#this is not a gatekeepy thing this is a success =/= the best thing. fuck man capitalism screwed y'all up

[sanstropfremir]

more of a rant than a specific question but i saw a video i agree with on how 4th gen keep getting more specialised idols (who already have backgrounds in ballet, modelling, child acting, even former groups like izone and ioi) and less yknow,, actual well rounded idols who arent good in just one highly specific area and i know idols have almost always been middle class/rich kids (parents need so much money to send their kids for training like omfg) and now i feel like by the time 5gen officially rolls in, all idols will just be rich kids who dont even care about music (you can see it starting with 4gen, 1/2/3gen had a few but not on these scales) and i just feel like kpop is going to... break down tremendously, like there will still be loyal fans thanks to parasocial relationships but all the good work 3rd gens are doing by spreading kpop internationally is going to break when ppl see theres not a single bit of passion left and its going to be ridiculed the way it was back in 1/2gen...... theres literally no hope left now for 6gen groups to do well outside of korea and parasocial relationships

i mean, the system is already breaking down if this boys planet debacle is any indication, but i don't think its going to be that extreme. i know this is going to sound like a defense of rich people and it's not bc fuck them but there ARE people who are wealthy that care about and make art. that's literally how the art industry has worked via patronage for the last i dunno. several hundred years. possibly thousands depending on how you want to categorize patronage. yes we will see, especially in the larger companies, some people who make bad art and don't actually care, but that does not mean that the whole industry is going to the dogs. i wrote up that entire post about fifth gen specifically to say that you SHOULD be paying attention to the smaller groups!! that's where the people are that care about making interesting work are!!! my nugu recommendations post is my most popular one for a reason!!! also, maybe this is a hot take but. who cares if kpop gets big globally. literally who cares. they're korean artists, they should care about their domestic market. you absolutely would not say that a pop group from canada should be trying to break into the japanese market?????? so why are you expecting kpop groups to go the extra mile for people who don't speak their language?? is the work that groups do for their international fans appreciated? yes absolutely, i love how much more accessible everything is now, but by NO means are they obliged to do it. obviously i also like to see my faves successful, but it it's at the cost of their artistic integrity like it's been with some groups, or if it just doesn't work, then that's perfectly fine! if i could listen to shinee ripped shinee cds and illegally watch kdramas in 244p in 2008 then i can do it again. and honestly? kpop is not for everyone. the people who are interested in music and performance and who are down to be genuine or even just casual fans will find it, just like they have been for the last 15 years. the industry doesn't need to blow up and go global, it just needs to be successful and supported enough that everyone can get by. companies don't agree with that assessment bc capitalism, but you know that the upper level corporatism of the popular groups doesn't always filter down right? no matter how big the gap between the groups with money and the groups that don't gets, there will ALWAYS be people putting blood and sweat into making work because they want to, not for money. it just won't be 'popular culture' and that's fine.