Do you think a solo/group artists’ career is financially sustainable in this digital era (of streaming and social media)? Has technology improved or made the conditions more difficult for artists to sustain their careers? What compromises may artists be forced to make in order to be financially sustainable? Consider how few groups are as successful as BTS, Big Bang, or Twice and how many groups and solo artists “never become sophomores” (in the words of Macklemore).
The current era of emerging technologies and the utilization of social media platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc., as a marketing strategy has been mostly advantageous for solo K-pop artists and groups in terms of financial sustainability. In particular, distributing content through these platforms enable artists to gain more exposure, which often leads to an increase in fans, and ultimately an increase in sales. While this strategy of digital promotion has some disadvantages—namely, it makes it easier to illegally download content—embracing technology has nonetheless helped immensely in making the careers of artists more financially sustainable.
The importance of technology and social media in the current era has greatly influenced new K-pop artists and groups to promote their content digitally (Jung 2015: 79-80). This is because “this chain of media circulation” (Ibid., 84) has enabled artists to reach a larger audience in regions outside of Korea (Parc et al 2016: 139), resulting in an increase in fans who can then help promote and share content for them (Jung 2015: 84). Thus, the financial sustainability of an artist’s or group’s career relies heavily on this sort of consumption through social media and their fans, which shows that technology has indeed contributed in improving the conditions for artists to sustain their careers.
However, a drawback of utilizing social media platforms as a way to promote and distribute content is that this “‘visibility ratio’ of the K-pop stars” (Parc et al 2016: 139) makes it easy for consumers, particularly students who are “price-sensitive” (Ibid., 142), to access this content online and illegally download it (Ibid., 132, 142). Still, artists are forced to make this compromise because at the end of the day, their reliance on media consumption from fans who can help them promote and re-circulate their content often outweighs these consequences. Take BTS for example; most of BTS’ accomplishments can be attributed to mass promotions done by their large and dedicated fan base generally through social media. So, even though the strategy of digital promotion has its disadvantages, artists still embrace technology because it contributes immensely in making their careers more financially sustainable.
Therefore, in the words of Macklemore, to become “sophomores” and to ensure a financially sustainable career in the current digital era, artists must use social media platforms to their advantage by establishing an impactful online presence despite the consequence of illegal downloading. A strong online presence can then lead to gaining a dedicated fan base—such as BTS’—who can help promote and re-circulate content, which will ultimately help artists flourish.
Author: Christy Chan
Citations:
Jung, Eun-Young. “New Wave Formations: K-Pop Idols, Social Media, and the Remaking of the Korean Wave.” In Hallyu 2.0: The Korean Wave in the Age of Social Media, edited by Sangjoon Lee and Abé Mark Nornes. 73-89. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2015.
Parc, Jimmyn, Patrick Messerlin, and Hwy-Chang Moon. “The Secret to the Success of K-Pop: The Benefits of Well-Balanced Copyrights.” In Corporate Espionage, Geopolitics, and Diplomacy Issues in International Business, edited by Bryan Christiansen and Fatmanur Kasarci. 130-48. Hershey: IGI Global, 2016.
AILEE 
Nice job Christy.
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Social media is a gigantic platform for Korean artists to get more exposure and more publicity, which in the end leads to their success. As technology gets more advanced, the perks of engaging in social media would just become more advantageous for the artists. Connecting with their fans allows the artists to understand what their fans’ likes and dislikes and enables them to cater their performances according to their fans preferences. This way artists can gain more popularity and loyalty from their fans and others. Although most management agencies would take the majority of the artists’ appearance fees, an artist’s popularity would give them more leverage in increasing their income. Advances in technology has definitely improved the conditions for artists to sustain their careers. Websites like Youtube can be a great source of income for artists who may have not made it big in Korea. As long as the artist has a sizable fanbase that can guarantee subscribers, lucrative contracts can be proposed. This allows artists to earn some side cash if their performing career has been slow. On the other hand, technology can also be harmful to artists who are just starting out and may have no fanbase or haven’t even debuted yet. Social media allows people to post about themselves and connect with others worldwide. This can be a great platform for artists to show themselves but it will also introduce competition like never before. Due to the fact that the artists can be compared with people from all over the world. An example can be seen on Instagram, a lot of kpop idols have their own Instagram and usually have a ton of followers but because of how easy it is to follow someone on Instagram the artists can’t guarantee loyalty among their fans. The people following that artist may have just come across her on the explore page and can unfollow any minute. Social media has made it easier for artists to get more fans faster but harder to get quality fans that will actually be loyal and support the artists.
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Technology and social media is indeed a huge stepping stone for the success of Kpop groups in this day and age especially with many trying to advance into an international scale. However, in the Korean entertainment business, the idol’s agency trumps the artist in importance and decision making. Promotions and new music are solely based on the CEO and production team rather than letting the artists decide when and what they want to perform. Because of this, regardless of how talented a Kpop idol is, if their agency doesn’t feel the need to promote them, they are left behind in the shadows and never become sophomores. An example of this is Yang Hyun Suk, the CEO of YG Entertainment and how much he promotes breadwinner groups such as Big Bang, 2NE1 respectively back when they were global legends. Nowadays, BLACKPINK is one of the most successful girl groups in Korea and even recently collaborated on a single with Dua Lipa. However, many are upset how little of the spotlight iKon or WINNER are getting even though they debuted earlier. In the Korean music industry it becomes a vicious cycle. The groups who gain popularity amongst fans and music sales, get more of the limelight. Those who fail to garner attention get to wait at the back until their agency calls on them. A group’s popularity is evident amongst social media platforms and especially YouTube. Views on music videos can be a great signifier of how much their music is actually relevant within Korea and across borders. By comparing BLACKPINK’s most catchy song “DDU-DU DDU-DU” music video, released only 4 months ago, which has nearly 430million views compared to iKon’s most notable song “Love Scenario”, released 8 months ago which has 193million views, we can tell why BLACKPINK is more favourable when it comes to receiving promotions and attentions from the agency.
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