i feel like the point everyones missing is that it’s not $55 for an album, it’s $55 for memorabilia, a book, and a physical album copy which is still kinda pricey but more in like an $8 burger sense and not in a $30 for a 5-pack of KN95 facemasks sense

yes the money will go to many artists involved although there will still be execs making wayy too much money off it bc capitalism. but it’s not rly big hit’s job to singlehandedly thwart capitalism, it’s just their job to not be so egregious that they’re downright villainous

i’d love for them to, like, not be capitalists, but that’s not really feasible without ceding a great amount of access and resources needed to compete in the market, which would result in receiving far more criticism for “mismanaging” their artists etc.

my ideal would be for bighit to be a cooperative in which each employee receives equal or tiered-but-close salaries something like the AP. bc they’re not revolutionary in their relation to capital, i see them more as a lesser of evils than as an ideal.

that means one can balance expectations of them, and recognize that theyre a better option for idols in the industry while still not seeing what they have to offer as a type of longterm
answer.

also, we don’t know (afaik) the degrees to which payment is divided up among all the producers/artists/laborers involved in making the product. and we should! we should demand that of all companies. bighit has been transparent in other realms, so they’d be a great place to start

so it’s unproductive IMO to say “well this price is worth it bc of all the ppl involved!” if we don’t know how much they’re rly being paid. but it’s also Very unproductive to sit back and mock their consumers for spending money on things they love. that’s like, Praxis 101

ppl are just trying to enjoy something that they are passionate about and adds value to their life in the form of comfort, socialization, energy, and other of the many values of art. shaming that makes u a dick, not a socialist

if u truly want to demand better of labels in this situation, whether it be bighit or their more egregious contemporaries, start a campaign to demand transparency on worker pay for all projects. that’s one example of many, and i’d be happy to join u. till then, be easy