#AND THEN THEY'RE CHARGING PEOPLE MONEY FOR IT

[andy-wm]

AYS Behind the scenes: behind the paywall

Now that the Disney+ episodes are complete (sob), my attention is firmly fixed on my mailbox as I wait impatiently for the AYS photobook and QR code.

I was always going to buy the Jikook photobook, even though I doubt there will be much we haven't already seen in the episodes. But the inclusion of the QR code was the clincher.

I must admit, Hybe locking up the behind the scenes for AYS was not on my bingo sheet.

Making behind/additional clips available on Bangtan TV would have been more in line with their regular MO. We don't generally have to pay for what really amounts to outtakes.

Okay, yes, we have to pay for behind cuts of Run BTS, but the actual episodes are free. With everything else the behind clips are included when you buy the series (I'm thinking of BV, ITS, and concert boxed sets).

In fact I can't think of any other time a behind/ bonus clip hasn't been available to fans who pay for the main content.

Maybe it is because Hybe was only contracted to deliver 8 episodes to Disney+ and the price was fixed. Maybe they saw an easy way to make the series more profitable.

We know they will take any opportunity to lighten our wallets.

But I think there's more to it

Let's talk business:

If Hybe wanted to make money from this, having the sale point directly on Weverse would make more sense. That way anyone could buy it any time without having to buy the photobook as well. Even if they charged just a few $$ for these extra clips, the return could be substantial over time. Long tail products can be very lucrative and Hybe clearly knows this - they have heaps of old footage for sale on Weverse. Since they're hosting the content already, it makes sense to keep that 'buy now' button active and let the dollars trickle in.

So why reduce the potential pool of buyers? Why limit this to those who buy the photobook??

Well, let's consider who is going to buy the photobook?

Who is going to fork out US$28 plus postage for a keepsake of these two on their third honeymoon?

I doubt OT7 ARMYs would buy it. Even ARMYs who bias JM or JK - if they aren't part of the SGMB they probably don't want it either.

Solos sure as hell don't want it - they are probably wishing the whole thing never happened... sucks to be them haha

Who really wants to see these two living their best lives together?

We do!

And by we, I mean Jikook supporters.

People who want to see more of this:

and this

And this

We are the people who will buy this photobook (and probably never look at it more than once, let's be honest)

But let's get back to the topic at hand....

The photobook/behind combo seems like a chicken/egg situation to me.

Which came first - as a concept - the photobook or the behind clips?

Did they decide to offer a photobook, and then think of adding the extra footage to make it more appealing?

Or vice versa?

Did they decide to make the behind clips, and think of the photobook afterwards?

Hard to say, since behind clips have always been a thing and recently Hybe is putting out photobooks for everything.

But I think I have a fair idea

Consider the price point for this photobook - it's the same price as most of the others produced recently: +-US$28.

AYS photobook & behind is the same price as the Photo-Folios, Tae's Type 1 (magazine version) photobook, and the Beyond The Stage photobook

🗣 So they aren't charging any extra for the behind footage?

No, they aren't. They're basically giving it to the buyers of the photobook as a gift.

🗣 Could they be making money off it?

Yes, the could.

Long tail, remember?

Looking at the profit-making potential, it makes WAY more sense for Hybe to offer the behind footage on Weverse for a few meagre dollars and... wait for their ship to come in...

See what I did there? hahahhaha (laughing by myself)

They really aren't making any money off this!

how unlike Hybe...

So why go to the effort of setting up QR codes and putting it behind a paywall? It costs money to host content this way. They are in fact SPENDING money to bring us this footage.

Not only through the hosting costs there are also production costs to consider.

Wouldn't it make more sense to just freely share it with ARMY via Bangtan TV? Or not release it at all?

Yes, it would...

So there's only one logical answer...

Hybe has chosen to make the content available - but also make it just that little bit more difficult to access.

This whole exercise seems to be about releasing additional footage without releasing it to the general public. It's being shared specifically with those of us who support them.

Does that mean we'll see slightly more personal content?

Maybe it's a little more revealing of their undeniable bond and their hot chemistry...?

Whatever they contain, these behind clips are definitely for a limited audience - and purposefully so.

The only reason for it, that I can think of, is to safeguard Jimin and Jungkook from too much scrutiny and criticism - from within the fandom (unfortunately) and outside of it.

We will find out in a few days I guess.

In the meantime, I'm camped out by my mailbox

[thetrekkiehasthephonebox]

dear lord

[queerstudiesnatural]

i think my brain should be studied i'm being fr

[medicinemane]

It's amazing how quickly you can make someone turn on your company by making a stupid and insulting move

Force me to go through the front door and scan my card when I have backdoor business that never needed a card before (what? ...I was going to somehow... sneak in and... purchase things with a borrowed card? ...which I totally can't do from the front door after scanning it?)

Or like... twitterify your layout right after your users give you a bunch of money just cause they like you, and then refuse to walk it back

...or all the other things companies do that just kinda piss people off and then they refuse to acknowledge maybe it sucks and is stupid cause "hey, the customers didn't leave"... yeah... yet

[littleapocalypsekitten]

So, okay, things on my dash today have got me thinking about the whole “Glee over death / wishing death on people” thing that is very popular on the Internet, and life in general it seems.   I will not lie and say that I haven’t done this.  I do outright imprectory (?) prayers sometimes.  It’s a matter of certain politicians, people in power and wanting them out of power because they’re a clear and present danger to Democracy, my rights and the rights of people I love and innocent strangers, they are the creators of wars, so on and so forth.  I hope every day that a certain person who puts chandeliers in his bathroom is found dead on the toilet beneath said tackiness from a random heart attack because I literally think he might be Hitler 2.0 if he meets with undeserved success again.  However, when I think like this, I’m always “If it is the only thing that will get them out of power,” because, at the end of it all, I really would rather people SEE negative consequences for their negative actions.  It’s much more fun to me to watch someone who had no love for others and actively hurt a majority see his empire crumble.  I like the idea of certain people (who, in all likelihood, never will) spending the remainder of their lives powerless and behind bars.  So, I really don’t want people to die, I just want them de-powered and it is much, much more fun to me to think of bad people rendered powerless in a non-lethal way.  Jaiiiiil.  Jaiiiiil for a thousand years!  It feels like more of a punishment.   I feel the same way about mass-shooters.  Most of those people go in with suicide in mind as well as homicide.  They want to go out in blaze of glory, taking out a lot of random people before getting shot by a cop.  (This is why the proposal for an automatic death penalty for them will not stop them).  I much prefer the rare occasion when these monsters are taken alive, because that way, we can put them in the can and study them.  The Buffalo supermarket shooter is going to be in prison for the rest of his life - and while I doubt he’ll have remorse, he at least does not have freedom - nor the finality of death.    I don’t cry for a bunch of billionaires who played stupid games and won stupid prizes.  I’m pretty apathetic.  We need fewer billionaires in the world, so I do not grieve them, but I also do not celebrate, because it doesn’t feel quite right to me.  To me, Death is something that we will ALL face, one way or another, eventually.  Unless the transhumanists actually succeed in transferring rich people’s brains into robots, they will die.  You and I will die.  I lost a very dear loved one this year, unexpectedly - everyone you love will die - I have been feeling this keenly.  So, to me, death is not justice.  It’s just a thing that happens to everyone.  Every time is “before your time.”  Every time is “too soon.”  So, you know, it feels hollow to me to wish death on anyone.  I much prefer wishing consequences on bad people.   Sometime, the consequences are an “early” death, but it feels like a get out of jail free card to me. 

[moltenhair]

WOOF.

RIP Watcher i guess.

[symbioticsimplicity]

"Stop being such a fatalist" okay, well if people could stop choosing the worst possible option for any given scenario maybe I would.

[icryyoumercy]

... i feel like the easiest solution to the whole ~but migrants keep coming here with nothing and then expecting us to feed and clothe them~ thing and whining about the cost to the coast guard of trying to find the boats they arrive on would be

offer free shipping? station a number of reasonably big ships near or at where migrant ships usually leave from, kind of a schoolbus version of a passenger ship, nothing luxurious or pretty, but staffed and equipped to transport as many people as possible in safety and dignity while being as cheap and low-maintenance as can be. and then get barracks set up as close by as possible, where people can stay until the ship sets sail, with the same low-cost, low-effort setup

and then anyone who wants to cross the mediteranean, instead of having to pay exorbitant amounts of money to some shady entity for a space on an overloaded ship, can just. report to the official coast guard ship, which will make the trip the same time every week, and if they missed it, they can get a bunk in the nearby barracks and wait for the next one

and then! everyone who shows up can get basic medical treatment and at least temporary papers if they haven't any, and there can be co-ordination with the european ports, so everyone knows when and where the next ship will arrive, how many people are on board, what immediate assistance they will need, and any other relevant information

hell, if there's something stressful or expensive or otherwise troublesome at one port, they can contact the coast guard and go 'yeah, we said we'd accept the next ship, but there's been [thing] and we're overwhelmed as-is, but the next port over is set up for your arrival', and then no one needs to deal with the unexpected arrival of several hundred injured, ill, or starving people that need immediate help in a million ways

just. we know migrants will cross the mediteranean. it's a thing they've been doing for decades at this point. we also know it's a source of stress and trouble for everyone involved. might as well accept it and make it as safe and controlled as possible, reduce the amount of emergency something-or-other to react to and ensure that the people who arrive are fed and clothed and ideally can actually migrate with their families instead of having to figure out who they can afford to pay the fare for and make their situation even worse

[unremarkablechap]

here i am, still imagining a casino, inc au. it's such a fun game to play i stg :sob:

[vaguelyhauntedcornfield]

twitter’s really just letting people spread misinformation and fear monger about the covid vaccines.

saw someone say “pfizer started testing their mrna vaccine in 2017, 2 years before covid! they’re responsible for the pandemic!”

that was probably when they started testing the safety of general mrna vaccines, which is also the reason they were able to forego the regular extended clinical trial process and get rush authorization...bc there was already data proving safety and efficacy...they weren’t just out there with the covid virus...

im tired.

[jaythelay]

Israel fuckin used Pager Bombs in Lebanon and dems think that's as acceptable as Genocide.

Oh wait, that's the warcrime? The one they finally focused on?

Nevermind. Pager bombs are worse than Genocide. What a beacon of morality, this Dem party.

[curiouschaosstarlight]

-flops-

rpg maker mz generator parts and plugins cost money -> maybe i should get a job -> no one will hire me -> also im injured -> getting myself un-injured costs money -> i could make video games while im injured i guess -> making video game costs money -> im constantly hungry and hurting -> fixing that costs money -> i need a driver's license so i can reach more places and won't be confined mostly to my house for a variety of benefits -> getting a test costs money -> i have adhd and anxiety -> getting diagnosed and medicated costs money (also is unlikely to happen) -> god i just want to make video games and stories and art and not think about this stuff -> costs money

[angeltannis]

Since when did it become so normalized for online sellers to expect you to pay with Paypal Friends & Family lmao...

[joshodun]

Jesus christ get off your condescending high horse. People are fucking dying and starving in the world today, they're allowed to call out a bad decision for what it is, even if it's not strictly bad for "business" it's just bad in general. Don't pretend to care about people being hurt with a stupid little heart emoji when you clearly don't ❤️

yall never wanna go off anonymous im dead yall are so sensitive

[glacierruler]

Yeah,,, I don't trust Tumblr's opt out thing, especially if it's on the honor system I swear

So I'll be on bluesky and ko-fi with the rest of my art. Both are free to follow.

I'll still be here, and I'll update you all on when art is posted on the other sites, and I'll still write on here. I'm not leaving, I refuse to leave, but I definitely won't be posting my art here.

Bluesky is similar to tumblr in the fact that it doesn't really have an algorithm, there are feeds that can work like algorithms, but those are run by people and you pin them to your dash.

[ii-zi]

Good news is we knocked 639 kWh off our electricity consumption. Which means almost a hundred dollars less than last bimester's bill. Bad news is that it still means we owe over 220 dlls LMAO