"SNSD, I am your (sugar) daddy." -Japan to SNSD
From BBC: The dark side of South Korean pop music (via International Wota)
With downward pressure on music prices at home, "many top artists make more money from one week in Japan than they do in one year in Korea", Mr Cho says.
Company representatives say concerts and advertising bring in far more than music sales. "Overseas markets have been good to us," says one spokesman. South Korean musicians need to perform on home turf, but "Japan is where all the money is".
[. . .]
A former policy director at South Korea's main artists' union, Moon Jae-gap, believes the industry will go through a major upheaval. "Because at the moment, it's not sustainable," he says.
Sorry, Korea?
Which brings up an interesting thought about the dominance of the K-fen in terms of setting up the attitude of the fans abroad. That is, if the real pie is actually economies outside of Korea, then it's interesting that as the homebase, the attitude and modes of fan expression that Korean fans set nonetheless dictate what Interntaional fandom does. But really, the industry is way more interested in moving itself out of Korea--yet it is entirely beneficial to them that International fans have the Korean mindset. XD Bit of a mindscrew.
That is, the Korean industries do want to export the native fan mindset--and the fandom does do that in its self-propagating way--but what if the International fandom realized that the International fanbase, and not really the native one, has the actual power? Would that change the ways that we enjoy and experience our fandoms?
I mean, certainly I've seen it said that Japan has already given us SNSD performance footage with better and more equalized camera angles and time. And yet SNSD is still stamped as "KOREAN" despite its marketing coming through different filters. That is, would it be possible for the filters themselves to become prominent and self-important?
Is, in fact, an SNSD in Japan (or Europe or the USA) different from an SNSD in Korea? I don't just mean language, either, I mean entire perception. For example, for many many years, I only knew BoA as a Japanese act--I had no idea she was a Korean idol star! But then I did learn and it was like, "Oh." It changed how I saw her discography.
I thought one of the interesting thing the "Unexpected Hyo!Love in Paris" event aroused was this feeling among Hyo fans that SNSD should've hung out in Paris longer for Hyo to get some lovin'. My first thought was: Why should their physical presence in France mean anything if they weren't putting on concerts there?
Likewise, if SNSD isn't actively promoting anywhere or anything, does it matter where they physically are? Does it matter if they're in Japan or if they're in Korea recording an album? I'm not asking if it matters for the members themselves, because it does. I mean, their physical location determines if they're close to their families, if they'll be able to do extra activities like television appearances, etc.--I want to look at a fan perspective. With the powers of the Internet, we always seem to know where they are . . . but what does it matter if where they are at the moment doesn't coincide with some promotional activity? Does it? Does knowing where they are give us hints as to what their next activity will be?
The article also mentions the danger of the K-Pop industry being unsustainable, which is vague enough a statement that I don't know what they're referring to. Do they mean the production of new acts? Do they mean the survival of second or less tier groups? Do they actually mean the big acts? Do they mean natively? Do they mean in terms of exportation? Do they mean in terms of sustaining the whole package, i.e. hiring music composers and producers, choreographers, costumers, etc.? What???
I don't know, but I wish they'd been more specific! That is, is a group like SNSD at a self-sustaining point or does the pressure to fund so many simultaneous projects mean that SNSD is too busy sustaining the entire company to actually sustain themselves?
Or do they mean that the contracts are not sustainable in keeping artists?
I was going to ask at what point an artist is willing to trade a "slave contract" for work, but then I thought of DBSK and, well, it seems like there is a breaking point where the trade-off of not getting enough profit vs. amount of work demanded pushes an artist to fight--and that's usually when the artist can get away with it, no? Which again brings me back to fandom . . .
That is, consider a case like HyoYeon's. If you were Hyo and you had a reception like that in Paris when you had never had a reception like that before, that would throw you for a loop, non? Fans said Hyo needs to be in Paris but . . . as what? As SNSD? As HyoYeon, a solo artist? And how would that be viable? Girl speaks no French, has no music connections in Europe for all we know, couldn't be produced there . . .
Or a case like former 2PM member Jaebum's. That is, if the money is really outside of Korea, then does someone like him have more of advantage if he can reach an international fanbase? Or is he kind of screwed since he got cut off before a point that he had really established international connections, like, say, DBSK with Japan?
That is, is it more important to be more popular abroad? And, if so, in what sense? As an idol namebrand? On an individual basis? That is, is it more important to be DBSK or U-Know Yunho? Big Bang or G-Dragon? SNSD or TaeYeon?
This would vary, of course, and brings us back to old musings of when the individual identity surpasses the group identity. Being TaeYeon isn't the same as being HyoYeon.
Around and around in the same old circles--when will I ever find the way out of these mental orbits?
ETA: Um . . . so the comments. Yeah. At least there's a thread devoted to ogling hot women? ♥
I do want to say that the comment thread kind of perfectly captures what tends to happen in any comment thread of doom: serious discussion that suddenly goes whirling off into silly tangent land (and very far reaching tangents from the world of K-pop), only to come right back to serious in some other thread. I apologize to anyone who got scared off, but really, the easiest thing to do is jump right in and join the crack. Right, AG?
There actually are quite a few relevant thinking points in the comments that got buried amongst the tangents:
- We had quite a bit of difficulty with simple terms like "Korean" and "foreign." What makes a Korean idol "Korean"? It is not always ethnicity or even nationality: Amber is kind of a poster girl for being a) ethnically Chinese and b) nationally American. From the same group, Victoria is ethnically and nationally Chinese, yes? But they are both Korean idols as a consequence of . . . being in a Korean girl group? Being trained according to SME's system? We also mused a bit on how K-pop is, for all its willingness to embrace other ethnicities, not very Caucasian-friendly in terms of talent. This ties into what follows, but it's interesting to me that a culture should borrow so heavily from another but be reluctant to let that Other culture fully in. Perhaps the Korean market is already so dominated by foreign artists--note how well the Korean artists know the songs current in the Western market--to be willing to let them play in their own idol system or on their home grounds/according to their own terms, like saying, "You stay over there."
- Again, semantics kind of hung up the term "K-pop" as well. Is it simply music sung in the Korean language? Because melodically, K-pop draws a great deal from what's trending in the Western market to the extent that composers for many of SNSD songs are . . . Norwegian? For sure, "Tell Me Your Wish" was from Norwegian producers and composers. The Japanese album got a mix of Japanese and Others, right? So what, exactly, is K-pop? Is it the performance package? The high level of training that results in the polish and glitz?
- We had some interesting musings about reasons for being attracted to the Asian pop market if you aren't a native. It's hard to weigh since a mix of factors always plays a part, including a fan's location, their tastes in music, their preferences in appearances, etc. But it was very interesting for me to see us trying for some kind of perceived perception we think is out there through which to filter our understanding. It's interesing that from a Western market POV, the argument that one is rejecting the Western market in some way comes in--this kind of tickles me with K-pop since K-pop is like Western pop in Korean and glitzier. XD
- We had to kind of make a distinction between thinking abuot casual fans vs. more invested/hardcore fans. What defines each? Not only that, but you probably have to break down the categories further as you go. I used myself as an example, in that I'd be considered a hardcore fan of SNSD but a casual fan of the rest of K-pop. I follow SNSD's music closely, whether I like the songs or not, whereas with other groups I'll listen if I like the music, won't if I don't. (This is where we started to detour into the world of hot women, 'cause I'm superficial like that.)
- I think the "token foreign member" was a bit of a sticky issue too. While the ostensible reason to have a foreign member in a group is to connect to outside markets, these token foreign members are so prevalent in the formation of new groups that I wonder if the foreign members themselves haven't been fetishizied by the Korean market. AG argued that Fany and Sica are so pretty, suggesting that their looks transcend national boundaries, or that Amber's so androgynous that she crosses gender lines, but I liked the farther discussion of pointing out that such adopted artists need to acquire or exhibit "Koreanness" in terms of language and manners--which brings me to the discussion that we got into about whether or not SNSD should know Japanese.
Let me say, if foreign Korean idols need to be steeped in the Korean language and manners and culture, shouldn't SNSD be held to the same standards in Japan? Of course, of more annoyance is that there's plenty of J-variety TV SNSD can participate in without needing to know the language, but SM wants them to keep their dignity. Don't they know they're in Japan?
Which is in itself an interesting point to ponder, because if currently exported Korean artists are afforded this type of . . . respectful dignity in their promotions in Japan, what does that mean? How does Japan's entertainment industry view the Hallyu Wave? Which was another important Key Term in the comments. XD
- What other salient points am I forgetting to bring up here? XD
With downward pressure on music prices at home, "many top artists make more money from one week in Japan than they do in one year in Korea", Mr Cho says.
Company representatives say concerts and advertising bring in far more than music sales. "Overseas markets have been good to us," says one spokesman. South Korean musicians need to perform on home turf, but "Japan is where all the money is".
[. . .]
A former policy director at South Korea's main artists' union, Moon Jae-gap, believes the industry will go through a major upheaval. "Because at the moment, it's not sustainable," he says.
Sorry, Korea?
Which brings up an interesting thought about the dominance of the K-fen in terms of setting up the attitude of the fans abroad. That is, if the real pie is actually economies outside of Korea, then it's interesting that as the homebase, the attitude and modes of fan expression that Korean fans set nonetheless dictate what Interntaional fandom does. But really, the industry is way more interested in moving itself out of Korea--yet it is entirely beneficial to them that International fans have the Korean mindset. XD Bit of a mindscrew.
That is, the Korean industries do want to export the native fan mindset--and the fandom does do that in its self-propagating way--but what if the International fandom realized that the International fanbase, and not really the native one, has the actual power? Would that change the ways that we enjoy and experience our fandoms?
I mean, certainly I've seen it said that Japan has already given us SNSD performance footage with better and more equalized camera angles and time. And yet SNSD is still stamped as "KOREAN" despite its marketing coming through different filters. That is, would it be possible for the filters themselves to become prominent and self-important?
Is, in fact, an SNSD in Japan (or Europe or the USA) different from an SNSD in Korea? I don't just mean language, either, I mean entire perception. For example, for many many years, I only knew BoA as a Japanese act--I had no idea she was a Korean idol star! But then I did learn and it was like, "Oh." It changed how I saw her discography.
I thought one of the interesting thing the "Unexpected Hyo!Love in Paris" event aroused was this feeling among Hyo fans that SNSD should've hung out in Paris longer for Hyo to get some lovin'. My first thought was: Why should their physical presence in France mean anything if they weren't putting on concerts there?
Likewise, if SNSD isn't actively promoting anywhere or anything, does it matter where they physically are? Does it matter if they're in Japan or if they're in Korea recording an album? I'm not asking if it matters for the members themselves, because it does. I mean, their physical location determines if they're close to their families, if they'll be able to do extra activities like television appearances, etc.--I want to look at a fan perspective. With the powers of the Internet, we always seem to know where they are . . . but what does it matter if where they are at the moment doesn't coincide with some promotional activity? Does it? Does knowing where they are give us hints as to what their next activity will be?
The article also mentions the danger of the K-Pop industry being unsustainable, which is vague enough a statement that I don't know what they're referring to. Do they mean the production of new acts? Do they mean the survival of second or less tier groups? Do they actually mean the big acts? Do they mean natively? Do they mean in terms of exportation? Do they mean in terms of sustaining the whole package, i.e. hiring music composers and producers, choreographers, costumers, etc.? What???
I don't know, but I wish they'd been more specific! That is, is a group like SNSD at a self-sustaining point or does the pressure to fund so many simultaneous projects mean that SNSD is too busy sustaining the entire company to actually sustain themselves?
Or do they mean that the contracts are not sustainable in keeping artists?
I was going to ask at what point an artist is willing to trade a "slave contract" for work, but then I thought of DBSK and, well, it seems like there is a breaking point where the trade-off of not getting enough profit vs. amount of work demanded pushes an artist to fight--and that's usually when the artist can get away with it, no? Which again brings me back to fandom . . .
That is, consider a case like HyoYeon's. If you were Hyo and you had a reception like that in Paris when you had never had a reception like that before, that would throw you for a loop, non? Fans said Hyo needs to be in Paris but . . . as what? As SNSD? As HyoYeon, a solo artist? And how would that be viable? Girl speaks no French, has no music connections in Europe for all we know, couldn't be produced there . . .
Or a case like former 2PM member Jaebum's. That is, if the money is really outside of Korea, then does someone like him have more of advantage if he can reach an international fanbase? Or is he kind of screwed since he got cut off before a point that he had really established international connections, like, say, DBSK with Japan?
That is, is it more important to be more popular abroad? And, if so, in what sense? As an idol namebrand? On an individual basis? That is, is it more important to be DBSK or U-Know Yunho? Big Bang or G-Dragon? SNSD or TaeYeon?
This would vary, of course, and brings us back to old musings of when the individual identity surpasses the group identity. Being TaeYeon isn't the same as being HyoYeon.
Around and around in the same old circles--when will I ever find the way out of these mental orbits?
ETA: Um . . . so the comments. Yeah. At least there's a thread devoted to ogling hot women? ♥
I do want to say that the comment thread kind of perfectly captures what tends to happen in any comment thread of doom: serious discussion that suddenly goes whirling off into silly tangent land (and very far reaching tangents from the world of K-pop), only to come right back to serious in some other thread. I apologize to anyone who got scared off, but really, the easiest thing to do is jump right in and join the crack. Right, AG?
There actually are quite a few relevant thinking points in the comments that got buried amongst the tangents:
- We had quite a bit of difficulty with simple terms like "Korean" and "foreign." What makes a Korean idol "Korean"? It is not always ethnicity or even nationality: Amber is kind of a poster girl for being a) ethnically Chinese and b) nationally American. From the same group, Victoria is ethnically and nationally Chinese, yes? But they are both Korean idols as a consequence of . . . being in a Korean girl group? Being trained according to SME's system? We also mused a bit on how K-pop is, for all its willingness to embrace other ethnicities, not very Caucasian-friendly in terms of talent. This ties into what follows, but it's interesting to me that a culture should borrow so heavily from another but be reluctant to let that Other culture fully in. Perhaps the Korean market is already so dominated by foreign artists--note how well the Korean artists know the songs current in the Western market--to be willing to let them play in their own idol system or on their home grounds/according to their own terms, like saying, "You stay over there."
- Again, semantics kind of hung up the term "K-pop" as well. Is it simply music sung in the Korean language? Because melodically, K-pop draws a great deal from what's trending in the Western market to the extent that composers for many of SNSD songs are . . . Norwegian? For sure, "Tell Me Your Wish" was from Norwegian producers and composers. The Japanese album got a mix of Japanese and Others, right? So what, exactly, is K-pop? Is it the performance package? The high level of training that results in the polish and glitz?
- We had some interesting musings about reasons for being attracted to the Asian pop market if you aren't a native. It's hard to weigh since a mix of factors always plays a part, including a fan's location, their tastes in music, their preferences in appearances, etc. But it was very interesting for me to see us trying for some kind of perceived perception we think is out there through which to filter our understanding. It's interesing that from a Western market POV, the argument that one is rejecting the Western market in some way comes in--this kind of tickles me with K-pop since K-pop is like Western pop in Korean and glitzier. XD
- We had to kind of make a distinction between thinking abuot casual fans vs. more invested/hardcore fans. What defines each? Not only that, but you probably have to break down the categories further as you go. I used myself as an example, in that I'd be considered a hardcore fan of SNSD but a casual fan of the rest of K-pop. I follow SNSD's music closely, whether I like the songs or not, whereas with other groups I'll listen if I like the music, won't if I don't. (This is where we started to detour into the world of hot women, 'cause I'm superficial like that.)
- I think the "token foreign member" was a bit of a sticky issue too. While the ostensible reason to have a foreign member in a group is to connect to outside markets, these token foreign members are so prevalent in the formation of new groups that I wonder if the foreign members themselves haven't been fetishizied by the Korean market. AG argued that Fany and Sica are so pretty, suggesting that their looks transcend national boundaries, or that Amber's so androgynous that she crosses gender lines, but I liked the farther discussion of pointing out that such adopted artists need to acquire or exhibit "Koreanness" in terms of language and manners--which brings me to the discussion that we got into about whether or not SNSD should know Japanese.
Let me say, if foreign Korean idols need to be steeped in the Korean language and manners and culture, shouldn't SNSD be held to the same standards in Japan? Of course, of more annoyance is that there's plenty of J-variety TV SNSD can participate in without needing to know the language, but SM wants them to keep their dignity. Don't they know they're in Japan?
Which is in itself an interesting point to ponder, because if currently exported Korean artists are afforded this type of . . . respectful dignity in their promotions in Japan, what does that mean? How does Japan's entertainment industry view the Hallyu Wave? Which was another important Key Term in the comments. XD
- What other salient points am I forgetting to bring up here? XD