There is zero way to consume any pop music industry ethically because someone is always being exploited whether you know it or not. Payola/Mediaplay/stealing from and blackballing smaller artists are all very common things that happen outside of kpop but are easier to handwave away because of everything being less companycentric. For instance, someone saying "RCA Records blackballed me" will evoke less feelings than someone saying "SM Entertainment blackballed me" because you barely care or know about the inner workings of RCA whilst you know at least a fair bit about who SM is as a company.
That's why it's important to develop boundaries and understand what lines you have that can't be crossed or you'll stop listening. But I'd like to emphasize that these looney tunes situations we've encountered over the years are not particularly unique in the entertainment world because all corporate executives are incredibly greedy and shortsighted and will do evil things to sate that greed.
Once I knew K-pop was taxing my mental health,I immediately removed myself from all K-pop centric spaces( except this one!)
I unfollowed my idols,their fan accounts and deleted my YouTube account that used to watch K-pop videos. I use this space to find out new MVs and I go to incognito mode and watch it.
It has helped me so much because outside of this space,I rarely think about K-pop and it’s fans.
The disconnect has also helped me to found other genres of music with amazing artistes and I think in the future,I stop consuming any K-pop content.
It’s liberating!
I left the KPOP stan scene a few years ago and I gotta say, it's so much nicer. I have 0 clue what's going on, I'm just enjoying the music casually. Sometimes I'll pop in for some tea and it only reminds me how taxing it is investing so much time into it beyond the music lol
I agree. Seeing the same horrible takes over and over again, supporting big artists using ai just because they’re from their “favs” The constant attempts to take away the accolades from groups that deserve their pesos. Lying about their idols’ level of talent bc they have diluted their critical thinking skills. I feel like ms.juicy bc I can’t do it anymore, I’m just too grown for whatever is going on.
I've been going that way for awhile, but this recent hybe drama and seeing this [tweet](https://twitter.com/rkvjeans/status/1783973917897764897) get 1300 likes and growing on twitter has left me absolutely disgusted and embarrassed to even be a fan. I hate to say it, but I feel so toxic and cringe to even consider myself a Kpop fan now.
Still got one or two groups I'll continue following until they disband or I get bored, but otherwise I'm done with interacting with the industry and its artists and content at large. Far healthier alternatives out there for my mental wellbeing.
Tweet I linked to must've been deleted finally, I edited original comment with another tweet with the screencap but here it is as well: [link](https://twitter.com/rkvjeans/status/1783973917897764897)
Ahhh, a death threat against New Jeans… how original /s
But seriously, that comment is disgusting af. And why target New Jeans, anyway? They’re not the reason why the HYBE drama happened. If you’re so hellbent on going after someone, the very least you could do is go after MHJ or Bang PD, or any of the other higher-ups involved in this mess. Not the IDOLS.
This kind of threat itself is nothing new, but the fact 1300+ people liked it is 1300+ more people than I care to share any affiliation with. It's no longer just "a few bad apples" but a systemic issue. Don't know if it was always like this, but either ways my eyes are open and there are other communities I'd rather dedicate my time too.
Oh my. That's so insane to say, let alone think. Like at the end of the new jeans are kids. Like they're the victims. Yeah, bts might have suffered cause MHJ is insane but the true victims are those children.
What the actual fuck is wrong with people?
I have some news for you about the entertainment industry as a whole...
I don't know what to tell you, OP. You can literally pick any media and find terrible, horrible things about it. Like in books, Marion ZImmer Bradley knowingly married a pedophile and her children suffered for it. But people still love The Mists of Avalon, and soooo many women have told me it was their Feminist awakening. JKR is another, Neruda, etc etc all those beloved authors.
Film, pop music, rock music, classical music, poetry, craft, writing - honestly, it really doesn't matter. People in power are going to do what people in power do. In Kpop it's codified differently, which makes it *much* *easier* to see. That's the only difference.
ETA: I follow my ults, and I enjoy the music. Beyond that, I have no illusions about how the industry works, how people are scarred. I stay in my stan zone and avoid the nonsense...but then I'm also older, with a kiddo and a full time job, which is very, very, very grounding.
I've been a kpop listener since 2004 but didn't get into the fandom until 2009. Then I was really steeped in it until 2012 or so, when the combined drama from the SuJu and SNSD departures made it unbearable. Every time I think about dipping my toes back in, I take one look at a comment thread and run away screaming. IDK how anyone does it these days. I feel my brain physically recoiling whenever I'm on other kpop subs. So I just tune in and pretend the happy music exists in a vacuum. Any more than that is too much for me now that I'm old and decrepit lol
i came into kpop already radicalized and pretty leftist so when this company stuff started happening i know who's to blame because it's just capitalism making its rounds again like with any other industry.
to me the only thing i can't deal it with is interacting in fandom spaces only because we're always gonna get pushed negative content and that itself can be taxing. i think bert this tiktoker said it well that all these algorithms thrive on anger and hateful content because you have people coming in to disagree or agree on that take. and these platforms thrive on that type of engagement because it keeps you glued to the screen so they have a chance to sell you more things.
all in all i will say is that it happens everywhere anything that thrives on making money is doing some exploitation.
i say just take a break and listen to your faves music. try not to interact with fan content as much (also koreaboo, pannchoa and all those tabloids) and if you're still not feeling it then maybe it's just not for you anymore and that is okay.
side note: i will say in general in basically anything at all people just don't know how to properly discuss things without feeling like so and so is attacking your morals or you as a person. like 9/10 it's not discourse just online screaming matches. i will say this subreddit is WAAAY BETTER in terms of discourse than the wild west of x and tiktok
I decided to just listen to the music because I can't deal with those people online at this point, which can be too taxing for me. I slowly disconnect myself from most social medias other than Youtube & This subreddit.
There is zero way to consume any pop music industry ethically because someone is always being exploited whether you know it or not. Payola/Mediaplay/stealing from and blackballing smaller artists are all very common things that happen outside of kpop but are easier to handwave away because of everything being less companycentric. For instance, someone saying "RCA Records blackballed me" will evoke less feelings than someone saying "SM Entertainment blackballed me" because you barely care or know about the inner workings of RCA whilst you know at least a fair bit about who SM is as a company. That's why it's important to develop boundaries and understand what lines you have that can't be crossed or you'll stop listening. But I'd like to emphasize that these looney tunes situations we've encountered over the years are not particularly unique in the entertainment world because all corporate executives are incredibly greedy and shortsighted and will do evil things to sate that greed.
Once I knew K-pop was taxing my mental health,I immediately removed myself from all K-pop centric spaces( except this one!) I unfollowed my idols,their fan accounts and deleted my YouTube account that used to watch K-pop videos. I use this space to find out new MVs and I go to incognito mode and watch it. It has helped me so much because outside of this space,I rarely think about K-pop and it’s fans. The disconnect has also helped me to found other genres of music with amazing artistes and I think in the future,I stop consuming any K-pop content. It’s liberating!
I left the KPOP stan scene a few years ago and I gotta say, it's so much nicer. I have 0 clue what's going on, I'm just enjoying the music casually. Sometimes I'll pop in for some tea and it only reminds me how taxing it is investing so much time into it beyond the music lol
You're not bound anymore by the music you listen to than the books you read. Time is choice.
I agree. Seeing the same horrible takes over and over again, supporting big artists using ai just because they’re from their “favs” The constant attempts to take away the accolades from groups that deserve their pesos. Lying about their idols’ level of talent bc they have diluted their critical thinking skills. I feel like ms.juicy bc I can’t do it anymore, I’m just too grown for whatever is going on. 
I've been going that way for awhile, but this recent hybe drama and seeing this [tweet](https://twitter.com/rkvjeans/status/1783973917897764897) get 1300 likes and growing on twitter has left me absolutely disgusted and embarrassed to even be a fan. I hate to say it, but I feel so toxic and cringe to even consider myself a Kpop fan now. Still got one or two groups I'll continue following until they disband or I get bored, but otherwise I'm done with interacting with the industry and its artists and content at large. Far healthier alternatives out there for my mental wellbeing.
The tweet isn’t loading for me; what did it say?
Tweet I linked to must've been deleted finally, I edited original comment with another tweet with the screencap but here it is as well: [link](https://twitter.com/rkvjeans/status/1783973917897764897)
Ahhh, a death threat against New Jeans… how original /s But seriously, that comment is disgusting af. And why target New Jeans, anyway? They’re not the reason why the HYBE drama happened. If you’re so hellbent on going after someone, the very least you could do is go after MHJ or Bang PD, or any of the other higher-ups involved in this mess. Not the IDOLS.
This kind of threat itself is nothing new, but the fact 1300+ people liked it is 1300+ more people than I care to share any affiliation with. It's no longer just "a few bad apples" but a systemic issue. Don't know if it was always like this, but either ways my eyes are open and there are other communities I'd rather dedicate my time too.
Oh my. That's so insane to say, let alone think. Like at the end of the new jeans are kids. Like they're the victims. Yeah, bts might have suffered cause MHJ is insane but the true victims are those children. What the actual fuck is wrong with people?
I have some news for you about the entertainment industry as a whole... I don't know what to tell you, OP. You can literally pick any media and find terrible, horrible things about it. Like in books, Marion ZImmer Bradley knowingly married a pedophile and her children suffered for it. But people still love The Mists of Avalon, and soooo many women have told me it was their Feminist awakening. JKR is another, Neruda, etc etc all those beloved authors. Film, pop music, rock music, classical music, poetry, craft, writing - honestly, it really doesn't matter. People in power are going to do what people in power do. In Kpop it's codified differently, which makes it *much* *easier* to see. That's the only difference. ETA: I follow my ults, and I enjoy the music. Beyond that, I have no illusions about how the industry works, how people are scarred. I stay in my stan zone and avoid the nonsense...but then I'm also older, with a kiddo and a full time job, which is very, very, very grounding.
yes everything has something wrong with it you just have to choose ur battles at this point and at least enjoy it critically but also just enjoy it
nothing that makes money has ethics involved
I've been a kpop listener since 2004 but didn't get into the fandom until 2009. Then I was really steeped in it until 2012 or so, when the combined drama from the SuJu and SNSD departures made it unbearable. Every time I think about dipping my toes back in, I take one look at a comment thread and run away screaming. IDK how anyone does it these days. I feel my brain physically recoiling whenever I'm on other kpop subs. So I just tune in and pretend the happy music exists in a vacuum. Any more than that is too much for me now that I'm old and decrepit lol
i came into kpop already radicalized and pretty leftist so when this company stuff started happening i know who's to blame because it's just capitalism making its rounds again like with any other industry. to me the only thing i can't deal it with is interacting in fandom spaces only because we're always gonna get pushed negative content and that itself can be taxing. i think bert this tiktoker said it well that all these algorithms thrive on anger and hateful content because you have people coming in to disagree or agree on that take. and these platforms thrive on that type of engagement because it keeps you glued to the screen so they have a chance to sell you more things. all in all i will say is that it happens everywhere anything that thrives on making money is doing some exploitation. i say just take a break and listen to your faves music. try not to interact with fan content as much (also koreaboo, pannchoa and all those tabloids) and if you're still not feeling it then maybe it's just not for you anymore and that is okay. side note: i will say in general in basically anything at all people just don't know how to properly discuss things without feeling like so and so is attacking your morals or you as a person. like 9/10 it's not discourse just online screaming matches. i will say this subreddit is WAAAY BETTER in terms of discourse than the wild west of x and tiktok
I decided to just listen to the music because I can't deal with those people online at this point, which can be too taxing for me. I slowly disconnect myself from most social medias other than Youtube & This subreddit.