In oh and park’s article, it points out that company start to use the business to business model to gain revenue, social media platform has an enormous influence on promoting K-pop (Oh and park 2012:366). It is true that social media is an important way to connect and reach out to fans, but company should consider it as a helpful tool that is convenient to reach out to fans instead of just earning money. Although it is a great way to use the media and internet to earn money, but we also need to remember why you started and purpose of making K-pop music. It is to attract people to know the Korean culture and resonate the audience with a passion in the music you make. By selling to YouTube, company can earn considerable money but by traditional ways of selling records and concert, this give more interaction and connection between fans and their favorite artist. Additionally, fans are always enthusiastic to purchase everything that is related to their idols, which also can bring large amount profit to the company. Records and concert provide fans more chances to approach artist, which is a great way to reinforce their loyalty. As a matter of fact, thinking about in the past, company would hold concerts and sell records for the fans and prepare fan meeting. On the other side, K-pop began to be a social sharing cultural product between young generations all over the world such as Indonesian K-pop consumers (Jung and shim 2014:489). However, without fans there will not be huge video views and hits. Without fans supporting their artist through hitting the views of video on YouTube, apps such as YouTube and twitter could not earn money either. YouTube as a social media market would not be buying the unpopular songs which shows artists without fans are difficult to step up in their career. Thus, the social relationship with the consumers is essential (Regatieri 2017: 509). There is a need to realize fans have massive powers, sometimes their image and impression can also influence the artist’s image. Good fans can help the artist gain more fans and become more popular and well-known. As we mentioned in class, fans doing the donation in name of the idol will bring the idol positive reputation and make people more willing to know the idol. Fans give not only financial support but also mental support for the artists, they are understandable, supportable and artists are encouraged by their passion and love.
Bibliography:
Regatieri, Ricardo Pagliuso. 2017. Development and dream: On the dynamics of K-pop in brazil. Development and Society 46 (3): 505-22.
Jung, Sun, and Doobo Shim. 2014. Social distribution: K-pop fan practices in indonesia and the ‘Gangnam style’ phenomenon. International Journal of Cultural Studies 17 (5): 485-501.
Oh, Ingyu, and Gil-Sung Park. 2012. From B2C to B2B: Selling korean pop music in the age of new social media. Korea Observer 43 (3): 365.
Fans always have strong power, not only positive power but also negative powers that can also bring negative influence to the idol. I agree with Ping’s opinion that fans support the idol financially and mentally. However, fans can also affect idols negatively. First, once some fans do bad things, it can be regarded that the idol who the fan support is potential to do the same bad thing, even sometimes people equal the fan to the corresponding idol. Or some fans do bad things that have a negative influence on the idol even if they have the good purpose that is supportive of their idol. For example, some fans would advertise their idol in the comment area, which belongs to another idol in the social media. After that, fans of the other idol would resist it and regarding it as a behavior that is impolite to their idol. After some comments between two groups of fans, the conflict between these two fan clubs will be more intensive. And the public always relates almost every fan’s behavior to their idols, because their relationship is very close. People may think that unqualified fans support the unqualified idols. So the negative behavior of fans can affect the idol in a negative way. Second, every idol has anti-fans, who might be irrational and radical. Anti-fans not only do not like the idol but also do some radical things to hurt the idol or to harm his or her reputation. For example, after TVXQ coming out, a terrible thing happened to U-Know Yunho. An anti-fan gave Yunho a bottle of water, and Yunho drank it as usual. But the bottle of water is actually a bottle of glue. Then Yunho was rushed to the hospital to pump his stomach, and after that vicious behavior of the anti-fan, members of TVXQ does not drink any water that was given by fans. This issue hurt the idol not only physically, but also mentally. The idol might not trust fans anymore and mentally and physically keep distance to fans because he or she feels unsafe. Therefore, fans are very powerful to idols, so they should be more qualified to support their idols better, instead of hurting idols no matter in what aspect.
Ping has pointed out a very important factor of the business to business model of revenue, which is the value of an enthusiastic and loyal fan base. The willingness of social platforms like YouTube to engage in business exchange with K-pop companies often stems from their awareness of enormous potential consumers who are part of the star’s fan base. Nothing pleases businesses more than a group of enthusiastic and loyal people who would most likely be consumers of the product their idols take part in. Social media platforms are adequate gateways for fans to materialize their support in some way. For instance, their effort to boost hits and views of new music videos, or the willingness to extensively use a certain social media platform in order to support certain events, will actually contribute to the artist’s revenue. The business to business model, though very different from the traditional business to consumer model, in which revenues are generated from related product sales, is also dependent on the influence one artist has in terms of a stable, loyal, and large fanbase. This increasingly important model adds to the variety of ways that fans can support their beloved idols by expanding the potential types of consumption, from primary ones like buying records or going to concerts to secondary types like using a specific platform their idols are linked to. Therefore, as artists participate in this business to business model via their companies, it is always important to consider the need of their fans. Social platforms are not only an additional revenue generating field, but also an outlet through which idols can express their gratefulness and do fan service. This would very much be a positive cycle if the idols and their companies are adequately participating. The engagement in the business to business model generates revenue and boosts the support of fans and secure the influence of an idol, which in turn feeds into potential business cooperation because companies would most likely consider the fan base and influence of an idol before engaging in business exchanges. It is mostly up to the idols and their companies to ensure such positive effects get perpetuated by paying attention to the demand of fans while they operate in the business to business model.
Ping gave us some really good idea about fans’ great contributions in supporting their idols and financially and mentally. For the question ‘how to balance making money and pleasing fans’, I feel it is very important to figure out in what circumstances these two objectives will be contradictory.
There is no doubt that no matter for entertainment companies or artists themselves, both objectives are very top things they want to achieve since fans’ support are the basic reason why they can make more money. Usually, in entertainment industry, especially in idol industry, idols are ‘packaged’ to positive character settings such as talented, in-fashion or unitive. All these efforts are made to meet fans’ expectations of idol. And in most of time, fans are very willing to support their idols financially to increase their idols income as well as help their idols to get high position in the industry.
However, exceptions happen when fans are no longer willing to support financially due to unsatisfactory. In my perspective, some most common reasons include:1) unsatisfactory for brokerage company for artists’ welfare and development, 2) idols are showing characteristics that no longer meet fans’ expectations and 3) fans’ favor for idols are conflicting with political or regional belief. Frequently we can see criticize from fans for SM entertainment that they are squeezing their artists by arranging exhausting schedule and poor resting time for injuries. Apart from a few cases like crystal from f(x) fainted on stage and Chinese member from EXO terminated agreement due to mental& physical stress, the suicide of Jonghyun from Shinee has make K-pop fans more concerned about potential stress their idols are suffering and appeal for better welfare for their idols. Also, announcements of romantic relationships, records of inappropriate personal dialogues and other negative image will also cause financial loss from fans. For example, TOP from Big Bang was reported to have problems with drug and this news make many fans feel disappointed. There are many similar cases when fans see some carelessly actions from their idols, they realized the difference of their expectation and the reality. Another example happens on Tzuyu from Twice. As she gave a speech that contradicted Chinese fans’ political perception of territorial issues, her fan club page on sina weibo, one of the largest Chinese social media websites, announced that they will no longer support her after a very insincere apology video from Tzuyu.
In my opinion, although some idols really love and feel thankful to their fans, but it is not impossible to fulfill every audiences’ favor. Entertainment companies should concentrate on entertainment and avoid any controversial topics that may get trouble with. Also, catching up with the mainstream artistic style also contributes in keep fans-loyalty and attracting new fans.