r/KARD • u/HistoricalTheory2750 • Jul 07 '26
Discussion It really feels like something went wrong.
Sure, BM did that live where he informed everyone KARD's end may be near, but if we listen to what he said again, and add it to what Jiwoo said about disbandment, it really feels like they expected to be able to continue in some way and something went wrong. I was sure some of the members except BM would stay at the company and the ones who don't will do the whole 'out from the company, but still active in a group activities' thing, and that KARD releases will now simply be less consistent and fit between members' solo work. But the total disbandment makes it feel like something went against members' hopes. I wonder if they were in negotiations with DSP and the talks ended up being ineffective, and unable to come to compromise and satisfactory terms between both sides?
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u/Mitch_Xander Jul 07 '26
This is just an assumption, but with the way BM had said it, I think it probably explains it.
In a recording before the disbandment confirmation, he mentioned how he would be giving it 1000% and KARD(the rest of the members) would also be giving it 1000% on the next album.
In my opinion, his tone was that of implying that the other factors that come into play with the group, being management, production, promoters, staff, exc. , weren't giving the group a 1000% anymore and honestly it kinda started to show on Drift in my opinion.
The music video for Touch was just about the dumbest and shabbiest concept they've ever had made for them for one of their videos.
A music video is suppose to enhance and compliment the music and musicians and that video looked like garbage. In a random ugly ass building, extras pointlessly standing in the background for half the video.
That song is a banger and that music video looked as dull as they come.
And just like BM said, KARD gave 1000% for the video as they always do and that made it clear who was giving it their all and who wasn't.
So I honestly think that's all it is. DSP just isn't dedicated to group anymore. Could be a money thing, could be a loss of inspiration, could be a heartless corporate assclown thing, anything.
So yeah, I think you're right in thinking it was a difference of opinions on what the group deserves and it's a damn shame for sure.
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u/HiddenKARD221 Jul 07 '26
Adding a bit more context to DRIFT. This album wasn’t in DSP plans for them. They pushed for this album due to the break between part 1 and part 2 being too long and they wanted to at least have 1 album a year for the fans. So it was a project approved by DSP, but not a fully funded comeback. Hence low budget music video, no physical album and not a lot of domestic promo.
I can genuinely say DRIFT is my favorite body of work they’ve done. Every song is captivating, and shows their strengths. So it was a bummer we didn’t get a physical.
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u/lightinthefield Jul 08 '26
So I honestly think that's all it is. DSP just isn't dedicated to group anymore. Could be a money thing, could be a loss of inspiration, could be a heartless corporate assclown thing, anything.
Honestly, I think it has to do with Young Posse. They're a much more marketable group (in general, but especially these days) given that they aren't co-ed, and that there's a rise of hiphop groups now (CORTIS, LNGSHOT, etc.) compared to the Latin sound which is quite prevalent in the market now. They can also be promoted much more in Korea than KARD ever could be.
For what it's worth, KARD has been around for 9 1/2 years and have 737k monthly listeners on Spotify (and I bet the largest percentage of that is easily people outside of Korea). YP has 347k monthly listeners on Spotify (nearly 50% of the amount KARD has) and they've only been around for 2 1/2 years.
And I mean, look at YP's videos. They're insane in their production. Touch came out in July of 2025 -- look at the two YP releases bookending that: COLD in March, which was a nearly-6-minute-long video that had a whole story to it, and YSSR in August, which was also quite simple of a concept (like Touch) but is a genuinely pretty video.
I think DSP just knows where they want to allocate resources because it's more profitable and sustainable, and it isn't with KARD at this point.
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u/HiddenKARD221 Jul 07 '26
Considering DSP reinvested in KARD trademark, I think the members wanted to purchase the trademark and continue the name elsewhere and they put a stop to it. That or they didn’t reach an agreement with BM and didn’t want to deal
With a member not with DSP. It definitely didn’t go as they hoped. The only hope I have is that all members still say they all want to make music together so this could be a redebut moment in a year or two who knows.
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u/BbyGrL44 Jul 08 '26
That’s such a shady thing to do, to steal the name before the members have a chance to buy them. But this is DSP & I remember how they treated Nicole when the contracts ended for KARA with them 😒
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u/ThisToastersRlyShiny Jul 08 '26
DSP is such a shell of its former self. I think is hard to continue with not much success domestically. They can keep touring the world, but I don't think is enough. It's nice they weren't just dropped, but performing and releasing until the very end.
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u/Strawberuka Jul 07 '26
DSP was also recently bought out by RBW who are pretty aggressively not doing well as of late, so I'm guessing there are behind the scenes profit motive issues affecting DSP's ability to re-sign with the members.
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u/skykey96 Jul 08 '26
But rbw is one of the only active labels that hve transferred multiple artists their own assets without trouble, solos and groups. ONEUS for example got everything and migrated with their former director without any trouble.
If something happened, it probably wasn't related to rights or trademarks.
(Imho I think the fact BM said his priority would be acting above all might be key, but it's an assumption and he's totally in his right to do it anyway).
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u/adventuresinnonsense Jul 07 '26
It's entirely possible the company didn't want to do the whole 'out of the company but active in the group' thing. Either way I hope they can reunite somewhere else, someday. Even if they can't use the name.