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BTS & ARMY vs. Fakery In The Music Industry: False Narratives & Fandom Complacency Are Preferred...But At What Cost?
[A THREAD]
![BTS & ARMY vs. Fakery In The Music Industry: False Narratives & Fandom Complacency Are Preferred...But At What Cost?[A THREAD]](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Ek5-qzsW0AEAps6.jpg "BTS & ARMY vs. Fakery In The Music Industry: False Narratives & Fandom Complacency Are Preferred...But At What Cost?[A THREAD]")
[A THREAD]
ARMY is a fandom that is all about receipts, both figuratively and literally. When you stan a group that was repeatedly maligned for fake sales and also have people constantly spreading rumors, you learn to value the truth very fast.
Whether it's verifying records, sales, and certifications, ARMY wants nothing more than to hold up every possible receipt. This habit has repeatedly put ARMY up against people who get by with media play, pay@la, bots, shills, and other shady methods.
BTS's global success and ARMY's fact-checking habits prove to be a lethal combination for an industry so dominated by fakery in recent years that Billb@ard is only just recently (and seemingly reluctantly) ridding its charts of merch bundles. https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/9417842/billboard-new-chart-rules-no-more-merch-ticket-bundles
For this thread, I'm going to look at the "why" behind the US music industry's fakery problem, how BTS & ARMY both intentionally and unintentionally expose it, ending off with thoughts about the bizarre backlash to BTS' success and comparative silence regarding fakery.
I. Face-Saving F**kery & Fakery
It's no secret that the age of the album is pretty much over in America, and to be honest, single sales aren't too impressive either these days. The biggest single of 2019 was inarguably Lil Nas X's "Old Town Road," which earned 1.5 million sales.
It's no secret that the age of the album is pretty much over in America, and to be honest, single sales aren't too impressive either these days. The biggest single of 2019 was inarguably Lil Nas X's "Old Town Road," which earned 1.5 million sales.
OTR was reportedly the ONLY single in 2019 to cross the million sale mark; only eight singles sold 500,000 or more.
This wouldn't get them anywhere near the list of top-selling US music singles. https://www.businessinsider.com/best-selling-music-singles-of-all-time-2019-4#25-black-eyed-peas-i-gotta-feeling-2009-1
This wouldn't get them anywhere near the list of top-selling US music singles. https://www.businessinsider.com/best-selling-music-singles-of-all-time-2019-4#25-black-eyed-peas-i-gotta-feeling-2009-1
It's pretty much the sad norm that "nobody buys music anymore," and in a market where "nobody buys music anymore," it means that one has to come up with some creative methods of measuring success. Enter widespread fakery.
Artists and labels turned to bundles to help boost their chances of getting a much-coveted #1 on the charts.
(Yes, these people still VERY MUCH care about chart positions.) https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/album-merch-bundles-dont-make-much-money-but-rappers-like-them-anyway-776067/
(Yes, these people still VERY MUCH care about chart positions.) https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/album-merch-bundles-dont-make-much-money-but-rappers-like-them-anyway-776067/
This is such a driving desire that artists are willing to pay out of pocket to cover the costs of bundling their way to the top. All of those "sales," ultimately represent minus signs, but the bragging rights are supposed to make up for it.
Also curious is how Billboard factors in streaming, an act of music consumption that's very convenient for fans but is increasingly to blame for poor single sales and even worse album sales. https://www.rollingstone.com/pro/news/album-sales-dying-as-fast-as-streaming-services-rising-774563/
As real sales sank, the remedy was various forms of fakery:
- Attempting to make stream numbers represent sales even as streams seem to kill sales numbers outright
- Gifting music with merch rather than let fans decide to purchase on their own
- Attempting to make stream numbers represent sales even as streams seem to kill sales numbers outright
- Gifting music with merch rather than let fans decide to purchase on their own
And there's hearing the same several songs over and over again for reasons that are likely very, very shady. https://www.rollingstone.com/pro/features/pay-for-play-radio-texts-1067691/
With spiraling sales the new normal, some might have believed these face-saving antics were long-term solutions. Then BTS blew the doors off of everyone's expectations.
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![[MID THREAD PROMO!]I FINALLY took the time to fill my merch store with a bunch of new stuff. Masks, mugs, shirts, hoodies, ebooks, and more are available over at March Merch+ https://march-merch-4.myteespring.co/ Shop now and get 20% off of your purchase by using promo code SWEETEST!](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Ek6FEYBW0AAYTFC.jpg "[MID THREAD PROMO!]I FINALLY took the time to fill my merch store with a bunch of new stuff. Masks, mugs, shirts, hoodies, ebooks, and more are available over at March Merch+ https://march-merch-4.myteespring.co/ Shop now and get 20% off of your purchase by using promo code SWEETEST!")
I FINALLY took the time to fill my merch store with a bunch of new stuff. Masks, mugs, shirts, hoodies, ebooks, and more are available over at March Merch+
https://march-merch-4.myteespring.co/
Shop now and get 20% off of your purchase by using promo code SWEETEST!
II. Enter BTS
ARMY has been a buying fandom from the beginning, something abundantly clear as BTS began breaking through in the US music market. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/20/arts/music/drake-scorpion-physical-cds.html
ARMY has been a buying fandom from the beginning, something abundantly clear as BTS began breaking through in the US music market. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/20/arts/music/drake-scorpion-physical-cds.html
BTS presents an interesting problem to an industry stubbornly persisting on the narrative that nobody is buying music anymore, implying this to be true under any and every circumstance when ARMY's visibly demonstrating how much that's not the case!
BTS & ARMY's unshakable presence in the US music industry today presents a challenge to those who are not only comfortable with the "nobody's willing to buy music" lie but who are either complicit in protecting the lie or too complacent to fight against poor artist sales.
Far too many young artists settle for looking rich and famous without fully enjoying the fruits of their labors.
Fans settle for the appearance that their faves are set for life, without looking deeper into the truth or untruth of their long-term financial security.
Fans settle for the appearance that their faves are set for life, without looking deeper into the truth or untruth of their long-term financial security.
Bottom line? Fakery is *comfortable*.
It's therefore, I imagine, very *uncomfortable* to see BTS outearning established Western rap and pop acts specifically because ARMY has never had an interest in supporting false narratives and while acting the part of entitled, complacent and passive music listeners.
III. ARMYS EXPOSE IT ALL
ARMY is never comfortable with any outcome that cheats BTS or is ambiguous. We want everything to be honest, open, and clear. That means we will share screengrabs, calculations, and various forms of receipts.
ARMY is never comfortable with any outcome that cheats BTS or is ambiguous. We want everything to be honest, open, and clear. That means we will share screengrabs, calculations, and various forms of receipts.
ARMY has a way of forcing the truth of various situations out, whether it's directly or indirectly (calling out rigged iTunes sales or our non-ad supported YouTube view record).
And no, we have NOT forgotten those millions of missing "ON" streams and we never will.
And no, we have NOT forgotten those millions of missing "ON" streams and we never will.
As more and more people all over the world come to know about and support BTS, that increases the number of eyes on the group's music and the number of mouths that will holler "THIS SH!T IS RIGGED" at the top of our lungs.
It someone wants a questionable outcome to look even remotely real, they can't afford to attempt fakery in proximity to ANYTHING to do with BTS. because ARMY won't shut up about it.
We expose media play antics and false sales figures, oftentimes entirely by mistake.
We expose media play antics and false sales figures, oftentimes entirely by mistake.
BTS & ARMY, through our unrelenting nature, demonstrate there's real success to be had in creating great music supported by a massive fandom that works in an incredibly organized fashion.
It's also very apparent that this isn't easily accomplished nor replicated.
It's also very apparent that this isn't easily accomplished nor replicated.
Others might opt for the short term convenience of p*yola, bundles, and media play, but they're paying out of pocket for the privilege of appearing to enjoy greater success. And at this point, the stubborn normalization of fakery is not going to backfire on *us*.
CONCLUSION (FINALLY!)
I think we can expect various forms of insults & the ridiculous questioning of BTS's sales to continue as others seek to justify their decision to embrace fakery no matter what the cost.
I think we can expect various forms of insults & the ridiculous questioning of BTS's sales to continue as others seek to justify their decision to embrace fakery no matter what the cost.
In the end, it's more convenient to pretend that BTS's real sales and ARMY's organic support are the problems than to shift away from face-saving fakery and passive support that doesn't require the level of spending that was once the norm.
However, I think if fandoms ever get in the habit of embracing deliberately organized purchases rather than merely streaming, it could truly help combat what could be impending economic issues across the US music industry.
But I'm skeptical. At this point, fakery is easier.
But I'm skeptical. At this point, fakery is easier.
/END THREAD!
Thanks so much for reading. Please be on the lookout for future threads.
Thanks so much for reading. Please be on the lookout for future threads.
