Appearing on “You Quiz on the Block” last year, HYBE’s Chairman Bang Si-hyuk mentioned the theory of K-pop crisis that may happen because K-pop relies too much on the consumption of strong fandom (heavy fandom) instead of fans who consume music lightly (light fandom). A year later, the K-pop crisis has begun to emerge as the album sales of idol groups are showing signs of declining. The sluggish performance of JYP’s girl group ITZY is an example.
According to the stock trading market on January 15th, JYP saw the greatest decline among the 4 big K-pop agencies. Stock experts speculated that the performance of JYP’s major group ITZY was the cause of the stock price plunge. Released on the 8th, ITZY’s 8th mini album “BORN TO BE” received rather cold responses. Their first-week sales plummeted significantly compared to that of the previous album. According to Hanteo Chart, “BORN TO BE” sold only 318,000 copies in the first week, while its 7th mini album “Kill My Doubt” recorded 823,700 copies within the same period.
NMIXX, another highly anticipated girl group of JYP, also faced the same crisis. Their second EP “Fe3O4: BREAK” sold only 130,000 copies on the first day, while their previous album “A Midsummer NMIXX’s Dream” in 2023 reached up to 720,000 copies within the first 24 hours.
Some experts in the industry pointed out the reduction in group purchases of albums in the Chinese market as one of the reasons for ITZY and NMIXX’s sluggish album sales.
Recalling Bang Si-hyuk’s mention of the K-pop market relying heavily on strong fandom and fandom loyalty, the fact that idols’ album sales declined due to the reduction in group purchases in China, one of the largest music markets in the world, has clearly explained this ‘heavy fandom’ theory. Along with this, some also interpreted this phenomenon as the process of K-pop transitioning from heavy fandom to light fandom.
In the case of JYP Entertainment, there are also concerns over the company’s planning capabilities. An official said, “JYP’s plans and promotions nowadays are less powerful compared to when they introduced TWICE, who used to lead girl groups together with BLACKPINK from YG and Red Velvet from SM. The rapid decline in ITZY and NMIXX performances proved that JYP had failed to read the wishes of their fandoms”.
Some took into consideration the shortcomings of domestic charts that count album sales, such as Hanteo Chart and Circle Chart. Hanteo counts the actual number of albums sold in music stores in real-time after the album release. On the other hand, Circle Chart counts album albums shipped through music production companies.
According to JYP Entertainment, the number of ITZY’s shipped albums was around 800,000 copies. However, their first-day sales (after shipment) were only 320,000 copies. In this regard, JYP explained that some parts of the exports were not counted due to the nature of album distribution overseas.
There is a possibility that the recent decreases in album sales of ITZY and NMIXX may not indicate risks, but the large purchases from the Chinese market indeed had a significant influence on it. It is true that the heavy fandom culture in China has collapsed. Therefore, attention is focused on what measures JYP and other entertainment companies will take to maintain their idols’ fandom power.
Source: Newstomato
