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a recap of my interview with @adambombshow
(please read fully before making any comments on this. i know many ARMYs don’t want to entertain radio but I think he’s worth hearing out.)
i covered radio spins of BTS, xenophobia, ARMY’s history w radio DJs, what he meant by “exposure”, and the plans to have discussion between ARMYs and radio DJs
i explained why ARMYs care that BTS are played on the radio as a matter of equity. adam was not fully aware of the xenophobia actions of some DJs. he said he didn’t know and didn’t want to believe that DJs could be like this but he doesn’t condone racism.
his plan is to make short segments of discussions between ARMYs and radio jocks to express different perspectives. he has gotten some nasty hate (and threats), but understands that that is a very small portion of fans are like this and still wants to listen to ARMY
he did listen to the bangtan collective podcast and understands how BTS can be impactful on their fans and he thinks that ARMY isn’t a fandom but rather “a community”
he has seen some DJs call ARMY rabid and disagrees saying that the ARMY is a “very passionate community” and that he appreciates that about our fan base. that’s his belief.
he understand why ARMYs want to see BTS succeed because we “want them to get we’re they are going”
*where they’re
i said that the issue with radio is that BTS aren’t being treated the same as white, western artists. this is as a result of xenophobia. this is why ARMYs are upset about 5SOS vs. BTS and their treatment regarding charting.
“i don’t agree with jocks who are mean about it, who are two faced”
we discussed the time it took for hispanic radio to break into the US radio scene. (i disagree that BTS should be on a separate korean station).
“i’m not stupid. i can’t say that [a DJ] is xenophobic because i can’t say that but it’s definitely going on, 100% and i don’t want to believe that”
“i think the american music culture has let them in a little bit, but they are hesitant because they can make an imprint on multiple industries”
“at some point, american radio is going to have to let BTS in and play them. i’ve played BTS on my show, they are played on the radio station but not very much is the US as a whole”
what adam means by “exposure”:
“the average person who isn’t a member of ARMY needs to hear BTS. the audience is there and the average person would like it simply going on musicality and beats. then you go into the lyrics and there’s so much meaning in these songs.”
i said that BTS have been exposure to the general public (grammys, corden, fallon, etc).
he said that it’s an issue of them not being consistently exposure (which i somewhat disagree with). i think they aren’t in america all the time and shouldn’t need to be. that isn’t their message and the kind of person they are.
“when BTS did a performance at billboard, they got an astronomical amount of impressions because of the channel and time frame”
[i disagree with this but i digress]
“i don’t think it’s ARMYs fault for getting exposure to the general public”
i brought up racism towards BTS on radio show about “bts having the coronavirus”. adam was very taken aback bc he hasn’t heard of this.
“that’s wrong. i don’t think anyone should bring race into a pandemic. it makes me sick when ppl in radio do that kind día tuff. it’s nonsense”
*kind of
“i have everyone the answers i gave yesterday because it’s what i believe and what i know”
“when it comes to billboard, i don’t remember being hit up about it. that’s my fault for not seeing it. i was sent threads by 5SOS fans about this”
i said that ARMYs have little trust in radio DJs after all the things that have have happened
ARMYs see ourselves as self sufficient and want to utilize the connections that we have, but once a bond is broken, it’s not easily repaired
i talked about BTS’s collab w halsey and having a western artist increased spins. BTS doesn’t need western artists to be successful. it’s bizarre to see that addition of a western artist adds spins which smells of xenophobia
i talked about the scrapped radio edit and how that ON was intended to be played but essentially got shut out
according to adam, when it comes to the billboard hashtag thing, DJs could have missed due to show commitments and other things bc DJs aren’t on twitter all the time.
[totally understandable, but i don’t know how ALL of them could ah e missed it]
*have
i then talked about how there was no lead up, hashtags that trended, the math not adding up, and billboard never saying anything
he asknwoledged that radio does play a portion in charts but not all [which is true]
i said that the main reason ARMY was upset about the DJs and billboard is the difference in treatment between BTS and 5SOS
“ARMY has done their part in terms of streaming and sales” -adam
i said that given the proportion of the ARMY that at least some of the ARMY had to have hit up radio DJs.
“i will always do my best to [engage with ARMY] and i love doing it. i wouldn’t do this [project] for an artist i didn’t like. i really like BTS and i really like the ARMY. i wouldn’t waste time otherwise and it’s really important to me”
“the majority of the ARMY is great and i want you guys to know that”
“i am trying to be as open and conversational as i can. i don’t know if it will work but i hope it does”
i brought up bringing in larger accounts who have been fans longer and more qualified to talk than me so drop the @s of people you would want”
“it hurts to hear that ARMY doesn’t trust radio. that hurts a lot. i want to see if we can repair this relationship”
“you don’t going to get everyone on board but if there are questions you guys have that you want answered, you can make your own decisions and opinions from there.”
i brought up that there have been great DJs and interviews and that it will take up time to build that repoire after some of the really awful things that DJs have down. i think it has to be built up on both sides
for many years we sent gift cards, food, flowers and were paid back with little spins at best or getting straight up insulted after we had taken our time and money to support
“i’m sorry that that happened. i mean if someone gives you a gift, why would you say it’s poisoned. that ridiculous!”
*i then brought out the recipts and showed the tweets of gifts that ARMY have given* adam: “wowww” (in awe, not sarcastic)
i then brought up DJs saying we “poisoned” cupcakes, thrown away sample albums given to stations, and that really fked up facebook group chat.
adam was very taken aback and hadn’t heard of all of this. he was especially shocked by the group chat when i pulled out recipts from that.
adam: “ARE YOU KIDDING ME? MY GOD. MY GOD. i see why you’re mad. i hadn’t seen any of that!”
“see this is stuff, i’m glad you’re telling me, i didn’t want to believe that people were xenophobic, but they are. that’s not right. i don’t think it’s like that everywhere”
“if you aren’t passionate about something, you aren’t a fan. that’s what being a dedicated supporter is.”
he’s going to take some of my questions, bring them up to a radio jock and ask those questions. from this he will make a small video segment by this friday or saturday. then he will repeat that with other ARMYs (so drop the accounts you want to hear from).
there also many be a group discussion with multiple ARMYs and multiple DJ jocks.
[end of interview]
the words in quotes, unless otherwise stated are direct quotes or paraphrased from @adambombshow. notes in brackets are my two cents. things without quotes are summaries or my thoughts.
google doc w/ recipts one: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_3U7e_DgDHA1h7qzSj1faLAEEoarURBmDIebWhbBL4c/edit?usp=sharing
google doc w/ recipts 2: https://docs.google.com/document/d/192ru3bKtqoSYjC6l_97fDNohq1YNippoug7kUAIOVVY/edit?usp=sharing
sorry for any typos. i was listening to my recording and tying at the same time. ask if you need clarifications.
full audio recording here https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jWFokXum166c8qwuuM6qhGQHvAKPCVx6/view?usp=sharing
if you have issue with the way i phrases things or the questions i asked, you are welcome to ask. all i ask is that you aren’t violent and will listen to my side. same goes for adam, as he has already had threats against him and his kids (totally unacceptable btw)
if you have questions you want me to add to my questions list for DJs to answer, please rely. if you have ARMY accounts who you think would be good representatives for these convos, reply below
thank you for taking the time to read all this. DM me with questions or concerns if you have any 
note - “jocks” in this sense means radio DJs
