I’ve heard the Korean pop group BTS compared to the Beatles. And there’s no doubt that they’re talented. But the Beatles? Nah.
And it’s the digital world that makes it different. The digital world lends itself to manipulation on a huge scale. K-Pop fans are notorious for repeated playing of music just to boost numbers. They buy multiple copies of songs and copious amounts of merchandise. They organize. The power of their numbers was felt during the 2020 political season in the US to such an extent that it’s pretty clear that the numbers can’t be trusted.
I’ve never liked the Korean pop music scene. In the ’80’s, they tried too hard to emulate American acts. Now they have their own brand…and it’s incredibly monotonous in its tone and style. Unless you’re a hard-core fan, you really can’t tell many of them apart — they’ve got a cookie-cutter look and sound to just about everything they do. The real difference is how they can organize. Can they get an “army” behind them to pump the numbers? To talk them up on line?
I’m absolutely fascinated by their athleticism and precision. They are incredible in that respect. Korea also has some of the greatest directors and filmmakers around when it comes to their music videos. But overall, K-pop’s content is as shallow as it gets. Compare them to the Beatles? You’re kidding, right?
This article by NPR touches on digital manipulation in the Korean music business. It goes briefly to how fandom works in its organization and inflating of the numbers, but not enough.