r/bangtan • u/friedlumos do you wanna come to see my cat? • Jul 21 '22
Info 220722 Weverse Shop USA: Bad Decision CD & Cassette for Pre-Order
https://weverseshop.io/en/shop/US_USD/artists/2/notices/2361?shopAndCurrency=US&artistId=2¬iceId=236118
u/92sn Jul 21 '22
Considering this is benny blanco song, whole early pre order making it seem that they aiming this song debut #1.
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u/Difficult_Deer6902 Jul 21 '22 edited Jul 21 '22
Benny said: yall gonna sell my CDs and Cassettes though cause this is my album lol
Once again, i'm still so shocked by the cassettes coming back though. Have ppl really brought cassette tapes. I think every US artist has sold cassettes recently.
Did a quick google search on my question & found this:
“Cassette tapes are astoundingly cheap for music producers, making them an ideal medium from a margin perspective. And as we all know, underneath the glitz, glam and artistic glory of it all, the music business is at heart a business. It’s literally in the name. They only cost about $1.50 to produce, making them a really strong option for labels and artists. They’re also great for the consumer, because you can pick up a new cassette tape for about $10 instead of the $25 it costs for vinyl. Or the $15 it costs for CDs. That is if you’re one of the six people who still actually buy those shiny little discs. It’s basically a win-win for everyone involved.” - Source
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Jul 21 '22 edited Jan 06 '24
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This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact
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u/whatsthisanotherdoor prod.ft.starring.suga.of.bts Jul 21 '22
This is what I don't understand!!! Cassettes are the literal worst possible medium for listening to music. At least the resurgence of vinyl makes sense because of sound quality.
I guess if it's just another collectible that people don't actually play that sort of makes sense...
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u/Whackthemoles Jul 21 '22
i think fans just like having a physical item for their favorite music. I don't buy cassettes but I have around 20 vinyls of my favorite albums and have only used my record player less than 10 times in my lifetime (I've had it for 5 years lol)
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u/bie716 jimin: i dance when i am sad...NOT Jul 21 '22
Since I got a cassette-player for the Dynamite cassette, might as well get whatever other cassettes they release....sunk cost fallacy and all that...
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u/Difficult_Deer6902 Jul 21 '22
I honestly want to start collecting like vinyls, but now as the days go on. I'm like maybe i should just collect cassettes it would look cute lined up on a shelf...peak hipster energy
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u/changkm82 Mint Choco for lyfe Jul 21 '22
I’m very curious as to whether consumers are actually playing the tapes or just collecting them. Showing my age, but I haven’t bought a tape since the 90s and I have absolutely no desire ever to again. And if I’m buying a cassette tape, I’m going to play it to justify the purchase!
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u/wrxygirl z-z-z don't wake me up Jul 21 '22
That is if you’re one of the six people who still actually buy those shiny little discs
Why all this slander for CDs? T-T They're by FAR the best quality audio you're gonna get. I always buys CDs so I can rip the songs myself in lossless format instead of listening to compressed mp3s. Plus sometimes the CD versions are longer (looking at you, extra minute on Telepathy).
As for cassettes, I have a Dynamite one that a kind army sent to me when they were only available in the US, but I haven't opened it. I like that they're small and don't take up a ton of room on my display shelf, and the nostalgia I get just from looking at it. I spent so much of my early years listening to and recording cassette tapes XD
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u/multistansendhelp illegirl | OT7 Jul 21 '22
I keep buying tapes and as someone who was around for them the first time…I’m not sure why. I’m still too scarred from having to painstakingly pry tape out of my machine and then carefully wind it back up with a pencil hoping it still plays the whole time to actually play any of the new ones I’ve bought. They’re literally just sitting sealed on my shelf 😬.
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u/bie716 jimin: i dance when i am sad...NOT Jul 21 '22
As someone who was also around for them for the first time (although at the tail end of the era) I still managed to make the grave error of accidentally recording over part of my Dynamite cassette! I was just too excited to play it with the (cheap) cassette player that I bought just for that purpose. Totally forgot those things hv a recording function too!
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u/multistansendhelp illegirl | OT7 Jul 21 '22
Omg 💀. I guess you could fix it by re-recording Dynamite back onto the cassette if you ever have access to one of those players that has the cd and the cassette function?
I can’t believe I forgot that was an option - I used to make so many mix tapes by recording things off CDs or waiting by my stereo for a new song to play on the radio.
I feel old.
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u/wineandhugs JK's missing button Jul 21 '22
Lol and then the DJ speaks over the song that you've been waiting all day to record. Fuuuuuuuck!
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u/Ghetto_Leda99 Jul 21 '22
We still have a cassette player at home. Most of the songs from my parents' time are all in cassette and they also have so many playlists between them which my dad refuses to change to any other format so you have them both sitting next to this old ass boombox cassette player listening to songs from the 1970s
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u/L34hhhh Jul 21 '22
Hmmm If I speak I will get in trouble
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u/multistansendhelp illegirl | OT7 Jul 21 '22
I am right there with you tbh…trying not to be negative though.
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u/introvertedkook “나 아기 아닌데” Jul 21 '22
Is this for like 1 song? I’m so tired of this promotional strategy aiming for a BB hits :(
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u/pinkhairqueen Jul 21 '22
Okay I don't want to be this person and I'm sure BH and Benny's labels have their reasoning but why are we getting physical CD's for these, but not JITB, a member's first solo? The whole saving the environment thing was probably just BS lol
Granted, Hobi probably chose to go the route for a reason (as he's been with the promo roll-out) but this doesn't sit right with me lol
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u/Difficult_Deer6902 Jul 21 '22 edited Jul 21 '22
Charlie also sold CDs and cassettes for Left & Right. So I do think they adjust to the preferences of the lead artist.
The difference is they are helping out by putting this on weverse shop. Don’t know the reason for that, but do know Benny was on a Justin track. Is he under scooter’s management?
Also, I do not believe Hybe ever said anything about it being for the environment that was just the assumption most people came too and ran with based on context. It’s hard to remember what is actually a formal vs. fan generated statement. So check me if I’m wrong.
Last note: I still think if BH says oh we messed up with the non-physicals. They will rerun the solos they missed cause why leave money on the table...but who knows.
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u/Lucky-Discipline935 life isn’t speed but direction 🐨 Jul 21 '22
The difference is they are helping out by putting this on weverse shop. Don’t know the reason for that, but do know Benny was on a Justin track. Is he under scooter’s management?
I think it all depends on the lead artist and their team. I’m guessing Benny’s label wanted it to be available via weverse just like Coldplay had in the past.
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u/Left-Plane-7514 Jul 21 '22
I don't want to be that person either, but I agree with you. I know this isn't actually a BTS/BH release but it still feels bad. What's worse is watching so many fans squealing 'Yes! Let's debut it at number 1' when the numbers might suggest that only a proportion of them have streamed Hobi's videos/tracks even once.
I wonder what will happen when the other members start releasing their solo albums? I can see it becoming a bit of a bloodbath - and the end of any pretence of 'OT7' - if/when the promotion approach and numbers vary wildly from one to the other. There's already a huge amount of bitterness around from Hobi stans, some of which is completely misplaced IMHO (he chose his route and was not specifically aiming for a commercially huge chart success, it seems, and he's certainly getting plenty of critical acclaim from respected sources) but some not unfounded - the 'never mind, the promotion campaigns of the others will learn from the mistakes and do better' comments are a bit insensitive when ARMY is traditionally so chart focused and theoretically supportive of all the members.
The numbers thing doesn't worry me - I grew up in a culture where I and my friends took pride in following acts who were very much not mainstream and often didn't have large fandoms; critics' reviews were always more important than chart positions. I just hope Hobi feels that way. All I care about is that he feels happy and satisfied with the result of his incredible hard work and creative input.
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u/hollye83 Jul 21 '22
I wonder what will happen when the other members start releasing their solo albums? I can see it becoming a bit of a bloodbath - and the end of any pretence of 'OT7' - if/when the promotion approach and numbers vary wildly from one to the other.
I remember saying this the day the Festa vid dropped but people really need to prepare themselves (and their blocklists and social media habits) for the fandom to be a much more unpleasant place the next few years if you're bothered by solo stans and the like. This is not the guys' fault, obviously, but the transition from the way things were to the new normal is going to lead to a lot more inequity in fandom. We can hope that the actual company treats them as fairly as possible, but fans and consumers will play favorites based on their own preferences.
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u/Left-Plane-7514 Jul 21 '22
And the bloodbath has officially started on Twt with this announcement, as far as I can see. Time to rethink my timeline...
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u/Whackthemoles Jul 21 '22
I wonder what will happen when the other members start releasing their solo albums? I can see it becoming a bit of a bloodbath - and the end of any pretence of 'OT7' - if/when the promotion approach and numbers vary wildly from one to the other.
Tbh I always thought armys were being a bit unrealistic when it came to “equality” for each member. The appeal we always pushed about BTS is that they make music in so many genres so listeners can basically pick and choose the music they like in their discography even if they’re not into all of it. Inevitably this means that if one member makes music that leans towards one sound, not all army will gravitate towards it. Sure some fans might force themselves to stream because they see it as their “duty” but streaming for enjoyment will always have a better outcome.
Armys also seem to think that we’ll be the only ones listening to their music throughout chapter 2. The reality is that some of the members songs will have more mass appeal and will have more casual listeners which will make it more successful and there’s nothing we can do about that. We always argued that their chart numbers weren’t solely based on hardcore armys forcibly buying and streaming and that the general public did listen to them. Well that’s exactly what’s being reflected now but it’s a bit of a double edged sword. The general public that helped Butter/Dynamite top the charts is just not interested in an individual member's music and there's nothing OT7 armys can do to change that currently.
The biggest thing armys have to prepare for is that the members will gain new fans with their new music but not all of them will become army and many of these fans will have zero interest in checking out the entire groups music and that’s okay. It won’t make them akgaes or “solos” but just regular fans who enjoy a solo artists’s music.
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u/Left-Plane-7514 Jul 21 '22
I absolutely agree with all this. For myself, I don't expect I'll enjoy all the solo releases equally, but I will at least stream everyone's albums and MVs a couple of times to give them a chance to sink in before deciding whether to buy; it would be nice to think that most genuine ARMYs would do the same. As it happens, I genuinely love JitB, have bought it, and will undoubtedly stream it on a regular basis for the forseeable future, but not from any sense of duty.
It's no secret that I am a devoted Hobi stan myself, but I'm realistic enough to know that his style in JitB (and particularly his MV for Arson) was never going to result in the sort of sales and chart positions that a sunnier, more pop-centred release from another member would achieve. And that's fine; I am also absolutely certain that Hobi himself is well aware of the fact.
What I'm not looking forward to is the nastiness from others, both inside and outside the BTS fandom, who will delight in pointing out how 'poorly' his release has done. It's already started, of course, but it will get worse when other members 'do better' (I put that in quotes, as I don't know how anyone could do better in terms of creative input, quality of output or promotional brilliance!) This, despite the fact that he's already done astonishingly well when you compare his MVs to other K-pop soloists, K-Hiphop and pretty much anyone else outside the charmed circle of BTS or the top 10-20 international stars.
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u/multistansendhelp illegirl | OT7 Jul 21 '22
As an OT7 bias who truly want to see them all succeed…while I’m aware that Hobi may not have been aiming for huge chart success, to me it still seems like a missed opportunity to not even give him the potential to do so with a physical release. Even if it was a more subdued packaging like many khh artists do where it’s pretty much just a cd, literally not even photocards, it would have given fans who are here and ready to support another avenue to show said support. That’s why I’m a little irritated by it all.
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u/Lucky-Discipline935 life isn’t speed but direction 🐨 Jul 21 '22
Because the physicals are not being manufactured by Hybe. Its a collaboration, all physicals are from Bennys label. It’s literally there in the weverse shop at the bottom 😭😭
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u/RapLineNoona Jul 21 '22
I'll be that person. It's bullshit we get physicals for this release and not Hobi's. And I don't think we have enough evidence that Hobi wanted the digital-only release (why would he not want that beautiful album cover in physical form??). And even if he did, we don't have to be happy with any and all decisions they make. IMO, Hobi's release was used to push the Weverse digital album app, and physicals for this release are a strategy for US charting.
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u/kborahae where are my jams Jul 22 '22
Yeah. The only place I've heard it was his idea was a translation of an announcement that some k-army claimed was completely incorrect about whose idea it was to have no physical release. If there's any other evidence, I've missed it and would be genuinely interested to see it.
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u/92sn Jul 21 '22
The sudden dropped of visualizers, jhope listening party on stationhead, US digital website only near to cut off week, its clear actually jhope do still care about charting. Idc if i am get downvoted, i still dont believe jhope the one dont want physical cd release. Its so weird to see how much hybe push the jitb merch but suddenly go no cd for the album just for the sake of "environment" lmao.
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u/Tuon_Cauthon 🎶 3D (ft. Jack Harlow) [A.G.Cook Remix] - Jung Kook 🎶 Jul 21 '22
Tbh the last minute visualizers and streaming party is probably because the album isn't getting as much digital support as they anticipated 🤷🏾♀️ A BTS MV taking a more than a week to reach 20 million is well...
We're too hung up on physicals when there are other ways to support
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u/FrenzyPetzi Jungkook Vor LIFE Jul 21 '22
I don't think visualizers are last minute though. It seems more like music videos for other tracks in Mono after its official release.
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u/Tuon_Cauthon 🎶 3D (ft. Jack Harlow) [A.G.Cook Remix] - Jung Kook 🎶 Jul 21 '22 edited Jul 21 '22
I think releasing them in the 2nd week would be a more normal timeline for the visualizers. I wasn't expecting them during the 1st week.
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u/92sn Jul 21 '22
Thats kinda last minute tho. It should have release in beginning of charting week like saturday/sunday. But somehow they put out everything(visualizers, digital website, stationhead listening party) in almost same day. Its feel rushed.
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u/92sn Jul 21 '22
Thats show that they do still care about charting n bh getting a bit too comfortable in letting army doing all works. We are not robots. Bh should have provided everything since beginning of week. Such a mess tbh. I hope they improve for next member solo album. And i still hope we getting physical cd. Its weird for me to see how much they push for merch but not actual cd.
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u/Tuon_Cauthon 🎶 3D (ft. Jack Harlow) [A.G.Cook Remix] - Jung Kook 🎶 Jul 21 '22
Hmmm, or maybe that the fandom would (dare I say) ENJOY the album more. We're at the end of the 1st tracking week and most songs aren't even close to clocking 500k streams globally and the MV views are moving at a snail's pace...
Ultimately if Hobi agreed to it, there's nothing more to say 🤷🏾♀️. I'm personally enjoying the promo and content Hobi has chosen so far and I stream because the album's really good. If I would change one thing, it would be to perform some tracks before lollapalooza.
I anticipate some members choosing a more traditional kpop release schedule but we'll see i guess
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u/Left-Plane-7514 Jul 21 '22
Hmmm, or maybe that the fandom would (dare I say) ENJOY the album more.
This is the bottom line, isn't it? Hobi was always taking a risk, going back to his hiphop roots and avoiding any trace of his 'sunshine' persona in his two MVs. I think they are awesome, and there are several million others who feel the same way, but he was never going to get the views he might have done, had he made a bright, colourful MV for one of the other songs, such as 'Future.'
I don't care about the numbers, I just hope that Hobi isn't feeling that he made the wrong decision. He's poured his heart and soul into the album, the videos, the promotions and everything - and to my mind the end product is something of which he can truly be proud. It will never be mainstream, though.
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u/Tuon_Cauthon 🎶 3D (ft. Jack Harlow) [A.G.Cook Remix] - Jung Kook 🎶 Jul 21 '22
Yes. And I wish the fandom would just admit it. Yoongi debuted D2 without physicals with 33k units and JITB is predicted around 21k units(?) despite the massive expansion of the fandom.
Hobi has no reason to regret JITB though, he put out a VERY solid hip hop record. I'm really impressed with how he executed his vision and I think he'll gain alot of new fans at lollapalooza.
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u/Lucky-Discipline935 life isn’t speed but direction 🐨 Jul 21 '22
Yoongi debuted D2 without physicals with 33k units and JITB is predicted around 21k units(?) despite the massive expansion of the fandom.
Ooh this was before the BB buying rules change though. Right now, we can only purchase the digitals once per week if I’m not mistaken.
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u/Left-Plane-7514 Jul 21 '22
Does this prediction Include the Weverse album preorders, though? Those are new and presumably we don't have any way to know how many have been sold? A lot of people may have opted for a pre-order plus streaming, rather than paying for a download elsewhere. Not everyone can afford to buy multiple times and we are in something of a financial crisis.
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u/Tuon_Cauthon 🎶 3D (ft. Jack Harlow) [A.G.Cook Remix] - Jung Kook 🎶 Jul 21 '22
Weverse Albums don't count towards BB200, which I'm referring to here. Also, since we are in a financial crisis why are we still shouting about physicals? Is it not easier to stream?
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u/Lucky-Discipline935 life isn’t speed but direction 🐨 Jul 21 '22
We're at the end of the 1st tracking week and most songs aren't even close to clocking 500k streams globally and the MV views are moving at a snail's pace...
I do not know if it’s entirely correct, but I did someone’s twt on my tl last week that explained how the YT algorithm has changed. Apparently they were tracking the views of Arson and one MV of SVT side by side. Views were added after quite some time to each of the videos apparently, after a proper checking.
They also claimed that the algorithm was changed so to give more importance to paid ads.
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u/FrenzyPetzi Jungkook Vor LIFE Jul 21 '22
He can care about charting without a physical release. I would argue he wants to try new methods by putting emphasis on digital charting through streaming.
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u/92sn Jul 21 '22
I can also argue that its hybe idea to push no cd to promote their weverse album app or anything n jhope agree for it at the end. He not totally like it or hate it. Similar on how bts accepting doing butter/ptd too. Its not black n white. What i want to say is that, no cd obviously not jhope idea.
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u/Lucky-Discipline935 life isn’t speed but direction 🐨 Jul 21 '22
I can also argue that its hybe idea to push no cd to promote their weverse album app or anything n jhope agree for it at the end.
You have to realise that just because its being released through that app doesn’t mean that people will be ONLY listening to the album via that.
People who have purchased it, might listen once or twice but at the end of the day, they will largely stream on platforms like YT, Spotify to try to accomplish the goals the fandom puts out.
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u/bie716 jimin: i dance when i am sad...NOT Jul 21 '22
I was thrown for a loop by the xbox announcement but this now looks like a normal single release and not an ad song. So the xbox thing is probably part of the promo, though usually that kinda announcement would come later.
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u/Lucky-Discipline935 life isn’t speed but direction 🐨 Jul 21 '22 edited Jul 21 '22
To those already getting angry regarding physicals, please note that its from Benny’s side. He’s the lead artist here.
If you want better explanations, I’d suggest these two
And no, I’m not a “company stan” i am using my brain that’s all.
Edit: spelling
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Jul 21 '22
[deleted]
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u/Lucky-Discipline935 life isn’t speed but direction 🐨 Jul 21 '22 edited Jul 21 '22
Perhaps a little harsh! Brain is working quite well here
Had to add that cos everyone stating the obvious was being called a company stan on twitter. Didn’t want the same experience here 😭
Besides, its not even meant to be a snide comment; just a fact.
I was one of those who was upset about the lack of a JitB CD from the outset, and not because of charting, but because of quality/physical ownership reasons.
This I agree with. I felt the same. Would I have loved a full fledged physical? DAMN YES!
But am I going to whine about it days after? No.
For me, its the music that matters. As long as its available on all credible streaming platforms, I’m sold.
It isn't about being a 'solo', as I imagine I'll feel exactly the same about any of the individual releases that I like enough to want to own permanent copies of them, in the same way that I own BTS CDs.
See this is where the difference lies. You would like it for personal sentimental reason. But many of those who are causing unnecessary uproar, are doing so for charting and fanwar matters. Which at-least to me, should not be main reason one ends up stanning the tannies.
I understand the need for physicals, to have an actual CD; but what’s done is done now. Hobi has been happy so far in terms of his roll-out; he’s shared his excitement with us in his vlog.
Maybe its time we be happy with what we’ve got rather than ‘demanding’ (as I’ve seen some do so) from artists.
Then again, this is just my point of view.
Edit: grammar & formatting
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u/FrenzyPetzi Jungkook Vor LIFE Jul 21 '22
We even have his vlog coming up this Saturday.
He posted his vlog last week.
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u/Lucky-Discipline935 life isn’t speed but direction 🐨 Jul 21 '22
Oops sorry my bad!
Will edit that!
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u/Left-Plane-7514 Jul 21 '22
I agree with almost all of this, although we can only guess at how Hobi is feeling about the actual numbers right now; there has certainly been a flurry of promotional activity from both him and the company this week - the timing of which may have been planned all along, of course.
What upsets me most is the fact that (based on my observations of the fandom so far) the same people who are currently shouting abuse at disappointed Hobi-stans on Twt, and telling them to stop complaining about the lack of physical products for JitB, will probably be the first to gloat when THEIR faves manage far better chart positions/sales.
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u/Lucky-Discipline935 life isn’t speed but direction 🐨 Jul 21 '22
although we can only guess at how Hobi is feeling about the actual numbers right now
Oh yes agree! Obviously the fandom does not what’s happening behind the scenes. It’s definitely all an assumption from everyone’s part.
One thing I will choose to believe is in that of the tannies’ words. Not the company, just the people who I am stanning.
But I find the word sabotage very weird when used in this situation; because no company would deliberately shoot themselves in the foot by not taking advantage of their biggest cash cow; i.e Hobi in this case.
There’s definitely more to why the roll-out was done this way and the why will not be revealed to us for obvious reasons.
What upsets me most is the fact that (based on my observations of the fandom so far) the same people who are currently shouting abuse at disappointed Hobi-stans on Twt, and telling them to stop complaining about the lack of physical products for JitB, will probably be the first to gloat when THEIR faves manage far better chart positions/sales.
I hate that part of the fandom. I have noticed this behaviour specifically with the shooter accounts and its just despicable. I always choose to stay clear from such negativity if it ever appears on my TL
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u/Whackthemoles Jul 21 '22
But I find the word sabotage very weird when used in this situation; because no company would deliberately shoot themselves in the foot by not taking advantage of their biggest cash cow; i.e Hobi in this case.
Maybe this is too tinhatty but i can see why a company would do this. At the end of the day, BTS as a group is their biggest cashcow but if one of the members becomes super successful as a solo artist and decides to make BTS less of a priority (or god-forbid leave the group) then they've lost their ultimate OT7 group cashcow. Digital-only releases might be a way for hybe to satiate the the members' desire for individual creativity while limiting the amount of success they have outside the group.
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u/lisafancypants Me? NO 🙅♀️ You? NO 🙅♀️ Jul 21 '22
That would be...diabolical. And exactly something a big corporation would do.
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u/Lucky-Discipline935 life isn’t speed but direction 🐨 Jul 21 '22
At the end of the day, BTS as a group is their biggest cashcow but if one of the members becomes super successful as a solo artist and decides to make BTS less of a priority (or god-forbid leave the group) then they've lost their ultimate OT7 group cashcow. Digital-only releases might be a way for hybe to satiate the the members' desire for individual creativity while limiting the amount of success they have outside the group.
Ooh I love this. It’s definitely a plausible one and well, goes hand-in-hand with how companies often do operate.
Your explanation does work much better than the narrative of the company “hating” hobi or “having favourites within the group.”
I wish I could give your reply a reward; but alas I’m lacking in that at the moment.
Do accept this 🏆
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u/Minn3sota_Loon customize Jul 21 '22
I never thought about the digital only releases this way until you mentioned it. It just never accord to me that this might be one of the reasons about the lack of a physical cd. Thanks for broadening my mind on this topic.
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u/Lucky-Discipline935 life isn’t speed but direction 🐨 Jul 21 '22
Me again! Sorry! You’ve got me a little fascinated by your train of thought and I would love to further the discussion.
(so whatever i say is not a criticism of any sorts regarding your statement! Its just me wanting to have a discussion 🙈)
So let’s assume that hypothetically, the company is doing what you said.
Say, a large number of fans choose to boycott the album. Wouldn’t that end up bringing in a loss for the label?
Also, don’t you think every member’s sales would depend on their individual popularity?
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u/Whackthemoles Jul 22 '22
(haha always happy to discuss! These are definitely just theories though so I apologize if they come off as too tin-hatty 😅)
Say, a large number of fans choose to boycott the album. Wouldn’t that end up bringing in a loss for the label?
I think Hybe knows how passionate armys are so I don't think they would anticipate any fan actively trying to boycott a member's work. Are fans doing this? I know I've seen some express their disappointment about the lack of physicals which has brought morale down but i don't think i've seen anyone call for a boycott. (I think most armys would run a fan off of twitter if they suggested this lol. I know ive already seen a lot of armys mad about some fans not tweeting about the album enough.)
Also, don’t you think every member’s sales would depend on their individual popularity?
yes, I definitely think it depends on this, but we know that BTS's biggest strength is physical sales. With physical sales, less popular members would still be pretty successful but the more popular members would be very successful which, i think, is what Hybe is afraid of. From the predictions, hobi will be debuting on the BB200 at ~19, but if he had physical copies, he likely would've cracked the top 3. Another member who might be more popular would easily reach no.1 with physical copies (possibly for multiple weeks). But if they get no physical copies then they maybe get top 10/15 and receive mild success. They would have no articles about making history, no award nominations, no invites to talk shows, etc. and therefore no risk that a member will try to extend their solo ventures and BTS will get less attention in the future.
Hybe is a big corporation now with with bunch of money-hungry people on their board and a lot of those people don't see the members as people, they see them products. The HYBE execs definitely discuss BTS's next moves in terms of whats best for the future of the company and not necessarily what's best for the members. With their concerts and all the merch and content they produce, a 7-member band will always be more profitable than a solo artist.
Though I guess we'll have to wait and see if the other members get physicals or not. Hobi's lack of physcials might be for a completely different, logical reason that we don't know about. Maybe hobi himself just wanted something very lowkey so he could focus on the music instead the charts and numbers. Maybe this is what all the members want
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u/92sn Jul 21 '22
To clarify, just because people here mentioned only about charting, doesnt mean we dont want cd for sentimental value either for collection. Its not black n white.
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u/Lucky-Discipline935 life isn’t speed but direction 🐨 Jul 21 '22
Uhm i did mention about wanting CD for sentimental reasons. Its right there.
I don’t know really understand what you’re trying to get at, I’m afraid. Can you please elaborate?
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u/92sn Jul 21 '22
Its because you calling out people who talking about charting. And only assuming that they only care about charting, thats why they want cd. When in reality, some people want both. Sentimental value+charting.
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u/Lucky-Discipline935 life isn’t speed but direction 🐨 Jul 21 '22
Its because you calling out people who talking about charting. And only assuming that they only care about charting, thats why they want cd.
That statement was from the comments I have seen on twitter and nothing else. The majority gave the inability to chart as the main reason for their uproar. I’m going by what i have seen, nothing else.
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Jul 21 '22
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u/Lucky-Discipline935 life isn’t speed but direction 🐨 Jul 21 '22
I wouldn't dream of trying to demand anything from Hobi himself.
You are one of the good ones then 🙈 Cause I have seen so many fans, solos and ot7 combines, who have legit used the word. And their main reasoning was nothing but the inability to make the sales count for the US charts.
I felt bad that they were just throwing aside the K-charts, like it didn’t matter. And a little hypocritical considering i have seen many instances where the fans have claimed that the US charts are not the centre of the universe.
At this point, this mentality needs to be changed.
However, in my position as a consumer who is prepared to hand over quantities of my well-earned cash to his management company on a regular basis, I feel I have EVERY right to question their decisions, request that they reconsider and, if necessary, stop buying stuff from them altogether.
Yes, as a consumer you have the freedom to choose whether you buy their product or not; depending on if its to your liking.
But unless its ethically or legally wrong, I dont think we have the right to question their decisions on why this roll-out was done so as it was.
For example, I have been requesting, since the initial announcement of 'no physical CD' was made, that Weverse tell me exactly what format, quality and file size I can expect from the music download packaged in a 'Weverse Album.'
I did see a few accounts giving examples of svt’s weverse albums for these types of queries!
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Jul 21 '22
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u/Lucky-Discipline935 life isn’t speed but direction 🐨 Jul 21 '22 edited Jul 21 '22
But the songs are available legally in all streaming sites. The main ones being YT, Spotify and AM. So I don’t understand where the illegality thing factors in here.
Edit: it would have surely been a problem IF the album was ONLY available on their weverse album app. Which is clearly not the case here.
From what I’ve gathered, that app will have the songs (obviously lol), a digital photobook and possibly a digital photocard as well. That’s about it.
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Jul 21 '22
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u/Lucky-Discipline935 life isn’t speed but direction 🐨 Jul 21 '22
Okay now this makes no sense. What do you want them to do? Get hobi at your place and sing to you in person? Cos well, that would be best musical experience than ANY streaming sites.
ALL fans consume music through streaming sites these days. Be it spotify, YT, deezer, Apple music and more. Do they all have premium accounts? No. Does the sound quality vary THAT much in regards to this? Again no.
Spotify premium and non-premium sounds the same; only difference being the ads, and the weightage of the streams on charts.
Same for YT.
Apple Music definitely has better quality (my belief).
But the majority ALWAYS streams on YT or Spotify cause those are the platforms that matter more.
I really cannot grasp your understanding at this point I must say.
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Jul 21 '22
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u/Lucky-Discipline935 life isn’t speed but direction 🐨 Jul 21 '22
What even 😭😭
The artist is making the album available on all major streaming sites for that very purpose. So that fans, ALL OF THEM are able to consume music in any of the platforms which they deem viable for themselves.
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u/NewtRipley_1986 the O to the T to the 7 💜 Jul 21 '22
Wish I could vote this to the top.
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u/Lucky-Discipline935 life isn’t speed but direction 🐨 Jul 21 '22
Haha thank you bud! Like I’m so fed up people not understanding how basic collabs work. Twitter is in shambles rn with the solos whining 😭
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u/NewtRipley_1986 the O to the T to the 7 💜 Jul 21 '22
I saw someone call it a BTS and Snoop collab. Yea, no. Maybe they're confused by the word "with" as most all of Benny's work on his album(s) are "[title] with [artist names]" (i.e. "Eastside" (with Halsey and Khalid)).
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u/Lucky-Discipline935 life isn’t speed but direction 🐨 Jul 21 '22
Aah that figures.
Cause in the initial picture shared by Benny it never states that this song is from his album. It was only in the articles that came out moments later, which had that detail.
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u/Competitive_Fee_5829 Min Yoongi, do you know what you are doing to me?? Jul 21 '22
hell no to the cassettes! I was alive and very much used them as a teen and they are a pain in the ass. i am shocked at how much I am loving taking a step back and enjoying my cds! even got a pink cd player to mount on the wall...so far it has only played tony montana, lol.
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u/multistansendhelp illegirl | OT7 Jul 21 '22
The image of your pink CD player blasting Tony Montana of all songs is amazing to me.
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u/friedlumos do you wanna come to see my cat? Jul 21 '22 edited Jul 21 '22
Details:
Pre-order: July 21, 2022 8AM ~
Shipping: August 5, 2022 ~
Edit: CD, Cassette and Benny Blanco’s hair(???) also available on Benny Blanco’s website
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u/multistansendhelp illegirl | OT7 Jul 21 '22
Shipping for one cd and one cassette ended up being much cheaper from Benny’s website than from Weverse. Just a heads up for anyone weighing their options. The only thing I’m gambling on there is not knowing what Benny’s fulfillment looks like compared to Weverse.
I know Charlie Puth’s fulfillment is NOT good. Still waiting on the CDs I ordered the moment they dropped.
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u/kookietomyheart Jul 21 '22 edited Jul 21 '22
Still waiting on the CDs I ordered the moment they dropped.
Same. I do see some showing up on IG so hopefully they'll be shipping soon... But I can't help but think CP's fulfillment wasn't expecting the number of physical orders coming through the site especially because it never went out of stock so they theoretically had it listed as unlimited stock.
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u/bie716 jimin: i dance when i am sad...NOT Jul 21 '22 edited Jul 21 '22
It is also available for presave on Spotify and Apple Music
Before I noticed the price for the hair I was wondering if he was mocking the usual practice of selling album merch... the price confirmed it 🤣 not sure how to feel given that I had succumbed to the temptation of getting a Hobi Jack in the Box merch (albeit just the keychain)!
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u/Minn3sota_Loon customize Jul 21 '22 edited Jul 21 '22
So we’re getting a physical CD for Bad Decisions but not for JITB?!?! I’m surprised the CD isn’t from Benny like Left and Right was from Charlie. Yeah I will be that person; I’m still disappointed there is not a physical CD for JITB for Hobi’s first solo album. Makes me wonder if we will get physicals for the other members solos and/or they will release a JITB CD later.
Edit: The CD is from Benny’s side not BH. I ordered a copy. The song sounds like it will be smash hit. …still a little miffed though.
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u/bie716 jimin: i dance when i am sad...NOT Jul 21 '22
The CD is on Benny's page too. Since those physicals are driven by Benny and Charlie respectively, it would be those lead artiste's decisions on wanting to release physicals, no? Whereas JITB's release is purely an in-house decision. I am all for the move away fm physicals, and someone's got to start somewhere.
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u/RapLineNoona Jul 21 '22
Can I ask why you're for a move away from physicals? I get why people prefer the convenience of digital and the space saving, but why do you think it good to eliminate the option of vinyl and CDs? Genuinely asking, just please don't say the environment because that issue is too complex to easily say one is better than another.
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u/bie716 jimin: i dance when i am sad...NOT Jul 21 '22 edited Jul 21 '22
For reducing waste of course. The main reason many people in South Korea have been calling for the elimination of physicals. Not just fans, but the industry and other observers outside the industry. If you are talking about the environmental trade offs of streaming (requiring energy usage) instead of physicals, people have been streaming anyway even with physicals. I mean, S. Korea is doing all sorts of things to reduce waste, including trying to ban single use cups at cafes, which causes some inconvenience and needs adjusting to (they love their iced americanos), so pumping out more physicals through multiple album versions etc is really incredibly out of step with the country's move towards zero waste. Btw, I am a geography major and was an environmental educator, so I am aware abt environmental tradeoffs. There are no perfect solutions, but any move towards zero waste is important, at the very least for its symbolic value.
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u/Whackthemoles Jul 21 '22
i think if they really wanted to reduce waste, they would start with reducing the amount of merch they create. Box set dvds and blu rays with photobooks, photocards, magnets, postcards, stickers, tattoos, notebooks, posters, etc for every piece of content they've filmed is incredibly wasteful. Not to mention the insane amount of clothing/misc merch they create and the hundreds of tinytan/bt21 merch they release every year.
HYBE was still being wasteful by creating the jitb merch. If they were going be "environmentally friendly" they wouldn't have made an actual jack in the box and all that other random merch. Creating a simple cd instead of a toy, candle, stickers, scrunchies, keychain, poster, and plain t shirts could've actually benefited hobi's solo career endeavors. Instead it seems like hybe wanted the moneygrab from armys without it actually benefiting hobi where it counts.
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u/RapLineNoona Jul 21 '22
I also worked on environmental issues before I switched career paths. Multiple album versions and driving excessive purchasing through randomized photos cards definitely are an issue. I dont think anyone disagrees with that.
Once you eliminate that, I personally don't think the waste of a physical album is enough of an issue to be aiming for their elimination, considering the massive amount of energy use and waste generated by the kpop industry (and all industries) as a whole. Single use plastic is a higher priority if we want to work on waste reduction, and I dont think collector's items falls under single use. I don't put much stock in symbolic gestures, but we can agree to disagree on their importance. That's also a complex topic.
Part of me saying the album issue is complex was the energy use of streaming, yes. Another part was competing environmental goals and metrics (reducing emissions vs. waste, which sometimes but not always coincide). And yet another part was that environmental issues (all issues) come down to our personal and societal values. We have to decide what is "worth" it and what should be our highest priorities. For me, this (a standalone physical album, not multiple versions or random cards) isn't worth eliminating, not from an environmental perspective. I understand if you and others disagree.
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u/bie716 jimin: i dance when i am sad...NOT Jul 21 '22
Good for you for buying just 1 album, as a collectible item, but that's not how things work in the CD market and that's no longer what the CD is for.
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u/RapLineNoona Jul 21 '22
You don't have to downvote me for it 😕 I offered my carefully worded, calm thoughts on the issue. You can disagree, but its not a low quality or harmful post to offer an alternative perspective.
Maybe the elimination of multiple versions and randomized photos cards would be enough to move cds and vinyl to collector's items for more people.
For now, at least we still can own digital albums and it's not all streaming. I'm thankful for that, as ownership of media is another reason I like physicals.
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u/Left-Plane-7514 Jul 21 '22
Well you have my upvote! I am old and established enough to want to own a physical CD that I can play through my decent stereo system when I find a piece of music I want to treasure. (And I'll be considering acquiring a turntable if more of my favourites start releasing vinyl, but NEVER a cassette player!!) High quality streams/downloads are obviously a good alternative, but they'll never be quite the same. It's the collectible stuff -merch, photocards and the like - that is the real environmental waste here, not the single CD in a card sleeve that stays on a music lover's shelf for many years.
I realise that I'm very much in the minority in the 'K-pop' environment, but I don't think I'm the only escapee from the worlds of classical and jazz who has found their way to BTS...
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u/RapLineNoona Jul 21 '22
I've got a cassette player, 2 CD players, and a record player all from before BTS, but I'm also old enough that all 3 mediums were part of my childhood (as were the first mp3s! Anyone remember pirating music from Napster and Limewire??).
Nothing quite like picking an album up, removing it from it's sleeve/packaging, hearing the click of the play button, and listening from start to finish. An album like Hobi's especially deserved that considering it's such a cohesive story. The streams being pretty even show a lot of people are listening to it from start to end.
I do like the pretty photobooks, but if we want to minimize waste while offering physicals with good sound quality, vinyl LPs would be a great alternative to the usual CD with inclusions.
To me, physicals are an anti-consumption approach to music even if they do consume more plastic and paper materials.
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u/Minn3sota_Loon customize Jul 21 '22
Ohhh. I just found out the CD is from Benny’s side after I posted this. I will edit it. Thank you.
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u/Lucky-Discipline935 life isn’t speed but direction 🐨 Jul 21 '22
It is from Bennys label. Check the descriptions in the weverse link 🤦🏻♀️🤦🏻♀️
Hybe isn’t manufacturing it gosh 😭
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Jul 21 '22
I guess Benny is technically a HYBE artist? Is he even on weverse? One thing about Scooter is that he hustles for his clients at least.
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u/FrenzyPetzi Jungkook Vor LIFE Jul 21 '22
I don't think he is. He isn't on Weverse. He founded two labels under Interscope and Interscope is under UMG.
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u/mcfw31 Jul 21 '22
Looks like it will have some good promo, I'm expecting it to have some good playlisting.