Rumor idols and luxury brands (4 Viewers)

[looloo_2]

One of the things i've notified a lot in modern kpop is the staggering amount of luxury fashion brand deals that these rookie idols are being given. these are opportunities that shouldn't be given to rookie groups that barely have a discography, the south korean general public barely knows the members names, and haven't been in the industry for more than three years to fully establish themselves. rookie Idols being given luxury brand deals feels very weird especially since we have more and more kpop idols debuting minors in kpop groups, it feels like a game to see what company can debut minors. the undisputed winner of this is the critically panned survival show under 15, which is won by a landslide 😭 anyway, let me get back on topic.

i know a lot of the big companies in korea prioritize these luxury brand deals, and by luxury brand deals i'm talking about the ones that advertise luxury makeup brands and clothing brands, the ones i see idols, not just rookie idols being highly sought after. i know korea is a country that's famous for its luxury and for its fashion, so naturally a lot of these companies sign deals with with these brands. let me go back to what i mentioned about the minors debuting in kpop groups and how we have more and more debuting in groups, these minors are going to be advertising probably a 20,000$ gucci handbag or a 30,000$ pack of lipstick which just seems so genuinely predatory and so unnecessary. this is going to make it once that minor grows up and is their early 20s, are going to have more than enough cash from their days sponsoring luxury brands and are going to be able to purchase an apartment or property, as a kpop idol in their early 20s, something that's unheard of and that's also the age when a lot idols' career is just starting off...jeez this is insane.

To add onto this whole luxury brand fiasco, kpop in general is becoming more expensive for fans, such as albums, concert tickets and more. of course, when an teenage fan of a rookie group sees their bias advertising a 20k purse on a huge billboard, they often feel left out because, as teenagers, obviously they don't have kind of money to buy the same purse their bias is advertising and it creates a major case of FOMO for genZ fans. for older groups and older fans who have lived through this time, will remember that kpop groups in their rookie years used to advertise mid tier and affordable products for their fans to actually BUY. Some of these went beyond product advertising and into full fledged songs like the iconic "lollipop" song by 2ne1 and bigbang. This song was used to sell a phone to the everyday, middle class teenager. i'm sure the gadget itself was a little pricey but it's nothing compared to nowadays. Or when kpop idols used to advertise affordable locations. an example of this snsd and 2pm advertising a watermark called "caribbean bay" the commercial had a literal storyline to it and some acting to it, making it seem less like a commercial for a water park and more like a romance drama between snsd and 2pm, there was even some on screen romance and skinship! man 2nd gen was unhinged 💀

of course i know nowadays we have many 3rd and 2nd gen kpop idols as the faces for these luxury brands, but if you ask me, these are very well deserved and these groups rightfully earned these brands. after years of hard work and touring, being the face of a highly expensive brand is known as an achievement for these groups and their fans. Now, kpop seems like a genre where rookie idols are literally rich influencers first then idols.

 

[looloo_2]

omg guys, i've been posting a lot. sorry i just love sharing my honest thoughts with people on here. i can't help it when i have so many things i want to share.

 

[Going_Under]

looloo is at it once again with the great posts

 

[looloo_2]

looloo is at it once again with the great posts

i have a legacy on here already? 😂 i love making these, but i try to space them out evenly. at least making one a day or maybe not. i can't help it

 

[Going_Under]

i have a legacy on here already? 😂 i love making these, but i try to space them out evenly. at least making one a day or maybe not. i can't help it

Keep postingggg!
MORE MORE MORE!

 

[Selfmate]

is the issue with idols and luxury brand deals OR is it minors in general OR is it minors with luxury brand deals?

my issue with either suggestion would be WHY does it matter?

(and I'll only speak for GG since I'm more familiar with them than BG)
no current rookie has the same influence so to speak compared to the likes of say WY or Karina who are currently known as the IT girls of the 4th and the idols with the most brand deals (Yuqi comes close in terms of brand deals but a lot of it is in China and she's not considered an IT girl there nor in SK)

Would one not consider the likes of then WY and Karina to be even more of an influence compared to those rookie idols?
also why does it matter if a rookie idol in their teens are making money since most people know the AVERAGE idol in SK is making nothing...

for every WY/IVE and Karina/Aespa there are hundreds if not thousands of nugu/less successful idols/groups who will never get a brand deal and hell will probably never see the full 7 years contract since they will disband before then...
we only see the "successful" idols because they are in the spotlight for being successful whether through song or other...we literally will never see an "unsuccessful" idol since by it's very nature they aren't successful

and thus should we not celebrate new rookies getting deals - any deals so that they have money? because as I've said before in GG there is an expiration period for female idols whether one likes it or not...in the entire history of GG there have been less than 10 where all the members who started with the same company renewed with the same company. GG no not last, how many GG promote post 1 contract renewal? how many promote say post 30? post 35? are there any that promote post 40???? and thus there is a limited time for female idols to enrich themselves (since for us it's music and fun and games) but for them it's their career so why not get as many deals as possible as earlier as possible? because as a female idol you never know how your career will turn out - you never know if you will remain as an idol or even remain in the same group

an idol starting at say 13 (BoA and WY if she was in a full 7 year contracted group) would have an entire lifetime worth of earnings and still be younger compared to likes of Jisoo, Nayeon, Irene when they debuted...

now I'm not glorifying minors and idol life - I am a parent myself and I would never ever let any of my children become kpop idols - I would move heaven and earth to prevent them from being one but that's me and I'm not going to prevent anybody else who wants to debut or follow their dreams as an idol. It's entirely their risk to that

 

[Moguri]

I think this trend was started by HYBE when they gave the new groups those high end brand deals right on the start? But yeah now all the larger labels seem to do it

I think you are a bit too optimistic about the implications though. To me this seems more like of a marketing measure by the labels to make the new group seem more important and desirable, so I doubt they get payed much by the brands for it. And even if they do, not much money is going to the idols usually...

Also I'm not sure about your assumption that older groups have only older fans and new groups have only young fans, I would assume the precentage wise you are probably right, but overall there are probably also a lot of young fans following those older groups too and not only rookies

 

[looloo_2]

I think this trend was started by HYBE when they gave the new groups those high end brand deals right on the start? But yeah now all the larger labels seem to do it

I think you are a bit too optimistic about the implications though. To me this seems more like of a marketing measure by the labels to make the new group seem more important and desirable, so I doubt they get payed much by the brands for it. And even if they do, not much money is going to the idols usually...

Also I'm not sure about your assumption that older groups have only older fans and new groups have only young fans, I would assume the precentage wise you are probably right, but overall there are probably also a lot of young fans following those older groups too and not only rookies

i think i worded that part horribly. i meant like generally older groups have older fans and the newer ones have younger fans...i worded it wrong- like im a younger fan of older kpop groups and i guess i forgot to fix that mistake.

but also, aren't these groups already important? i dont know how to really word this but i know these are groups from big companies that a lot people already have their eyes on as they are either from or backed by large companies. i could be wrong on the "not much money is going to the idols" thing, i am willing to except that but this is just a problem for me personally.

 

[Moguri]

i think i worded that part horribly. i meant like generally older groups have older fans and the newer ones have younger fans...i worded it wrong- like im a younger fan of older kpop groups and i guess i forgot to fix that mistake.

but also, aren't these groups already important? i dont know how to really word this but i know these are groups from big companies that a lot people already have their eyes on as they are either from or backed by large companies. i could be wrong on the "not much money is going to the idols" thing, i am willing to except that but this is just a problem for me personally.

It really depends how you view it, yes for people that follow kpop very closely they seem important and you see them a lot after the debut as a lot of hype is generated usually, but try to see it also from a perspective of the general public (which is especially important for girl groups), who don't follow new debuts

 

[looloo_2]

It really depends how you view it, yes for people that follow kpop very closely they seem important and you see them a lot after the debut as a lot of hype is generated usually, but try to see it also from a perspective of the general public (which is especially important for girl groups), who don't follow new debuts

i know for ggs general public love and support is critically important for them...bgs are different too in the sense that they mainly rely on the large and loyal fanbases for physical album sales and stuff, but it's also important for bgs to have a strong general public presence too. i know generally, most ggs don't have large fanbases like boy groups, so i guess in some ways, luxury brand deals are important for them but i think there are other ways of going about it then having rookie ggs partake in these, but thats just me.

 

[looloo_2]

is the issue with idols and luxury brand deals OR is it minors in general OR is it minors with luxury brand deals?

my issue with either suggestion would be WHY does it matter?

(and I'll only speak for GG since I'm more familiar with them than BG)
no current rookie has the same influence so to speak compared to the likes of say WY or Karina who are currently known as the IT girls of the 4th and the idols with the most brand deals (Yuqi comes close in terms of brand deals but a lot of it is in China and she's not considered an IT girl there nor in SK)

Would one not consider the likes of then WY and Karina to be even more of an influence compared to those rookie idols?
also why does it matter if a rookie idol in their teens are making money since most people know the AVERAGE idol in SK is making nothing...

for every WY/IVE and Karina/Aespa there are hundreds if not thousands of nugu/less successful idols/groups who will never get a brand deal and hell will probably never see the full 7 years contract since they will disband before then...
we only see the "successful" idols because they are in the spotlight for being successful whether through song or other...we literally will never see an "unsuccessful" idol since by it's very nature they aren't successful

and thus should we not celebrate new rookies getting deals - any deals so that they have money? because as I've said before in GG there is an expiration period for female idols whether one likes it or not...in the entire history of GG there have been less than 10 where all the members who started with the same company renewed with the same company. GG no not last, how many GG promote post 1 contract renewal? how many promote say post 30? post 35? are there any that promote post 40???? and thus there is a limited time for female idols to enrich themselves (since for us it's music and fun and games) but for them it's their career so why not get as many deals as possible as earlier as possible? because as a female idol you never know how your career will turn out - you never know if you will remain as an idol or even remain in the same group

an idol starting at say 13 (BoA and WY if she was in a full 7 year contracted group) would have an entire lifetime worth of earnings and still be younger compared to likes of Jisoo, Nayeon, Irene when they debuted...

now I'm not glorifying minors and idol life - I am a parent myself and I would never ever let any of my children become kpop idols - I would move heaven and earth to prevent them from being one but that's me and I'm not going to prevent anybody else who wants to debut or follow their dreams as an idol. It's entirely their risk to that

to be more specific, the issue is newer rookie idols getting brand deals AND minors getting them as well, as their only minors and it just rubs me the wrong way. rookie idols getting these brand deals is so undeserving because they're new groups with barely large and loyal followings. you need to spend years(at least three or four to me personally) building fanbases for groups and no, these large companies manipulating view counts and streaming playlists in order to get their group's song the most streams on a music platform doesn't mean they have a huge fanbase. kpop idols used to make money from other things such as physical albums, tours and so on, without the power of manipulating youtube views but you know what im trying to say here, i hope you do.

yes, i know wonyoung is huge right now, and yes i know she's been in the industry since she was a teenager. still, it feels so wrong to me. wonyoung is still a young adult and realistically speaking, her career should only be beginning as a kpop idol, like other kpop idols who debuted as adults and no kpop idol at her age, at least back in the day, would have that much money not unless they come from a rich family. i think wonyoung came from one predebut but im not sure... but you're right, wonyoung has been around since pd48, everyone knows her domestically at the very least and i'll say her getting luxury brand deals is...plausible, but my point still stands about this whole thing. the part where you bring up that kpop ggs have an expiration date which is unfortunately true :( but if ggs choose to not be idols anymore in their 30s or 40s there are other things they can do. like acting, variety show hosting, etc.

the part where you mention boa and wonyoung feels a little off to me...boa debuted as a teenager like wonyoung, but boa literally saved SM from bankruptcy, she did all of that without luxury brand deals, in her peak, she was absolutely huge in japan and has a lot of historical milestones in her career as a kpop idol opening the floodgates for more idols to eventually promote in japan. there are ways for idols to make money without luxury brand deals in their rookie years, but you know that big companies don't seem to prioritize the natural growth of a group anymore and they just rush them into promoting these brand deals. i do get where you're coming from tho

 

[Moguri]

i know for ggs general public love and support is critically important for them...bgs are different too in the sense that they mainly rely on the large and loyal fanbases for physical album sales and stuff, but it's also important for bgs to have a strong general public presence too. i know generally, most ggs don't have large fanbases like boy groups, so i guess in some ways, luxury brand deals are important for them but i think there are other ways of going about it then having rookie ggs partake in these, but thats just me.

no I understand what you mean, but in the end as long as the labels think it benefits them, they will not stop doing it

I also found the examples you gave in the inital post quite good with advertising brands that a younger fanbase could afford

But also, even for the more seasoned idols they don't only advertiste luxury products, I think even Wonyoung has some deals with afforderable brands

 

[looloo_2]

no I understand what you mean, but in the end as long as the labels think it benefits them, they will not stop doing it

I also found the examples you gave in the inital post quite good with advertising brands that a younger fanbase could afford

But also, even for the more seasoned idols they don't only advertiste luxury products, I think even Wonyoung has some deals with afforderable brands

i know wonyoung is a IT girl so of course a lot of people around korea and of course asia knows her and look up to her for her beauty. i dont think ive ever seen wonyoung have a brand deal with affordable brands before. i know online, people love wonyoung for her like, elegant fashion choices, and i think that's to do with how a lot of brands want her as the face or just to model them. i know a lot of kpop idols get deals with affordable brands, but most of the time they are luxury brands.

i mean i know people won't agree with my on this thread and i mean its fine...i do see why some people may feel differently about this...

 

[Somnia]

so I doubt they get payed much by the brands for it. And even if they do, not much money is going to the idols usually...

This part is right. If minors and rookies get a brand deal there is no way they will see the money for a long while. Every group out there will be paying off their trainee days for years to come. G-idle took many years to pay off their trainee debt for instance. The only thing they may actually end up with is the product they advertise since it's mostly gifted to the person promoting.

Brand deals also only happen to IT girls and mostly only one member and 90% of the times that member is also not the youngest.

 

[looloo_2]

This part is right. If minors and rookies get a brand deal there is no way they will see the money for a long while. Every group out there will be paying off their trainee days for years to come. G-idle took many years to pay off their trainee debt for instance. The only thing they may actually end up with is the product they advertise since it's mostly gifted to the person promoting.

Brand deals also only happen to IT girls and mostly only one member and 90% of the times that member is also not the youngest.

hmm about the gidle part, aren't they from cube? i am aware mid size companies and smaller companies still do trainee debt, and not the larger ones right? or the ones back up by larger companies? i think they omitted trainee debt.

oh and kpop idols from larger still don't get paid a lot? is that what you're trying to imply? sorry i'm a little confused...

 

[Moguri]

i know a lot of kpop idols get deals with affordable brands, but most of the time they are luxury brands.

I don't think that is true, but the luxury brands are just more talked about and prestigious. Also they have fashion shows and so on which always create a lot of buzz

here is an article form a few days ago with Wonyoungs deals, I'm not sure it has all of them, but it looks quite complete:

https://www.tatlerasia.com/lifestyle/entertainment/ive-wonyoung-brand-deals

 

[Selfmate]

to be more specific, the issue is newer rookie idols getting brand deals AND minors getting them as well, as their only minors and it just rubs me the wrong way. rookie idols getting these brand deals is so undeserving because they're new groups with barely large and loyal followings. you need to spend years(at least three or four to me personally) building fanbases for groups and no, these large companies manipulating view counts and streaming playlists in order to get their group's song the most streams on a music platform doesn't mean they have a huge fanbase. kpop idols used to make money from other things such as physical albums, tours and so on, without the power of manipulating youtube views but you know what im trying to say here, i hope you do.

yes, i know wonyoung is huge right now, and yes i know she's been in the industry since she was a teenager. still, it feels so wrong to me. wonyoung is still a young adult and realistically speaking, her career should only be beginning as a kpop idol, like other kpop idols who debuted as adults and no kpop idol at her age, at least back in the day, would have that much money not unless they come from a rich family. i think wonyoung came from one predebut but im not sure... but you're right, wonyoung has been around since pd48, everyone knows her domestically at the very least and i'll say her getting luxury brand deals is...plausible, but my point still stands about this whole thing. the part where you bring up that kpop ggs have an expiration date which is unfortunately true :( but if ggs choose to not be idols anymore in their 30s or 40s there are other things they can do. like acting, variety show hosting, etc.

the part where you mention boa and wonyoung feels a little off to me...boa debuted as a teenager like wonyoung, but boa literally saved SM from bankruptcy, she did all of that without luxury brand deals, in her peak, she was absolutely huge in japan and has a lot of historical milestones in her career as a kpop idol opening the floodgates for more idols to eventually promote in japan. there are ways for idols to make money without luxury brand deals in their rookie years, but you know that big companies don't seem to prioritize the natural growth of a group anymore and they just rush them into promoting these brand deals. i do get where you're coming from tho

but why not minors and why not rookies? who is deserving and who is not - what is one's criteria for determining such other "do luxury brand deals want them"
We know pretty idols have it better than "less pretty" idols and successful groups have it better than "less successful" groups and idols from the big4 have more privilege than those who don't come from the big4...but that's just life...there's pretty privilege in life, there's successful privilege in life and in life working at Samsung in SK is much better than working at a mom and pop shop...

I don't disagree with you with respect to large companies and their uses of power to better their idols but that's again just the realities of life and kpop - If given the option and financial resources most nugu companies would do the same thing - it's not unique to large companies but just that large companies have more resources to get away with it and it's not unique to kpop either

but why not WY? what if it was Gaeul in her twenties getting those deals? or Ruka from BM who debuted at 22 etc etc - if your issue is idols should not debut so young (with or without brand deals) I can see your point even though I slightly disagree with it but can't any idol get any brand deal luxury or otherwise regardless of age if the luxury brand wants them and their agency agrees to it?
I guess the question is what is the downside (and when I mean downside I mean downside specifically for that person compared to if they were older or more established???)

the only reason didn't get any was it wasn't a thing back then...do you think if it were offered to her SME would have said nope we don't want the recognition/money/clothing so we'll say no?
in that case do you agree with YG and how YG said we are not allowing BM to have luxury brand deals to focus more on the music/toruing???

BABYMONSTER Turns Down Luxury Brand Offers as YG Prioritises Music Over Fashion | Outlook Respawn

BABYMONSTER has declined a wave of luxury ambassador offers on Yang Hyun Suk's instruction, with YG prioritising the group's world tour and album cycle.

respawn.outlookindia.com

to me that's ridiculous and the only reason he's doing it is so that he doesn't have another BP on his hands - why? because with all those "extracurricular" activities meant BP had more bargaining power when it came to renegotiations and thus they could renegotiate for a better deal - that is good for the members no? and therefore if they don't have as many extracurriculars (compared to say twice) then they are more likely to renew with the same company...

 

[Moguri]

Brand deals also only happen to IT girls and mostly only one member and 90% of the times that member is also not the youngest.

This is not correct, or you have a very loose defintion of IT girls

but the statement made in the OP is still true, as you are sometimes out of the loop I just want to mention it clearly: ILLIT, Meovv and I think even KiiiKiii all got a brand deals with a luxury brand right before or after their debut (as the whole group), I think this is what OP means and also only the examples I could remember on top of my head

 

[MK3AM]

omg guys, i've been posting a lot. sorry i just love sharing my honest thoughts with people on here. i can't help it when i have so many things i want to share.

share more anytime i quite enjoy it i didnt even think about this topic until u brought it up so its intresting

 

[looloo_2]

share more anytime i quite enjoy it i didnt even think about this topic until u brought it up so its intresting

it is right? i don't think this topic is a big issue but i think it's still worth discussing, just to see other people's takes on it.