K-pop fans have been trending the hashtag #BoycottSM (boycott SM Entertainment) on Twitter since last night (Tuesday, 10th November). What’s the tea, you asked?
Apparently, K-pop fans got behind the movement after venting out their dissatisfaction towards the famed entertainment company for several reasons. Check out the tweet below:
okay moots rt this #BoycottSM pic.twitter.com/Y9LQkfDgA3
— dila (@boosehunn) November 10, 2020
Scrolling through the hashtag, fans aren’t happy with the company’s uneven distribution of profits. In this case, they discovered that SM reportedly receives 95% of the profit from the roster’s physical album’s sales, while the promoting groups or artistes only gets a mere 5%, which is quite different as compared to K-pop groups from other major music labels.
Others also argued that the company rarely sends active groups – namely EXO and Red Velvet – to promote overseas. This relates to the fact that the groups will receive 70% of the profits while SM only gets 30%. To quote a Twitter user, SM only offers their artistes the “bare minimum”.
For those curious, feel free to check out the list below:
#BoycottSM but don't hate the artists. unsubscribe to SMTown channel on YT, unfollow all SM accounts, mass email them
honestly, we should have done all of this before, they treat their artist with a bare minimum, promote them when they're new and dispose them after a few years pic.twitter.com/eHyRjauqdY
— lyn (@treaskeezenct) November 10, 2020
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https://twitter.com/mandap_jm/status/1326197662308208641
Another issue that has sparked a major outcry among hardcore fans of the idols under the company is in regards to SM’s upcoming girl group Aespa. In case you missed it, the company’s launch of its first ever all-female ensemble since 2014 has been stealing the spotlight with their virtual (artificial intelligence/ AI) concept.
Most recently, SM took to Twitter to announce a potential collaboration project between them and renowned Chinese IT company, iFlytek. Netizens were dismayed by the news though, with most of them urging the former to drop the plan. They claimed that iFlytek aids genocide and is allegedly involved with the oppression of the Muslim community in China.
i’m not supporting any AI product from a company that supports mass oppression of uyghurs in xinjiang. they literally ENABLED human rights violations https://t.co/AcdkJso9Gm pic.twitter.com/Ck3VrQc7oY
— dir (@jenwinist) November 10, 2020
attach these photos if you use the hashtag and mention SM.#BoycottSM #StopTheCollaborationWithiFlytek @SMTOWNGLOBAL pic.twitter.com/ikoUV94dh5
— ً (@wntrsgf) November 10, 2020
https://twitter.com/AESPAUnion/status/1326156089616863232
https://twitter.com/lavalala2/status/1326183494318350337
What are your thoughts on this?
