taeyang.

    I was thinking of this video, based on gaon sales

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    GD Heartbreaker sold around 330k vs bigbang best selling album Alive selling 279k


    And GD OOAK selling the same as bigbang 2nd best selling album MADE

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