Knets blame the lack of impactful idol groups after 2017 to the focus on international market (1 Viewer)

[amourpinks]

this is very true, to many idols don't focus on solidifying themselves in Korea and instead, try to get into the west and ignore their domestic fanbase. and not everyone can be bp or bts, so they just end up with a lukewarm response from the western market instead of a louder response from their fandoms in Korea. so there isn't really a point. tbh after both bp and bts reach their peak, i don't think kpop groups will ever reach the same heights as those two groups, at least in the west.

not to mention western fans are a bunch of hoes, they aren't loyal like Korean fans are, and the majority of them don't buy albums for the groups they claim to stan. ever wonder why the majority of Kpop groups sales are still from Korea despite international promotions, even the majority of bts sales are still from Korea despite being the most mainstream an kpop artist can get in the west. so really is it worth the risk when your turn out wouldn't even be that good compared to if you were to just focus on promoting in Korea??

blackpink faced the same question in 2018 about venturing out into the west and jisoo said that they weren't concerned about America in 2018 and that they were focusing on Korea. I was totally on board with that despite being an American fan. you should never venture out into a different market if you don't have a solid foundation back at home. and it totally paid off because they're constantly making hits, have a pretty decent sized fandom in Korea, and a lot of casual listeners.

i feel like the only newer group that this idea works out for is loona, they have an actual fandom in the west compared to other newer groups who have like ten fans.

 

[Myco]

It's much easier to get a international fan base ngl. Like look at Bling Bling, their debut mv and b-side choreo video were flooded by Brazilians because the music apparently is extremely reminiscent to their most famous genre.

From what I've seen it's incredible difficult to get a domestic fanbase, if Rookie/Nugu groups win on The Show it doesn't get as acknowledged as a win on Inkigayo etc., it's hard to get invited to variety shows like Running Man, Knowing Brothers etc. as rookies/nugus and some companies won't have enough funds to have expensive promotion for their groups if they arent doing really well financially.

I think it's okay if rookie groups try to get a more international fan base at first because that's an easy way to earn money fast for more comebacks, however as older as they get they should definitely work on a domestic fan base for the long run.

 

[PrideInBaek]

I agree with the knets ngl and
Because it's easier to get international fans, the quality of music, the essence that made kpop "kpop" has been Missing these days. All groups are hardcore, ripped shirts, smouldering eyes for males and "girl crush" for the females when it comes to concepts. It's boring and repetitive.

 

[honeyfornomoney]

I agree with them for once

 

[amourpinks]

It's much easier to get a international fan base ngl. Like look at Bling Bling, their debut mv and b-side choreo video were flooded by Brazilians because the music apparently is extremely reminiscent to their most famous genre.

From what I've seen it's incredible difficult to get a domestic fanbase, if Rookie/Nugu groups win on The Show it doesn't get as acknowledged as a win on Inkigayo etc., it's hard to get invited to variety shows like Running Man, Knowing Brothers etc. as rookies/nugus and some companies won't have enough funds to have expensive promotion for their groups if they arent doing really well financially.

I think it's okay if rookie groups try to get a more international fan base at first because that's an easy way to earn money fast for more comebacks, however as older as they get they should definitely work on a domestic fan base for the long run.

yeah but an international fanbase doesnt hold the same weight as a korean fanbase. sure you may get popular on stan twitter, but no one actually knows who you are. at least if you have a korean fanbase, the gp may not know you, but at least you have a big support group who will actually buy your albums and stream your music.

and tbh id say it harder to gain an actual international fanbase compared to a fanbase in Korea. I'm not talking about having soty on twitter for like a week, im talking about having a fanbase like bts or bp where they will actually stream and buy music.

of course, having international fans is nice because on certain platforms like youtube, they can make a lot of noise. and for certain groups like loona, international orbits really promoted the hell out of loona which really made them the group they are today. but that's just not a common occurrence.

 

[Abeamus]

While it is true that international focus is to blame for the lack of impact however I wouldn't say it's a problem as while back in the old days it didn't really seem to go anywhere however if anything those groups are growing faster than the Korean focused groups.

Take for example Oh My Girl who before Nonstop their highest album sales was 35k now let's look at Everglow whose latest album sold 47k and then there's also Lovelyz with a max of 54k who even have a hit with Ah-choo but then look at Dreamcatcher who broke 100k while barely being able to chart on Melon.

That's just album sales though however you can also look at touring and for 2019 Dreamcatcher was 10th on pop girl group touring revenue and Dreamcatcher don't even have a single win yet so Dreamcatcher if anything are living proof that a group can currently become a success with only international fans.

Now kpop groups should in no way jump to releasing English songs or stuff as the track record for it just isn't there but focusing on international fans is currently working and providing faster growth than those with a more Korean focused style as much as I prefer the more Korean focused style for the most part however it just doesn't bring the results for the groups who need it.

 

[Emanresu]

I eagerly await the day kpop refocuses on Asia and Korea as the rightful epicenter of kpop.

I think there's something very valuable to having kpop be a pillar of Asia. By Asia for Asia.

Instead of a mere springboard to look West.

In my opinion 2nd generation was a perfect storm of sorts.

Open enough that international audiences could participate. But still with the zeitgeist remained solidly focused on Asia as driver of kpop.

There's much that has been gained by piercing of the Western markets, economically and in terms of recognition and fanbases.

But, I'd argue. It came at a great cost.

The spirit of kpop, displaced from it's rightful hegemony.

Asian and Korean hegemony.

And the slow slide of kpop into the ubiquity of international pop.

It has lost much of its uniquely Korean charm and differentiation. The idiosyncrasies that once defined it.

Shed for an international market that would have it reflect their values, their ethos.

 

[amourpinks]

While it is true that international focus is to blame for the lack of impact however I wouldn't say it's a problem as while back in the old days it didn't really seem to go anywhere however if anything those groups are growing faster than the Korean focused groups.

Take for example Oh My Girl who before Nonstop their highest album sales was 35k now let's look at Everglow whose latest album sold 47k and then there's also Lovelyz with a max of 54k who even have a hit with Ah-choo but then look at Dreamcatcher who broke 100k while barely being able to chart on Melon.

That's just album sales though however you can also look at touring and for 2019 Dreamcatcher was 10th on pop girl group touring revenue and Dreamcatcher don't even have a single win yet so Dreamcatcher if anything are living proof that a group can currently become a success with only international fans.

Now kpop groups should in no way jump to releasing English songs or stuff as the track record for it just isn't there but focusing on international fans is currently working and providing faster growth than those with a more Korean focused style as much as I prefer the more Korean focused style for the most part however it just doesn't bring the results for the groups who need it.

but the problem is that a lot of this success is short term. a lot of these companies do not treat the international market as an actual market they could be successful in and instead treat it like a money pot that they can just take from once in a while. international fans move on fast, as I said, we're all a bunch of hoes who move on from group to group. Korean fans arent like that, they stick with one group for life. the problem is that the international market is still not ready to accept kpop groups, plain and simple, the ones who have actually made it are the exceptions to the rule and even then it was still hard to break into it, these companies are probably wasting more money on international promotions then they are when it comes to

and i understand that international fans are definitely more important now than they ever were, in terms of social media they're way better at promoting, but they still aren't able to offer the same type of support that a solid Korean fanbase could.

I understand that not every group can wait for the international market to come to them but i just wish these companies weren't so gung ho on automatically sending these groups to the west instead of promoting for some time in korea to try to build a decent fanbase.

 

[Abeamus]

but the problem is that a lot of this success is short term. a lot of these companies do not treat the international market as an actual market they could be successful in and instead treat it like a money pot that they can just take from once in a while. international fans move on fast, as I said, we're all a bunch of hoes who move on from group to group. Korean fans arent like that, they stick with one group for life. the problem is that the international market is still not ready to accept kpop groups, plain and simple, the ones who have actually made it are the exceptions to the rule and even then it was still hard to break into it, these companies are probably wasting more money on international promotions then they are when it comes to

and i understand that international fans are definitely more important now than they ever were, in terms of social media they're way better at promoting, but they still aren't able to offer the same type of support that a solid Korean fanbase could.

I understand that not every group can wait for the international market to come to them but i just wish these companies weren't so gung ho on automatically sending these groups to the west instead of promoting for some time in korea to try to build a decent fanbase.

Korean fans do move on though like I mentioned Oh My Girl for example and that album that reached 35k for them was Secret Garden which was their January 2018 comeback while their sales declined with their following albums until Nonstop,

The other examples being Apink whose highest album sales was 90k with their Remember album in 2015 however Pink Up their 2017 album only sold 53k so that's a 37k decline even before they switched concept.

Korean success is more bountiful when it comes to turn out than International success but it's also something very few groups will get to experience and just because a group gets to experience it doesn't mean they'll become a success.