#they shifted txt's music and purpose to fit the expansion

[watchinglikeafangirl]

Everyone is mad at Hybe labels

Many fans are claiming Hybe labels is focusing less and less on their old KPop groups and shift their eyes towards the new rising idol groups. That is absolutely true and a very obvious marketing strategy that is unfair to the idols and the fans.

I just saw a video about the recent events of TXT fancalls where the fans paid a ridicilous amount of money in order to have a videocall with the members. The time limit was set to 15 seconds which is absolutly unfair to TXT and the fans. Obviously, this is due to Hybe wanting to generate more money per minute. 4 videocalls in one minute is pretty beneficial, so it's smart on money terms, but it's bullshit when it comes to the factor of humanity. And I wanna talk a bit about Hybe labels and their strategy to push themselves into the spotlight, so they can be a monopole in KPop.

Hybe has many KPop groups under the label, not many of them are under its name. There are many, many labels under Hybe, but I guess we all know that. For example, Seventeen and Enhypen are not under Hybe's name, but still belong to PLEDIS and BeLift which are owned by Hybe.

The KPop groups I want to point out arw TXT and NewJeans because you can see what purpose each group serves in order to be beneficial.

TXT is an "old" KPop group with their debut in 2019 and NewJeans is a new KPop group with their debut in 2022. Both are part of the 4th generation but handled in very different ways. You see, Hybe label plans to expand to the US. They want their label to be in the US physically (like second headquarters). But what does an expansion need? Money and reputation. Both TXT and NewJeans serve that will.

TXT

As I said, TXT is considered to be an "old KPop group" since it's already been four years. They have a huge fanbase, they started as the new BTS and recently went viral (again) for their VMA performance of their new single "coming back for more". TXT is already established in the business. They have a fanbase, they have the needed substance and many fans have been around for several years now, so they can be used to generate more fame and attention for Hybe. Concert tickets are becoming expensive, videocalls for only 15 seconds because fans are that desperate, challenge videos with an easy choreography, songs with international stars. It all leads to money and reputation. TXT is known, TXT is famous and TXT is used by Hybe for its own benefit. I mean, every label uses their idols for its own benefit but Hybe is on a mission. It's aggressive and effective. If I scroll through Spotify, TXT has not released a proper album in two years (the last one recycled their hits). What have they been doing? Going on tour abroad. They themselves say they spend more time abroad than in Korea. Because TXT has been pushed to be a KPop group with increasing overseas fans. It's not bad they have many fans overseas, why would it be? But it's the way Hybe is pushing through it. Rather than releasing new music cause that wouldn't generate that much money while they're home recording, TXT has to work with the songs they have (it's already A LOT) and don't release many new songs. It's to stabilize the attention given overseas. It establishes reputation.

Since the MOA fanbase is already a few years old, fans are willing to pay for it. Ticket prices can be high because people are okay with paying that much money since they've known the group for some time now. It's nostalgia and loyalty that's being used to gain money. There's just one problem, not all TXT members speak english. And that's where NewJeans steps in.

(I googled some ticket prices and the average price is 143$ in San Francisco which is 194,111.06won which is 136€. I would say that's much and I personally wouldn't buy it.)

NewJeans

The songs NewJeans sing are supposed to be hits. They are produced and written to make it to the top of the worldwide charts. It's not a bad thing, but it's why their music seems a bit boring. It's super-generic and wasted potential. But it's enough to have a ton of dance challenges and after all, chart music stays for several weeks. NewJeans debuted and it wasn't just that they debuted famous, I haven't seen another KPop group be as famous as they were after like two weeks.

They're all very young and Hybe does everything to make them look appealing to young girls on the internet. They are the definition of MZ generation with their haistyles, oufits and slightly mature charisma. To sum it up, NewJeans is american. Their imagine is appealing to fans overseas. Plus, they can all speak english, so international promotions are easier. NewJeans is a product of Hybe's expansion and they are used for that. Hybe is presenting itself as "american", NewJeans has become the new faces. The songs are in the charts without people realizing it's a Kpop song they're listening to. Hybe makes KPop global and it generates so much reputation and so much money since their songs are being streamed, the music videos clicked and the challenges danced. NewJeans is the symbol of internationality for Hybe and KPop. It's not that they opened a door, that happened years before, but they make KPop mainstream. Many idols have made KPop mainstream, I'm not saying NewJeans are the ones who initiated or started this but they're Hybe's big entrance to international mainstream.

Conclusion

Hybe is growing and it's good for the genre and bad for the idols. The fans get tired and I feel like if this goes on for the next years, Hybe will kinda fall flat on its face...but who knows with the future in the entertainment industry. There are voices of fans getting louder that the idols are too overworked and used too much by the labels. Hybe is pushing overseas promotions and produces music that has no color. TXT's music is suffering as well, the last singles were not great music ("coming back for more" and "do it like that"). Good songs, yes, they stayed in my head, but there wasn't an originality to it and it's very sad.

The difference is, MOA is big in Korea and outside of Korea, they have a lot of fans in Korea as well. Their online presence isn't that big, they are not being pushed that much on YT for example. It's because old KPop groups are used to give Hybe money. Bunnies isn't a big fandom since NewJeans' music is made to be in the listeners ears for a while and then leave. They have a strong online presence but forgetful music. The new KPop groups are there for Hybe's reputation.