IS KPOP INDUSTRY SUSTAINABLE?
Jacqueline Yim
Many people think that the Kpop Music industry deconstructs sustainability because it creates A HUGE AMOUNT OF WASTE.
HAVE A GUESS - WHAT DOES IT BELONG TO ??
A- Physical Album
B- Lightstick
C- The Concert
.
Physical album = paper waste
KPOP fandom culture is impacting sustainability because the OVERCONSUMPTION behaviours are bringing long-term impacts to the landfill waste.
The Hallyu Korean wave attracts millions of fans from all over the world to listen to their music, buy albums and even go to the concerts.
Fascinating album design strengthens the collective values.
The success of the KPOP industry is not just ONLY about MUSIC, another significant factor is the amazing fan product design.
Although people nowadays prefer to listen to music via different online platforms, the Kpop industry still has impressive sales on albums.
That's because buying albums is the direct way how Kpop fans show their support for their idol. The album sales prove the artist’s popularity.
the companies boost their sales by designing exquisite album inclusions with excellent marketing skills to attract fans to purchase more albums which also shapes the fan collection culture.
KPOP renewed the sales record in the first half of 2022
A report from the Korea herald states that South Korea’s representative Circle Chart, which is from Gaon Music Chart highlights the album's sales were 34.94 minions sold only in the first half of 2022.
The report began emphasized that comparing the numbers of albums sold in 2021which is 25.96 million copies, which has an increase of 34.6% in 2022.
KPOP FANS LOVE BUYING CDS
In order to boost album sales, the companies release two or more album versions as a complete collection.
The Kpop album is mainly focused on collective values. Thus, each album comes with different inclusions such as randomised photo cards, stickers, and posters.
Here's the thing, when it comes to the KPOP groups with larger numbers of members, it is difficult for fans to get their bias within buying a few albums.
KPOP fans often buy albums more than they need.
Another way for companies to boost their sales is organising fan signs which offer chances for fans to communicate with their favourite idols.
Fan sign events are undergoing a lucky draw event process in which fans have to buy a larger number of albums in order to win the event due to the limited number of winners.
The pandemic also releases an alternative way for fans to have a video call with their artists. That makes global fans can also participate and contributes to more album sales
WHAT ARE THE CONSEQUENCES?
However, the plentiful album inclusions make it non-recyclable and directly cause a huge amount of waste to landfill. It is not just a local issue in Korea but it is a global serious issue. It is threating to the ecosystem because the KPOP CD market sales keep increasing and the global fans contribute a lot as well.
WHAT MAKES KPOP ALBUMS NON-RECYCLE?
Plastic wrapping
A sealed album comes with a layer of plastic wrapping which is only for one-time use.
Album cover
The recycling system cannot handle albums with the laminated album cover.
Photobooks
Roughly 100 pages of artists' images in an album are made of lamination.
Album inclusions
KPOP album includes more than a CD. In. general, an album comes with plentiful inclusions such as photo cards, stickers, and poster.
THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF OVERBUYING ALBUMS
The marketing tactics of the Kpop industry make Kpop loyal fans bulk buying albums and all of them end up becoming waste.
As the album is a combination of different materials. Recycling is difficult for fans; some fans just throw the albums away on the street because the number of albums takes up a lot of space.
It is deconstructing sustainability because Kpop fans' behavior is creating more waste, an ongoing issue that affects the future.
What are the alternatives of the Kpop industry towards sustainability?
ECO-FRIENDLY PHYSICAL ALBUMS
Several KPOP entertainment companies showcase their support for sustainability by utilising eco-friendly materials to release their own artists' albums.
The latest album from SF9 was made with decomposable materials- papers from the certification of the Forest Stewardship Council Korea (FSC).
More than 80% of all prints used naturally degradable soybean oil ink and water-based coating to ensure it is recyclable.
ECO- FRIENDLY ALBUM PACKAGES
Chungha's full album- Querencia minimises the use amount of plastic and lamination.
The album box and booklet are not overlaid with a plastic layer.
Use paper envelopes which are disposable instead of plastic wrapping or jewel case packaging to protect the album.
REDUCE PAPER USAGE
VICTON releases a photo card-only album without an actual CD and photobook.
In order to reduce paper waste, the boy group VICTON offers fans an alternative choice of albums which is at a cheaper price to fulfil the fans' needs directly for purpose of collecting photo cards.
The replacement of CD
A member of BTS - J hope released his solo album using QR codes to replace an actual CD.
The album is mainly for photocards
ALBUM INCLUSIONS- WITHOUT CD/PHOTOBOOKS
- Card holder (Random 1 of 2)
- Photocard A / W54xH86mm
- Photocard B (Random 1 of 2 types) / W54xH86mm
- QR Card (User Guide)
Fans can check out all of the album songs and exclusive photos by scanning the QR code in the the application of Weverse album.
OPPORTUNITIES
It is good to be seen that the KPOP industry noticed the problem and seeking for changes to be more sustainable in media productions.
However, it is necessary to involve more companies work harder on improving the sustainability of producing the albums as well as figuring out better alternatives for fans to participate in the fan sign event.
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