HYBE’s ‘Advanced Purchase’ Album Sales Technique Draws Fire For ‘Ciral Streaming

HYBE’s ‘advanced purchase’ album sales technique draws fire for ‘viral streaming’

ADOR CEO Min Hee Jin’s April email to HYBE Labels executives raised concerns about the “advanced purchase” album sales method in K-Pop. According to the email, HYBE offered ADOR employ “advanced purchase” to boost NewJeans’ ‘Get Up’ first-week sales by 100,000 copies, but Min Hee Jin declined. HYBE Labels has denied using “advanced purchase” to boost music sales, but a similar “underhanded” practice is emerging. How do agencies “rig” or “buy out” digital streams if they employ “advanced purchase” to boost record sales? While Korean media calls it “viral marketing”, Americans may call it “payola”. One thirty-something business owner says that every time they play a hip-hop/R&B playlist at their store, a rookie female group song from another genre comes up. The business owner avoided the music because it didn’t fit their vibe. The business owner became frustrated when the same song played 7-8 times, stating, “I do not want to listen to that song ever again.” Entertainment agencies can use “viral marketing” to promote their songs by paying streaming services like YouTube Music, Spotify, Apple Music, and Melon up to 10 billion KRW (~ $7.3 million USD) to have them “suggested” in popular playlists. No one knew to “stream” this song, but it plays randomly and at random times independent of listeners’ intentions. This “viral marketing” or “payola” method is considered “sajaegi” (chart manipulation) by many. Korea Fair Trade Commission “investigated” this method, according to netizens. If regarded advertising, “viral marketing” is not “sajaegi” at this time, according to the Fair Trade Commission. If this technique results to “lying to or tricking consumers” or “fair competition” violations, it may need an investigation. Most recently, HYBE Labels’ rookie girl group ILLIT was criticized for employing “viral marketing”/”payola” for their first title hit, “Magnetic”. Your thoughts on these “underhanded” sales and revenue-boosting methods?