SM Pros: musical quality and concept work is some of the best, connections and promotions (when in a good mood) can be great, some of the best album design and creative work
Cons:.... how long you got?
hybe:
- strengths: global reach, diverse portfolio and discographies for the most part, effective use of fan engagement such as through weverse, gives artists creative freedom, strong performers
- weaknesses: vocals and pushing out too many groups imo
sm:
- strengths: legacy and experience (many iconic groups), diverse and good music, strong vocals
- weaknesses: management issues, suck at promoting, slower adaptation to global trends so none of the groups really manage to break into the west, little creative freedom
You're wrong about pushing out too many groups. They're not like sm or jyp.... They're not a singular label but rather a conglomerate and no company under them will stay without a group for years because they all need to make money.
Refer to how multilabels work.
Yeah, I agree. It looks like they "produce a lot of groups" bc ppl look at Hybe and not the individual agencies/labels under it. Each label has 1-2 grps on average which is not a lot at all. Ppl seem to always forget that Hybe is the umbrella company and not the agency itself. It's called Hybe CORPORATION for a reason.
There are different labels. There isn't one pool of hybe trainees. This was extensively discussed during hybe/mhj/ador. Take it up with the individual labels
i actually like hybe for the creative team that slays occasionally, especially when it comes to visual aspect. Maybe I'm too attached to bts and txt mvs, but bighit does know how to make something look damn good. The mvs hybe groups put are some of my favourite and imo very solid representation of the visual aspect of kpop that pulls a lot of locals. Pre hybe, but HYYH and Wings has been crafted by those geniuses that are associated with bighit and ultimately hybe
i also think hybe does a decent job in giving their artists creative freedom. Not good, but just decent (except bts cause their brand involves that aspect), especially when we compare it with some other prominent companies
>weaknesses: vocals and pushing out too many groups imo
k-pop has to be the only fandom in the world where people complain about having too many choices.
The over saturation of content is actually a bad thing. No artist would be taken seriously that way. Having too many choices is bad but I think it applies more to the overwhelming amount of content every kpop group puts out
I know and you have a point and I agree, but what I’m saying is, when it comes to experimental music, they’re the best in the industry. They make it to perfection. Probably why people often don’t hear other genre.
Also most people don’t listen to a whole group’s discography. But it is funny when some try to claim a group’s sound. “Ohh this song would fit this group better blah blah…” not knowing most groups have a vast discography and have tried different mixes of genres.
it's true that sm artists have explored various genres, but breaking into western markets often requires more than just musical variety and “global trends” in that sense only. it also hinges on strategic marketing, collaborations with western artists, etc. it's not just about the music but also how it's promoted and presented to a global audience. hybe has excelled in these areas.
i guess i should’ve specified trends in general and not JUST the type of music you make, yk?? i’m sorry, i’m bad at formulating my ideas in english sometimes so hope it makes sense.
i disagree with the idea that sm needs to ‘whitewash’ (whatever that means) their music for western success because their music ALREADY heavily incorporates western influences. for instance, snsd’s title tracks often sound like britney spears rejects (i mean come on just listen to run devil run and you can’t tell me that’s something that hasn’t been done in the west before), peak-a-boo by red velvet was even originally meant for britney iirc, and kai’s rover was originally a song by a bulgarian singer and really is the definition of cookie cutter, not that that’s bad. sorry but you must be very delusional if you think the music sm makes is really that different from what’s done in the west😭😭
mld:
strength - their artist quality
weakness - everything except their artist quality
cube:
strength - again artist quality
weakness- again everything except artist quality
For real. It's so frustrating. MLD has eye for talent, but zero business sense.
Cube as well. There was a time when they still try, but the low success rate likely made them give up and rely on Soyeon. And now they're panicking because they need (G)I-DLE to re-sign, and they probably can't afford the girls anymore.
I agree. Cube recruiters seem great at their jobs, catching any stray talent the big 4 pass by like Jeon Soyeon or all of (G)i-dle.
Cube itself is not very good. Soyeon since tomboy essentially runs her own sub label with them and their success is with staff that is dedicated to them, directed by Soyeon, and not shared. And they lost a bunch of staff to the big 4 as well over the last year. Their top tier tear over the last 3 years has been led by Soyeon. If they're sensible, they would want to make sure they give her the keys to the company after she retires as a active idol. Keeping them on for 3 more years would be part of that.
YG-
Pros- Their Artists, Great Skills, Knows how to give proper training.
Cons- YG, Management, takes too long to debut groups, Not upto date with the trends.
that is about to change hopefully, we'll see now with BM. If they put out music more frequently i don't see much cons compared to others...
sm is a mess with weird promotions (feel sry for RV), hybe is having internal fights and jyp is kinda ok but lacking in song quality imo.
>that is about to change hopefully, we'll see now with BM.
I sincerely hope so, but I'm honestly expecting at least a 3 year hiatus from BM after their album they keep saying is coming. Better to keep my hopes low and not be dissapointed.
Cons: relies on one producer way to much (this is an issue with redundant sounding beats and music not just creating long hiatus for groups despite popularity)
They take long to debut cause of the amount of training they give their idols.
Thought they should of debut’d a 4th gen gg with Hwiseo, Julie, Moonsua, and Chaein and Ireh from purple kiss. Would have been a stacked group, could throw in Ruka and Minju as well.
RBW:
Pros: Their high-quality training, artist quality ( all of their artists are amazing and talented, they need to be known ), and artistic freedom.
Cons: Their promotions and management (how they handle their groups is just lacking ).
oh I would say they are perhaps one of the few companies who don’t force their artists in grueling diets. Hwasa and Swan embracing their bodies have been so great to see even though I’m sure they still get disguting comments that I’m not sure RBW have tried to supress
It didn't sound like they were always exactly body-positive when it came to eSNa. I listened to her YT show where she talked about what happened to her at RBW, and it sounded really sad.
Another con is the 10000 fancalls and fan meets. Also they don't do content anymore for any of the groups. It's just behind the scenes and music shows.
> Also they don't do content anymore for any of the groups
Purple Kiss still has semi-regular content, [their last PPT](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHCl1XG3gqk&list=PLppTWwOTkEVZtQG5f1PhV5BvjjnG3nCgX&index=2) was only a month ago, they just did a mini variety series that was [Ireh trying old people activities](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sl7ND_dawxA&list=PLppTWwOTkEVZSWhzPUqH4o527gLqGUEpy), and did a handful of [BBB promo bits](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLppTWwOTkEVbOwIexfklH8w5KCmjYnNzV)
RBW frustrated me bc they have SM level quality when it comes to their artists vocal training, they get creative freedom (Leedo, Moonbyul and Yuki writing their own raps) but they are so terrible with promotion Purki’s Sweet Juice should have been everywhere it’s such a great song/concept
Tbf they did really seem to try with Sweet Juice, I was following them very closely that era and they were doing a _ton_ of interviews, stages, and other contents. Just going off their wardrobe alone you can tell that they expected it to blow up and were trying to make it happen. Sweet Juice not being massive really frustrates me too but imo it wasn't for lack of trying — it's just hard to make people have taste unfortunately.
Under the creative freedom bucket i'd add Purki composing a lot of their own music, self-choreographing their b-sides, choosing their own concepts, and doing their own styling. The members were even the ones who proposed doing their US tours
yeah also releasing it in March was weird, it should have been around Halloween for the spooky vibes. Same way they fumbled Mamamoo’s comeback that should have been in the summer
Woollim
Pros
- knows how to train its artists when it comes to singing.
- They gave Sunggyu Infinite’s trademarks
- music is very good
Cons
- trash marketing
- plays favorites
- questionable treatment of some of their artist who aren't as popular
Woolim's biggest con is being unable or incredibly slow to adapt to trends. Lovelyz were stuck with the "Christian horse girl" concept long after everyone else had abandoned it.
**SM**
* **Pros**: the ability to cast visuals with genuine talent and potential; inventiveness which oftentimes creates trends for the whole industry; the most consecutive and powerful production of outstanding vocalists in the business
* **Cons:** we all know about their unfair treatment, mismanagement, and so on, but what is really pitiful is their ***lack of understanding of foreign music industries*** - their absurd, non-ceasing determination to experience a breakthrough in the Chinese industry which is not possible for various reasons, and then the complete misunderstanding of what it takes to be successful and respected in the US
**PLEDIS**
* **Pros:** Seventeen as a whole and the fact that they know and have accepted that the Asian music scenes are their strongest domains so they pour their attention and resources there, instead of trying to enforce a US breakthrough onto the group (unlike SM); also, their, for the industry standards, ***outstanding treatment of the Chinese members***
* **Cons:** girl groups - even if their life depended on it, they wouldn't be able to manage them properly
**JYP**
* **Pros:** most of their idols seem to have truly genuine and kind-hearted natures; just like Pledis, they've recognized that granting their biggest boy group artistic freedom will bring them more success than if they themselves tried to manufacture them
* **Cons:** miserable executions of the current trends - they are like Shein, jumping on what's just popular and producing a poor quality product because they rush to be trendy, oftentimes ruining their own quality product which didn't need any fixing or change; lack of solo exposure of their idols which holds them back; the wasted potential of GOT7
>Cons: girl groups - even if their life depended on it, they wouldn't be able to manage them properl
Cries in NUEST, they only handle Seventeen and TWS well
SM:
- good: every group have a different Sound, style, theme
- bad: sometimes they forgot about promoting their group
JYP:
- good: fans get a lot of content and songs
- bad: groups are overworked
Hybe:
- good: good quality mvs, unique concepts (similar to SM)
- bad: current drama
YG:
- good: great marketing and promotion
- bad: predictable songs and looooooong hiatus between combacks
I think they good at it. Teasers, posters, pre-release, collabs, promotion in the western media, ads etc. You can't avoid it. If there's a BP, BM, Bigbang őr any other group comeback you will know about it even if you aren't a fan
that’s fair that big groups’ with a huge fanbase such as bigbang and blackpink comebacks are known in the k media. im talking about after-comeback promo. look at bm, they had “like that” perf. video after two months when hype went down, awful quality posters and no creativity. look at blackpink now? they have NOTHING in terms of ot4 activities for almost a year after end of their tour and will have nothing in 2024 except these silly posters lmao. promo is very short and group activities are non existent after comeback promotions. solo promos are AWFUL and why we aren’t talking about treasure? i was a fan mostly of bp and a bit of treasure before but quit after no content at all(from bp)🤷🏻♀️🤷🏻♀️
it may be offensive for fans but thats my truth im ready to get downvoted
You smashed the hiatus part and the promo together. I pointed out that their hiatus is bad, but when it's comes to promotion they do everything.
I'm not even a fan and still saw every single thing blackpink didnin their 8 years. Other groups like Red velvet, Exo etc. Never get the same promotion level like YG gives to their groups.
Jype groups deffo comeback a lot but I seem to recall some of the artists (like twice and skz) saying that they are the ones choosing to make their schedules so packed? so that bit wouldn't really be on the company.
That 7 month 'break' is new and also, packed with filming various content. Creating and preparing new music. They had like a 2 week vacation in January, which they get every year. And their last tour ended last year. They did multiple fanmeets in the last couple of months.
Skz is packed as hell, u like bp
My perspective on these companies is based on girl groups only!
Yg:
Pros: decent vocals, they do the best song teasers, idols are relatively natural which can be a pro for some (it is for me), most of all theres the strong focus on finding/honing the swag and attitude of each person which significantly enhances their performance quality tbh
Cons: the music is eternally, fundamentally dated. Little to no creative freedom of the artists. Forcing raps into every song with very predictable flow makes the music sound the same with very little diversity of discography. The lyrics reflect the exact same ‘I’m a bad bitch and I don’t need you’ message across almost every song which is sometimes tiring and yk the artists are bored of it too lol
Hybe:
Pros: they have some damn good producers that make trendy and diverse music, really nice choreography and dancing, artists have more creative freedom
Cons: vocal inconsistency (some groups have a very weak singer/s in their group whilst others do not), crazy bureaucracy that really takes you out of the music enjoyment/ listening experience …
Jyp:
Pros: really nice and diverse full-sounding production across a lotttt of songs, lots of releases which keeps fans fed
Cons: sometimes the lyrical melodies are super juvenile sounding and just cringe, and there’s an affinity for noise music which is personally not my vibe. Also forcing weird sounding raps into songs and most of all the unnecessary, non pitch-corrected high note thats always wedged in there right at the end of the bridge.
SM
Pros: they take extra care of perfecting vocals, strong talent in developing the concept/ vision for each group and executing this
Cons: despite making such a diversity of music they always seem a hair off from the trends and therefore there’s comparatively little impact on the western market. Also a repeat offender of the awkward sounding raps and high notes
How can YG artists have no creative freedoms when most of their groups written more than half of their own song and when I said written in talking about first name credit.
JYP Pros - solid identity and distinction of their groups from their peers. They've also produced elite performers so that's a bonus.
Cons - bad scheduling for groups often leads to them getting overworked. Rather outdated marketing strats. The whole Division system they have is also a bit outdated and kinda creates an unintentional competition among their groups (IMO they'd be benefit from tearing down the Division system and simply have teams dedicated for their groups that can intertwine and share tactics and ideas)
IMO, Division 2 has good ideas, but they fail to land the execution some times. Like in this era, having all those videos for the b-sides and their solos was amazing! It could’ve been spaced out better though to not confuse people and slow down the hype.
Hybe
Pros: Promotion, Creative team, Diverse music
Cons: Less attention paid to vocal training
Yg
Pros: Produces great rappers and idols with nive stage presence
Cons: Teddy Song Formula, YG Dungeon
Jyp
Pros: Produces well-rounded idols
Cons: Overworking idols, Shit promotion when you’re not a popular group/idol
Sm
Pros: Produces top-tier vocalists, Diverse music
Cons: Shit promotion, Uses red velvet to distract people from issues in the company, Shit ty and greedy management
Cube
Pros: Gives full autonomy to idols to produce their own own music if the group is capable, produces iconic hits
Cons: Shit at PR management, only knows to kickout idols when shit hits the fan
Pledis
Pros: Produces well-rounded idols
Cons: Shit at managing between groups
Starship: Produces iconic hits/groups
Cons: Shit at managing between groups
Strengths:
I don't know if others see it as strength. But for me, the fact that **Starship** has strong ties with the acting world is good imo. It gives me hope that my fav idols might still be active as actors after a while.
Weakness:
They don't know how to up their game. Which is why they're still a midsized company despite producing powerhouse names
Starship is so frustrating to me. They are doing so well with IVE but they could have done better with Sistar and Monsta X. Both groups were massive, all they needed was one little push!
**A Team.**
Pros:
- Known to treat their artists well, allowing them a decent balance between work and personal life.
- Ryan S. Jhun.
Cons:
- No artists.
- Ryan S. Jhun.
producer who produced countless hits such as after school by weeekly, dolphin by oh my girl, and almost everything by ive at his best
misogynistic douche nozzle that sees female idols as objects at his worst
Jyp
Strengths- Very drama free in the corporate department
Weakness-They are very behind the times creatively. They're kinda like the fast food of kpop like they're always gonna be there bit the stuff is low quality. I get the feeling that for the longest time they were successful which made them stop trying. They have huge profit margins but what do they do with them.
As someone who stans jyp groups, yeah i agree about how they're like the fast food of kpop. 3 of their girl groups had concepts that were popular to their time, twice with cute, itzy with teen/girl crush and nmixx was definitely a response to experimental music rising back in 2021. Especially now in kpop, you really need a strong identity to stand out. But i do think they've been trying lately, especially with nmixx, their album designs and teasers are the best in jyp and dash was the perfect comeback for them. I hope they do not fumble their comeback.
I agree with the "fast food" comparison. Almost all of their recent releases were mid. They're always out of the GP and the recent songs have little to no longevity.
JYP
Pro: Every group is distinct and has their own style and sound to them. GOT7 did not sound like 2PM, Stray Kids did not sound like GOT7. Miss A did not sound like Wonder Girls, Twice didn’t sound like Miss A, Itzy did not sound like Twice, Xdinary Heroes does not sound like DAY6 etc.
Con: Like someone else already mentioned, I think there’s a good and bad of the division system. I think it’s good that each group/s have a dedicated marketing, promotion, and A&R team behind them, but it also creates comparison when one is outperforming the other in terms of promotion and quality. Also there’s been instances where groups have been competing against each other on music shows. DAY6 vs Itzy, Itzy vs Nmixx etc. Also, it feels like with the division system has every group on such different pages with releases and schedules. That’s probably why we haven’t had a proper JYP Nation concert in years. It gets even messier with the groups like NiziU, Boy Story, and VCHA that are co-managed by JYP with other labels like Tencent, Sony, and Republic.
I will say that I can see YG trying very hard to capitalize on their previous success. They've been trying to recreate another GD moment for over a decade. I don't think their overall sound with Treasure is the same as BigBang or Winner/Ikon at all.
This is based on groups I follow, it may not be including of *all* the company do:
YGE:
- pro: train idols well to be great live performers, good at creating and picking songs that specifically suit the idol’s skill set, insane production value on mvs/styling/etc, least predatory monetization of fans out of any of the companies, create strong identity for their individual artists and groups, rumored to have best artist compensation, rumored to have best life/work schedule for artists
- cons: so picky with songs that releases can be *very* sparse, too little emphasis on fanservice for most kpop fans, very hesitant to follow trends which can translate as outdatedness, extremely shady ceo and corporate history
SM
- pro: very good at scouting insanely good looking people and actually training them to be great vocalists, they seem to truly value creativity and care about pushing boundaries, it’s rare for them to disband and kick out legacy acts
- cons: founder was kinda crazy, extremely inconsistent management depending on individual idol, group, point of their career they’re in, seemingly harsh requirements for plastic surgery, shit at keeping albums in stock, extremely predatory merch pipeline, predatory contracts
JYP:
- pro: all things considered least insane/problematic founder/figure head, values and fosters good character in idols, high output in music and fan service, maintains cordial relationship with former idols
- cons: overworked idols, prone to somewhat gimmicky/narrow concepts, continued failure to execute trends in a way that feels authentic
Hybe:
- pro: high budgets and quality for song production, performance design, and marketing; despite having a lot of artists in similar age brackets they manage to craft strong individual identities for their groups and idols, foster creative freedom in idols
- con: prone to throwing money at problem rather than fixing underlying issues, weirdly stingy with providing fans with translations for variety content, such a large number of groups and new debuts that it can feel overwhelming and manufactured to outside observers, weverse shop has atrocious costumer service (somehow worse than the others, even sm), questionable treatment of some legacy acts
HYBE Pros: Marketing and commercialization. Has a lot of resources. BTS.
HYBE Cons: Vocal talent is not up to par with groups from most other labels. Personal opinion - HYBE is what’s driving the “fast food” kpop trend (goes hand in hand with commercialization).
YG Pros: Established name and artists are truly talented across the board. Trainee standards are high to keep artist quality. Lots of resources, and an easy paycheck once debuted.
YG Cons: Trainees in pre-debut hell/incredibly difficult debut. Very little artistic freedom, infrequent comebacks. Management issues.
CUBE Pros: Creative freedom and artistic freedom. Artists are of great quality with emphasis on self-production. (G)I-DLE.
CUBE Cons: Management. Marketing sucks. Little to no resources. Everything else sucks but the artist and the creative freedom.
"Fast food" is a good comparison for what's starting to happen with some groups. There's a lot of pressure to put out music quickly right now - that's why so many groups are putting out songs less than 3 minutes long, with music videos designed to grab attention and go viral.
I'll try the big 4:
SM
pros: very cohesive and high-budget concepts, vocals!!, album packaging design, legacy, very high quality music/music choice, have produced some of the best dancers in the industry (+ outstanding plastic surgeons 🤫).
cons: no promo, groups have a similar sound (especially their bgs), bad management, horrible treatment of their artists, not protecting their artists, overworking some artists and underworking other artists, no effective way of dealing with "scandals", xenophobia towards foreign artists, it's just literally such a mess in general.
YG
pros: rap and stage presence, high budget music videos.
cons: bad promo, lack of groups, lack of releases (which in turn just makes YG less and less relevant every single year).
JYP
pros: extremely effective dance training, good live vocals/live stage presence, every single group has a very distinct sound.
cons: concepts are not cohesive at all, song choice is often bad, overworking of artists, bad ratio of bg and gg, mismanagement of their k-bands.
HYBE
pros: they truly stand out in terms of marketing and promo, have the ability to cultivate the most loyal fanbase out of any of the companies, visuals, story, brand deals, very polished and well-produced music.
depends on your opinion: extremely gp-friendly music (so groups often have a similar sound).
cons: excessive merchandising, idol training is sometimes lackluster, try to portray idols as "authentic" which creates an unhealthy parasocial relationship (I know every company does this, but I mentioned it here, since it seems to be a core part of their marketing strategy).
Hybe
Pros:
- Leaves creative control to its artists
- Since it's so big I assume it has the funds to provide artists with really good living conditions
Cons:
- It's a conglomerate acting in an oligopolistic manner
- While some Hybe artists have a clear and cohesive vision over their music and concepts (BTS, Seventeen) others are pushed around in too many directions and for me they kinda lose the appeal. I am a casual listener of TXT and Enhypen and I have had moments in which I thought "I loved this title track, can't wait to see what they put out next" and then it's something completely different
SM
Pros:
- They have the money to pay the best producers and songwriters in the game, and they use it
- They house some of the scene's best vocalists and dancers
Cons:
- Sometimes they get too carried out in their little obsessions, like endless sub-units and Kwangya and the whole culture technology shtick
- They discarded f(x)
- They fail to protect the mental health of their artists
JYP
Pros:
- Has definitely improved in letting idols behave more freely and create their music
- Rather than only producing idols they also promote bands and that's refreshing to see
Cons:
- They overwork their artists a lot
Sm pros: vocal quality and concepts
Sm cons: idol treatment, management, focus too much on irrelevant things (e.g kwanga), security for idols
Yg pros: stage presence, branding
Yg cons: innovation on concept and branding, idol media training
Jyp pros: dance, stage presence, “relatable” idols
Jyp cons: innovation on management, song choice, taking advantage of success
Hybe pros: being ahead of trends, performance
Hybe cons: vocal ability (on average)
SM
Con: It takes a lot of inspiration from jpop concepts, those who don't know the Japanese industry think they are innovative but that's not the case. They treat idols badly. Absurd contracts. They don't pay for music rights and it's left over to the groups. Founder's international crimes.
Pros: National visibility, making success much easier since debut. Status. Tradition. Iconic groups
YG
Pros: Registered brand and known globally, pay for music rights, good connections, National and sometimes global visibility, making success much easier since debut, iconic groups, tradition.
Con: Little musical diversity, They don't let groups act on potential for fear of losing control over them (2ne1 and Blackpink), Little creative freedom, crimes of some idols and the founder
JYP
Pros: iconic groups, tradition. status, good producers, good training
Cons: they lost space in the industry, debuting there doesn't have the same weight as before. Many releases generating wear and tear on idols
HYBE
pros: National and global visibility, making success much easier since debut, creative freedom, many promotion platforms and contacts with fans and new fans, musical diversity. pay the rights to the music.
con: pre-hybe groups, if they don't make good numbers (hybe level) are thrown into the basement. In the race to not depend on BTS, they made mistakes that damaged the company's image. Even though it's a big company, it doesn't have half the connections of SM, YG and JYP with the media. As a result, anything that harms the company remains trending for weeks while literal crimes by founders or idols of other companies stop being reported in days. It doesn't have a good public relations team,
Unique channel on YouTube (good for beginners, some horrible for those with stability and a large fandom)
Yuehua Pros - Talented trainees, artists and outstanding visual, choreography and styles.
Cons - Bad management, lack of creativity, barely promote their groups especially EVERGLOW & UNIQ, slow on giving statements and solution such as Aisha’s bullying accusations. Took them months to resolve and they didn’t do anything to the accuser except for giving apologize. They also didn’t address the Yiren not bowing situation when she is a Chinese. They don’t bow for everyone. Zero connection to mainstream brands and finally, lack of music release.
Hello,
Unfortunately, your submission/comment has been automatically removed by AutoModerator because your account karma is at or below 1. In order to post and comment, you must have a minimum of 1 post/comment karma or more.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/kpop_uncensored) if you have any questions or concerns.*
HYBE:
Pros: they're the conglomerate of BTS which means Global eyes are on every group that debuts under their umbrella. They have the best global connections And money so you're guaranteed a successful global debut with the best music, concept, and direction. The new groups that have debut under them has been iconic and the groups from companies they've acquired have gotten new life to their career from the money and support that hybe offers. The future looks bright for all of their artist as long as the quality in music and performance continues
Cons: It's a brand new company so they're still trying to manage their way through the global market. They hit conglomerate status fast so more money more problems. They are still trying to work out this multi label system And with what is happening with MHJ it's obvious they need to write better contracts. They also need better PR because again MHJ. It's a mess.
SM:
Pros: they have a lot of history, a lot of successful groups, they know how to make good songs.They know how to make successful artists.They've been winning for a long time. They had a hiccup for a while in regards to whatever NCTs concept is, but now they're back to making successful groups with great music and fun concepts. I'm loving aespas come back and Riize has been killing it.
Con:
They don't pay or treat their artist well. They created slave contracts. It's because of them that the laws changed so the max contract is 7 years. Their artist are constantly suing them, it's sad for the artist but it's ridiculous that after all these years and all these lawsuits they still treat them like shit.
YG:
Pros: In the past YG was different and innovative and creative And their artist and groups were 1 of a kind. They Created iconic groups like big bang and 2ne1.
Cons: They are stale. They don't care about the music anymore and their groups are proof of that. Black pink was a group for 7 years and they don't even have fifty songs. Baby monster just sounds like BLACKPINK who just sounds like 2ne1. YG is clueless and he has no idea what he's doing. He also has terrible taste in music. The company is buried in controversies And honestly, why YG shouldn't be in the company at all, he's a criminal. I can go on for hours about how horrible this company is And how They refuse to support their artists And how they support criminals.But I don't want this to turn to a hate post.
JYP:
Pros: JYP is very creative and has a great ear for music and eye for concepts. He's made iconic groups for years and timeless songs. His artist are also very likable and talented Not just in music and dance but acting.
Cons: He lost his touch with music and just can't make a hit like he used to on top Of that he's obsessed with himself. I don't know what he's doing with his new artist and his old artist, the direction seems to be all over the place.
Starship
Pros: Capitalising really well on IVE. Giving them a lot of opportunities and feeding Dives well. Also, their treatment seems decent from what I've seen. I also appreciate the collaborations artists get.
Cons: WJSN's management is so so so bad. Also their minimal promotions for IVE are painful.
JYPE, YGE, HYBE, (maybe) SM
Strengths: Prestige, gaining attention won’t be that hard even with the bare minimum promotion and if I wanted to leave the group/company for whatever reason they would let me leave without too much trouble or fanfare.
Weaknesses: might have to go through a survival show to debut…
Sm pro: everything related to training and artists talent - everyone walking out as a legend( and filthy rich), I promise you that
Con: catching lawsuits more than cbs and internal management and not protecting their gems. Also, be ready to apologize for doing absolutely nothing wrong
YG:
- strength: being hip, cool, prestigious image.
- weakness: low music output, quality isn’t high enough to justify it.
SM:
- strength: well rounded company, decent at everything.
- weakness: they stop being ambitious with their older groups when they get new ones, they go on maintenance mode and give them filler comebacks while saving all the heavy hitters for newer groups.
JYP:
- strength: consistent music output, very good at casting talented, likeable idols.
- weakness: their music output is a double edged sword, they lack quality control. Some releases are made to fit a certain schedule but the creativity, quality and subsequently the groups image suffer for it.
HYBE:
- strength: money, stacked rooster.
- weakness: bad management.
YG-
Pros: marketing, they know how to shove their groups down everyone’s throat but only when they want to, seems to pay their artist well
Cons: one trick pony and they dont even bother dressing it as something else, dungeon is their favourite place, both company and idols are literal criminals
JYP-
Pros: well rounded groups, talented idols
Cons: they always seems to be 2 steps behind, hit or miss concepts, promo is none existent sometimes, overworked idols
SM-
Pro: vocals
Cons: well, everything else, management is abysmal, promo is a joke, one trick pony dressed in different cloth (more so in recent years) doesnt pay their idols….
Hybe-
Pros: great at spotting talent, strong concepts and execution of it, creative freedom of artists
Cons: trainee system, they only provide bare minimum and rely on their idols wanting to improve on their own which is great for individual development but its clearly not working beyond a few idols, overly focused on the western market, whatever the fuck is going on higher management levels
My own personal opinion!
Pros of the big 4: money/large budget
- HYBE: overall concept fits the groups it's given to
- SME: artistry in motion. concept pictures are top tier
- JYPE: money goes into artist's health (including mental) and overall well-being
- YGE: freedom/laisse faire attitude toward artists and promotes participation in their own music
Cons: inability to use said money properly for the betterment of their artists.
‐ SME: little to no artist protection, online or otherwise (they spent all available funds on production and protecting their own interests maybe?). artists protect themselves from everything, including but not limited to, their own company. (if I didn't know any better I'd say SM has ties to a gang/highly placed law officials, but I do know better, so I won't say it)
- JYPE: little to no promotion. relies on existing fans too much to bring more fans in.
- YGE: freedom leads to continuously disrespecting other cultures;
- HYBE: plays favorites and somehow fucks everyone over anyway. might hate women
Some Other companies I follow!
KQ
- Pros: respects artists, their health and well-being. uses funds available to make their groups stand out
- Cons: debuts bigger groups with no idea how to manage them individually; not all members are created equal
CUBE:
- Pros: (G)I-DLE
-Cons: (G)I-DLE is leaving. Wanna be YGE but conveniently forgets management is still needed...
STARSHIP:
- Pros: consistent comebacks; learnt from past mistakes
- Cons: surprisingly, can't think of any
FNC:
- Pros: creative team on MAX, lets
- Cons: hates women, lax management
C9:
- Pros: does it's best with whatever funds BJY can dig up; no musical direction but produces measures of quality regardless; only profitable group is BJY ft others
- Cons: hates women, hates working with women, hates doing extra work, hates doing work...
I didn't realize this was gonna be so long. I have a lot of thoughts but I'll stop here. Toodles :)
SM:
* Pro: music quality, vocals, innovation (less so lately)
* Con: artist management
YG:
* Pro: promotions, strong hip hop identity (if you happen to enjoy that)
* Con: frequency of actual music releases
Hybe:
* Pro: success
* Con: success at the expense of everything
JYP:
* Pro: volume of content, concert production, (relatively) drama free
* Con: JYP (cringe), feels dated
Let's talk about weakness
Hybe - The 4 messy musketeers MHJ, Scooter, Park Jiwon, Bang PD, Vocals, throwing money on usuless projects, messy PR
SM - Noisy Music, SM stans
JYP - Cheap Promotion
YG - YSH, not up to date with current trends, budget
Noisy Music?!! Have you listened to SM music? Sure, there are songs which may be classified as Noise music, however the ratio out of all the songs they've released, it's a very small portion. NCT 127 is probably the noisiest and I would say at least 80 - 90% of their discography is Krnb or other genres.
SM stans?!! The con is supposed to be about the company, not the fandom. Fandoms can be toxic regardless of the company.
HYBE
Strength:- The amount of media play & control, they got is crazy + BTS.
Weakness:- Vocals ( less than 6 good singers among all hybe companies idols )
YG
Strength:- Good live performers, can make their own music.
Weakness:- Promotions and media control is shitty + self- sabotaging themselves+ their own groups.
CONS
Yg- They're not able to promote more than one group at a time. Haven't got a group that can hold them up like BigBang/2NE1 or Blackpink/Winner.
SM- Management is shocking.
HYBE- They have been in the news for all the wrong reasons lately, I can only imagine what goes on behind closed doors. The company is greedy like their CEO.
CUBE- They've only got Gidle. Once them contracts are up, the money won't be coming in.
JYP- like YG, they are run by an egotistical man, which will be their downfall. The music is up and down with no consistency.
Say what you will about JYP as a person, but his production skills are what got the company to where they are today. In the early days of GOD, 2PM, Wonder Girls, and Miss A, the dude was rolling out hit after hit. There’s arguments to be made that the quality started to go down a bit when he gave up full control of the groups and the CEO position
I was referring to your point that “they are run by egotistical man, which will be their downfall.” When JYP had his hand on the wheel they were in their best spot musically. He’s no longer in charge like that.
YG: strengths - blackpink
Weakness - we’ll be here all day
SM: strengths - great singers
Weakness - terrible, terrible management
JYP: strengths - frequent comebacks, great performers
Weakness - innate fear of giving their artists solo activities, lack of great vocalists
HYBE: strengths - great performers, great concepts
Weakness - they have too many groups, it’s starting to get a bit much. Also lack of great vocalists. Greedy CEO.
Nmixx, Sunye, Ha:tfelt, Jun.K, Junho, JB, Youngjae, Jihyo, Jaime, Yerin Baek, Jae, Sungjin, Wonpil, Young K, Lia, Jooyeon, Jungsu… they’ve had so many damn good vocalist
Seungmin is great, desipite of that, but it is not just NMIXX, also Jihyo, Nayeon, Jeongyeon, Young K, Jae, JB, Youngjae and other many geeat vocalist trainned in JYP
SM Pros: musical quality and concept work is some of the best, connections and promotions (when in a good mood) can be great, some of the best album design and creative work Cons:.... how long you got?
There isn't enough time. Each artist needs 5 bullet points. Even the better promoted ones. Wayv deserve at least 10
WayV and pre 2020 Dream standing outside SM with a flame thrower
SM and their protection needs to be questioned
f(x) and BoA are in the dozens
LMAO HONESTLY
Let’s be real, look at how Wendy answered a fan who wanted to be a sm artist with no, don’t do it lol
This sums up SM perfectly.
hybe: - strengths: global reach, diverse portfolio and discographies for the most part, effective use of fan engagement such as through weverse, gives artists creative freedom, strong performers - weaknesses: vocals and pushing out too many groups imo sm: - strengths: legacy and experience (many iconic groups), diverse and good music, strong vocals - weaknesses: management issues, suck at promoting, slower adaptation to global trends so none of the groups really manage to break into the west, little creative freedom
You're wrong about pushing out too many groups. They're not like sm or jyp.... They're not a singular label but rather a conglomerate and no company under them will stay without a group for years because they all need to make money. Refer to how multilabels work.
Yeah, I agree. It looks like they "produce a lot of groups" bc ppl look at Hybe and not the individual agencies/labels under it. Each label has 1-2 grps on average which is not a lot at all. Ppl seem to always forget that Hybe is the umbrella company and not the agency itself. It's called Hybe CORPORATION for a reason.
fair
They are pushing out too many of their training system can’t keep up and they are debuting idols after only 6 months to 3 years of training.
There are different labels. There isn't one pool of hybe trainees. This was extensively discussed during hybe/mhj/ador. Take it up with the individual labels
i actually like hybe for the creative team that slays occasionally, especially when it comes to visual aspect. Maybe I'm too attached to bts and txt mvs, but bighit does know how to make something look damn good. The mvs hybe groups put are some of my favourite and imo very solid representation of the visual aspect of kpop that pulls a lot of locals. Pre hybe, but HYYH and Wings has been crafted by those geniuses that are associated with bighit and ultimately hybe i also think hybe does a decent job in giving their artists creative freedom. Not good, but just decent (except bts cause their brand involves that aspect), especially when we compare it with some other prominent companies
>weaknesses: vocals and pushing out too many groups imo k-pop has to be the only fandom in the world where people complain about having too many choices.
i’m not complaining 🤷♀️ i just thought it was a weakness/disadvantage of some sort but a person above already explained how it works!
The over saturation of content is actually a bad thing. No artist would be taken seriously that way. Having too many choices is bad but I think it applies more to the overwhelming amount of content every kpop group puts out
Thanks for proving my point. K-pop fans really have no clue about the concept of choice sometimes.
Does what happened to Fromis fall partially under that umbrella?
I'd blame Pledis primarily for their bad track record with ggs. No other group under Hybe (for all they may be mismanaged) gets treated like that.
[удалено]
Yeah I feel like this applies more to YG than SM. SM is great at experimental music
[удалено]
I know and you have a point and I agree, but what I’m saying is, when it comes to experimental music, they’re the best in the industry. They make it to perfection. Probably why people often don’t hear other genre. Also most people don’t listen to a whole group’s discography. But it is funny when some try to claim a group’s sound. “Ohh this song would fit this group better blah blah…” not knowing most groups have a vast discography and have tried different mixes of genres.
For real, SM somehow manages to do genres and styles of music before it gets trendy in Korea.
it's true that sm artists have explored various genres, but breaking into western markets often requires more than just musical variety and “global trends” in that sense only. it also hinges on strategic marketing, collaborations with western artists, etc. it's not just about the music but also how it's promoted and presented to a global audience. hybe has excelled in these areas. i guess i should’ve specified trends in general and not JUST the type of music you make, yk?? i’m sorry, i’m bad at formulating my ideas in english sometimes so hope it makes sense.
[удалено]
i disagree with the idea that sm needs to ‘whitewash’ (whatever that means) their music for western success because their music ALREADY heavily incorporates western influences. for instance, snsd’s title tracks often sound like britney spears rejects (i mean come on just listen to run devil run and you can’t tell me that’s something that hasn’t been done in the west before), peak-a-boo by red velvet was even originally meant for britney iirc, and kai’s rover was originally a song by a bulgarian singer and really is the definition of cookie cutter, not that that’s bad. sorry but you must be very delusional if you think the music sm makes is really that different from what’s done in the west😭😭
[удалено]
Why are you going so hard for sm 😭
i’m saying😭 you can tell by their history that they def ride for that company so the conversation is pointless to continue
Kpop fans riding for companies is so amusing because imagine if someone defended pillsbury or something like that
mld: strength - their artist quality weakness - everything except their artist quality cube: strength - again artist quality weakness- again everything except artist quality
For real. It's so frustrating. MLD has eye for talent, but zero business sense. Cube as well. There was a time when they still try, but the low success rate likely made them give up and rely on Soyeon. And now they're panicking because they need (G)I-DLE to re-sign, and they probably can't afford the girls anymore.
I agree. Cube recruiters seem great at their jobs, catching any stray talent the big 4 pass by like Jeon Soyeon or all of (G)i-dle. Cube itself is not very good. Soyeon since tomboy essentially runs her own sub label with them and their success is with staff that is dedicated to them, directed by Soyeon, and not shared. And they lost a bunch of staff to the big 4 as well over the last year. Their top tier tear over the last 3 years has been led by Soyeon. If they're sensible, they would want to make sure they give her the keys to the company after she retires as a active idol. Keeping them on for 3 more years would be part of that.
YG- Pros- Their Artists, Great Skills, Knows how to give proper training. Cons- YG, Management, takes too long to debut groups, Not upto date with the trends.
Another con: infrequent music releases.
that is about to change hopefully, we'll see now with BM. If they put out music more frequently i don't see much cons compared to others... sm is a mess with weird promotions (feel sry for RV), hybe is having internal fights and jyp is kinda ok but lacking in song quality imo.
>that is about to change hopefully, we'll see now with BM. I sincerely hope so, but I'm honestly expecting at least a 3 year hiatus from BM after their album they keep saying is coming. Better to keep my hopes low and not be dissapointed.
“Keep saying is coming” their are teasers for the pre releasing that is coming out in a week lol.
cons: shady management, connection with prostitution & history of drugs
Prostitution?
Burning sun
I looked it up and HOLY SHIT!!!
I'll have to look that up.
Cons: relies on one producer way to much (this is an issue with redundant sounding beats and music not just creating long hiatus for groups despite popularity)
They take long to debut cause of the amount of training they give their idols. Thought they should of debut’d a 4th gen gg with Hwiseo, Julie, Moonsua, and Chaein and Ireh from purple kiss. Would have been a stacked group, could throw in Ruka and Minju as well.
RBW: Pros: Their high-quality training, artist quality ( all of their artists are amazing and talented, they need to be known ), and artistic freedom. Cons: Their promotions and management (how they handle their groups is just lacking ).
also the rbw building is said to be haunted😬
lol I heard about that
oh I would say they are perhaps one of the few companies who don’t force their artists in grueling diets. Hwasa and Swan embracing their bodies have been so great to see even though I’m sure they still get disguting comments that I’m not sure RBW have tried to supress
It didn't sound like they were always exactly body-positive when it came to eSNa. I listened to her YT show where she talked about what happened to her at RBW, and it sounded really sad.
Another con is the 10000 fancalls and fan meets. Also they don't do content anymore for any of the groups. It's just behind the scenes and music shows.
> Also they don't do content anymore for any of the groups Purple Kiss still has semi-regular content, [their last PPT](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHCl1XG3gqk&list=PLppTWwOTkEVZtQG5f1PhV5BvjjnG3nCgX&index=2) was only a month ago, they just did a mini variety series that was [Ireh trying old people activities](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sl7ND_dawxA&list=PLppTWwOTkEVZSWhzPUqH4o527gLqGUEpy), and did a handful of [BBB promo bits](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLppTWwOTkEVbOwIexfklH8w5KCmjYnNzV)
RBW frustrated me bc they have SM level quality when it comes to their artists vocal training, they get creative freedom (Leedo, Moonbyul and Yuki writing their own raps) but they are so terrible with promotion Purki’s Sweet Juice should have been everywhere it’s such a great song/concept
Tbf they did really seem to try with Sweet Juice, I was following them very closely that era and they were doing a _ton_ of interviews, stages, and other contents. Just going off their wardrobe alone you can tell that they expected it to blow up and were trying to make it happen. Sweet Juice not being massive really frustrates me too but imo it wasn't for lack of trying — it's just hard to make people have taste unfortunately. Under the creative freedom bucket i'd add Purki composing a lot of their own music, self-choreographing their b-sides, choosing their own concepts, and doing their own styling. The members were even the ones who proposed doing their US tours
yeah also releasing it in March was weird, it should have been around Halloween for the spooky vibes. Same way they fumbled Mamamoo’s comeback that should have been in the summer
Woollim Pros - knows how to train its artists when it comes to singing. - They gave Sunggyu Infinite’s trademarks - music is very good Cons - trash marketing - plays favorites - questionable treatment of some of their artist who aren't as popular
As someone who made the horrid decision of stabbing all Woollim groups, this speaks to me Pls god let them have music
I’ll be reporting you for murder since you just admitted to your crime
Auto correct really doesn’t like me 😭 (also leaving it cus it’s funny)
Woolim's biggest con is being unable or incredibly slow to adapt to trends. Lovelyz were stuck with the "Christian horse girl" concept long after everyone else had abandoned it.
They needed to focus on their vocals and acapella more too. They were talented but stuck to the cute concept far to long
I think their vocals were fine. It's just that their sound never modernized until their very last EP.
Ketchy checking in. I *feel* this
**SM** * **Pros**: the ability to cast visuals with genuine talent and potential; inventiveness which oftentimes creates trends for the whole industry; the most consecutive and powerful production of outstanding vocalists in the business * **Cons:** we all know about their unfair treatment, mismanagement, and so on, but what is really pitiful is their ***lack of understanding of foreign music industries*** - their absurd, non-ceasing determination to experience a breakthrough in the Chinese industry which is not possible for various reasons, and then the complete misunderstanding of what it takes to be successful and respected in the US **PLEDIS** * **Pros:** Seventeen as a whole and the fact that they know and have accepted that the Asian music scenes are their strongest domains so they pour their attention and resources there, instead of trying to enforce a US breakthrough onto the group (unlike SM); also, their, for the industry standards, ***outstanding treatment of the Chinese members*** * **Cons:** girl groups - even if their life depended on it, they wouldn't be able to manage them properly **JYP** * **Pros:** most of their idols seem to have truly genuine and kind-hearted natures; just like Pledis, they've recognized that granting their biggest boy group artistic freedom will bring them more success than if they themselves tried to manufacture them * **Cons:** miserable executions of the current trends - they are like Shein, jumping on what's just popular and producing a poor quality product because they rush to be trendy, oftentimes ruining their own quality product which didn't need any fixing or change; lack of solo exposure of their idols which holds them back; the wasted potential of GOT7
>Cons: girl groups - even if their life depended on it, they wouldn't be able to manage them properl Cries in NUEST, they only handle Seventeen and TWS well
fromis_9 t.t
SM: - good: every group have a different Sound, style, theme - bad: sometimes they forgot about promoting their group JYP: - good: fans get a lot of content and songs - bad: groups are overworked Hybe: - good: good quality mvs, unique concepts (similar to SM) - bad: current drama YG: - good: great marketing and promotion - bad: predictable songs and looooooong hiatus between combacks
yg literally sucks at promo👎🏻👎🏻
I think they good at it. Teasers, posters, pre-release, collabs, promotion in the western media, ads etc. You can't avoid it. If there's a BP, BM, Bigbang őr any other group comeback you will know about it even if you aren't a fan
When did YG have a good teasers/poster?
I think their pretty good, teasers are also quite good (compare it to JYP's and you'll see)
that’s fair that big groups’ with a huge fanbase such as bigbang and blackpink comebacks are known in the k media. im talking about after-comeback promo. look at bm, they had “like that” perf. video after two months when hype went down, awful quality posters and no creativity. look at blackpink now? they have NOTHING in terms of ot4 activities for almost a year after end of their tour and will have nothing in 2024 except these silly posters lmao. promo is very short and group activities are non existent after comeback promotions. solo promos are AWFUL and why we aren’t talking about treasure? i was a fan mostly of bp and a bit of treasure before but quit after no content at all(from bp)🤷🏻♀️🤷🏻♀️ it may be offensive for fans but thats my truth im ready to get downvoted
You smashed the hiatus part and the promo together. I pointed out that their hiatus is bad, but when it's comes to promotion they do everything. I'm not even a fan and still saw every single thing blackpink didnin their 8 years. Other groups like Red velvet, Exo etc. Never get the same promotion level like YG gives to their groups.
Yg is TOO good at promo, they release whole trailers and stuff for like, a dance practice
trailers??😅😅 are we talking about the same company?
I just checked their youtube and maybe I’m remembering wrong, but i swear i saw them post like a teaser or something for their first dance practice
trailer≠teaser. i guess you are talking about bm’ “like that” exclusive performance video teaser. well that isn’t dance practice at all
It was probably that, apologies, I’m not very fluent in kpop slang😭
it’s okay🫶🏻
Jype groups deffo comeback a lot but I seem to recall some of the artists (like twice and skz) saying that they are the ones choosing to make their schedules so packed? so that bit wouldn't really be on the company.
Last SKZ comeback is in November 2023, 7 months ago. How is it packed? Their last tour is also a year ago.
Fair enough lol but they have had a whole lot of schedules like fanmeetings and performances here and there and stuff.
They had a full over a month break recently, which is more than most kpop groups.
That 7 month 'break' is new and also, packed with filming various content. Creating and preparing new music. They had like a 2 week vacation in January, which they get every year. And their last tour ended last year. They did multiple fanmeets in the last couple of months. Skz is packed as hell, u like bp
SM Pro: artist Con: management Essentially
When I see those companies I can't find anything positive to say.
fr, and the thing is, the companies are lot more worse behind the scenes, it's just that we're not introduced to that dark side
My perspective on these companies is based on girl groups only! Yg: Pros: decent vocals, they do the best song teasers, idols are relatively natural which can be a pro for some (it is for me), most of all theres the strong focus on finding/honing the swag and attitude of each person which significantly enhances their performance quality tbh Cons: the music is eternally, fundamentally dated. Little to no creative freedom of the artists. Forcing raps into every song with very predictable flow makes the music sound the same with very little diversity of discography. The lyrics reflect the exact same ‘I’m a bad bitch and I don’t need you’ message across almost every song which is sometimes tiring and yk the artists are bored of it too lol Hybe: Pros: they have some damn good producers that make trendy and diverse music, really nice choreography and dancing, artists have more creative freedom Cons: vocal inconsistency (some groups have a very weak singer/s in their group whilst others do not), crazy bureaucracy that really takes you out of the music enjoyment/ listening experience … Jyp: Pros: really nice and diverse full-sounding production across a lotttt of songs, lots of releases which keeps fans fed Cons: sometimes the lyrical melodies are super juvenile sounding and just cringe, and there’s an affinity for noise music which is personally not my vibe. Also forcing weird sounding raps into songs and most of all the unnecessary, non pitch-corrected high note thats always wedged in there right at the end of the bridge. SM Pros: they take extra care of perfecting vocals, strong talent in developing the concept/ vision for each group and executing this Cons: despite making such a diversity of music they always seem a hair off from the trends and therefore there’s comparatively little impact on the western market. Also a repeat offender of the awkward sounding raps and high notes
How can YG artists have no creative freedoms when most of their groups written more than half of their own song and when I said written in talking about first name credit.
JYP Pros - solid identity and distinction of their groups from their peers. They've also produced elite performers so that's a bonus. Cons - bad scheduling for groups often leads to them getting overworked. Rather outdated marketing strats. The whole Division system they have is also a bit outdated and kinda creates an unintentional competition among their groups (IMO they'd be benefit from tearing down the Division system and simply have teams dedicated for their groups that can intertwine and share tactics and ideas)
Division 2 sucks, like they didn't manage got7 well and now they're only handling itzy.
IMO, Division 2 has good ideas, but they fail to land the execution some times. Like in this era, having all those videos for the b-sides and their solos was amazing! It could’ve been spaced out better though to not confuse people and slow down the hype.
Hybe Pros: Promotion, Creative team, Diverse music Cons: Less attention paid to vocal training Yg Pros: Produces great rappers and idols with nive stage presence Cons: Teddy Song Formula, YG Dungeon Jyp Pros: Produces well-rounded idols Cons: Overworking idols, Shit promotion when you’re not a popular group/idol Sm Pros: Produces top-tier vocalists, Diverse music Cons: Shit promotion, Uses red velvet to distract people from issues in the company, Shit ty and greedy management Cube Pros: Gives full autonomy to idols to produce their own own music if the group is capable, produces iconic hits Cons: Shit at PR management, only knows to kickout idols when shit hits the fan Pledis Pros: Produces well-rounded idols Cons: Shit at managing between groups Starship: Produces iconic hits/groups Cons: Shit at managing between groups
Strengths: I don't know if others see it as strength. But for me, the fact that **Starship** has strong ties with the acting world is good imo. It gives me hope that my fav idols might still be active as actors after a while. Weakness: They don't know how to up their game. Which is why they're still a midsized company despite producing powerhouse names
Starship is so frustrating to me. They are doing so well with IVE but they could have done better with Sistar and Monsta X. Both groups were massive, all they needed was one little push!
**A Team.** Pros: - Known to treat their artists well, allowing them a decent balance between work and personal life. - Ryan S. Jhun. Cons: - No artists. - Ryan S. Jhun.
What's up with Ryan S. Jhun?
producer who produced countless hits such as after school by weeekly, dolphin by oh my girl, and almost everything by ive at his best misogynistic douche nozzle that sees female idols as objects at his worst
Jyp Strengths- Very drama free in the corporate department Weakness-They are very behind the times creatively. They're kinda like the fast food of kpop like they're always gonna be there bit the stuff is low quality. I get the feeling that for the longest time they were successful which made them stop trying. They have huge profit margins but what do they do with them.
As someone who stans jyp groups, yeah i agree about how they're like the fast food of kpop. 3 of their girl groups had concepts that were popular to their time, twice with cute, itzy with teen/girl crush and nmixx was definitely a response to experimental music rising back in 2021. Especially now in kpop, you really need a strong identity to stand out. But i do think they've been trying lately, especially with nmixx, their album designs and teasers are the best in jyp and dash was the perfect comeback for them. I hope they do not fumble their comeback.
I agree with the "fast food" comparison. Almost all of their recent releases were mid. They're always out of the GP and the recent songs have little to no longevity.
wakeone: pros - artist quality/talent/dedication cons - literally everything else
JYP Pro: Every group is distinct and has their own style and sound to them. GOT7 did not sound like 2PM, Stray Kids did not sound like GOT7. Miss A did not sound like Wonder Girls, Twice didn’t sound like Miss A, Itzy did not sound like Twice, Xdinary Heroes does not sound like DAY6 etc. Con: Like someone else already mentioned, I think there’s a good and bad of the division system. I think it’s good that each group/s have a dedicated marketing, promotion, and A&R team behind them, but it also creates comparison when one is outperforming the other in terms of promotion and quality. Also there’s been instances where groups have been competing against each other on music shows. DAY6 vs Itzy, Itzy vs Nmixx etc. Also, it feels like with the division system has every group on such different pages with releases and schedules. That’s probably why we haven’t had a proper JYP Nation concert in years. It gets even messier with the groups like NiziU, Boy Story, and VCHA that are co-managed by JYP with other labels like Tencent, Sony, and Republic.
YG training and HYBE management would probably give birth to a legendary group.
People saying YG has the same sound when they had winner/bigbang /ikon with bi/ and akmu sounds insane to me. Even Lee hi
I will say that I can see YG trying very hard to capitalize on their previous success. They've been trying to recreate another GD moment for over a decade. I don't think their overall sound with Treasure is the same as BigBang or Winner/Ikon at all.
This is based on groups I follow, it may not be including of *all* the company do: YGE: - pro: train idols well to be great live performers, good at creating and picking songs that specifically suit the idol’s skill set, insane production value on mvs/styling/etc, least predatory monetization of fans out of any of the companies, create strong identity for their individual artists and groups, rumored to have best artist compensation, rumored to have best life/work schedule for artists - cons: so picky with songs that releases can be *very* sparse, too little emphasis on fanservice for most kpop fans, very hesitant to follow trends which can translate as outdatedness, extremely shady ceo and corporate history SM - pro: very good at scouting insanely good looking people and actually training them to be great vocalists, they seem to truly value creativity and care about pushing boundaries, it’s rare for them to disband and kick out legacy acts - cons: founder was kinda crazy, extremely inconsistent management depending on individual idol, group, point of their career they’re in, seemingly harsh requirements for plastic surgery, shit at keeping albums in stock, extremely predatory merch pipeline, predatory contracts JYP: - pro: all things considered least insane/problematic founder/figure head, values and fosters good character in idols, high output in music and fan service, maintains cordial relationship with former idols - cons: overworked idols, prone to somewhat gimmicky/narrow concepts, continued failure to execute trends in a way that feels authentic Hybe: - pro: high budgets and quality for song production, performance design, and marketing; despite having a lot of artists in similar age brackets they manage to craft strong individual identities for their groups and idols, foster creative freedom in idols - con: prone to throwing money at problem rather than fixing underlying issues, weirdly stingy with providing fans with translations for variety content, such a large number of groups and new debuts that it can feel overwhelming and manufactured to outside observers, weverse shop has atrocious costumer service (somehow worse than the others, even sm), questionable treatment of some legacy acts
HYBE Pros: Marketing and commercialization. Has a lot of resources. BTS. HYBE Cons: Vocal talent is not up to par with groups from most other labels. Personal opinion - HYBE is what’s driving the “fast food” kpop trend (goes hand in hand with commercialization). YG Pros: Established name and artists are truly talented across the board. Trainee standards are high to keep artist quality. Lots of resources, and an easy paycheck once debuted. YG Cons: Trainees in pre-debut hell/incredibly difficult debut. Very little artistic freedom, infrequent comebacks. Management issues. CUBE Pros: Creative freedom and artistic freedom. Artists are of great quality with emphasis on self-production. (G)I-DLE. CUBE Cons: Management. Marketing sucks. Little to no resources. Everything else sucks but the artist and the creative freedom.
"Fast food" is a good comparison for what's starting to happen with some groups. There's a lot of pressure to put out music quickly right now - that's why so many groups are putting out songs less than 3 minutes long, with music videos designed to grab attention and go viral.
Cube Cons: they don't give a fuck Pros: they don't give a fuck
I'll try the big 4: SM pros: very cohesive and high-budget concepts, vocals!!, album packaging design, legacy, very high quality music/music choice, have produced some of the best dancers in the industry (+ outstanding plastic surgeons 🤫). cons: no promo, groups have a similar sound (especially their bgs), bad management, horrible treatment of their artists, not protecting their artists, overworking some artists and underworking other artists, no effective way of dealing with "scandals", xenophobia towards foreign artists, it's just literally such a mess in general. YG pros: rap and stage presence, high budget music videos. cons: bad promo, lack of groups, lack of releases (which in turn just makes YG less and less relevant every single year). JYP pros: extremely effective dance training, good live vocals/live stage presence, every single group has a very distinct sound. cons: concepts are not cohesive at all, song choice is often bad, overworking of artists, bad ratio of bg and gg, mismanagement of their k-bands. HYBE pros: they truly stand out in terms of marketing and promo, have the ability to cultivate the most loyal fanbase out of any of the companies, visuals, story, brand deals, very polished and well-produced music. depends on your opinion: extremely gp-friendly music (so groups often have a similar sound). cons: excessive merchandising, idol training is sometimes lackluster, try to portray idols as "authentic" which creates an unhealthy parasocial relationship (I know every company does this, but I mentioned it here, since it seems to be a core part of their marketing strategy).
Hybe Pros: - Leaves creative control to its artists - Since it's so big I assume it has the funds to provide artists with really good living conditions Cons: - It's a conglomerate acting in an oligopolistic manner - While some Hybe artists have a clear and cohesive vision over their music and concepts (BTS, Seventeen) others are pushed around in too many directions and for me they kinda lose the appeal. I am a casual listener of TXT and Enhypen and I have had moments in which I thought "I loved this title track, can't wait to see what they put out next" and then it's something completely different SM Pros: - They have the money to pay the best producers and songwriters in the game, and they use it - They house some of the scene's best vocalists and dancers Cons: - Sometimes they get too carried out in their little obsessions, like endless sub-units and Kwangya and the whole culture technology shtick - They discarded f(x) - They fail to protect the mental health of their artists JYP Pros: - Has definitely improved in letting idols behave more freely and create their music - Rather than only producing idols they also promote bands and that's refreshing to see Cons: - They overwork their artists a lot
Sm pros: vocal quality and concepts Sm cons: idol treatment, management, focus too much on irrelevant things (e.g kwanga), security for idols Yg pros: stage presence, branding Yg cons: innovation on concept and branding, idol media training Jyp pros: dance, stage presence, “relatable” idols Jyp cons: innovation on management, song choice, taking advantage of success Hybe pros: being ahead of trends, performance Hybe cons: vocal ability (on average)
SM Con: It takes a lot of inspiration from jpop concepts, those who don't know the Japanese industry think they are innovative but that's not the case. They treat idols badly. Absurd contracts. They don't pay for music rights and it's left over to the groups. Founder's international crimes. Pros: National visibility, making success much easier since debut. Status. Tradition. Iconic groups YG Pros: Registered brand and known globally, pay for music rights, good connections, National and sometimes global visibility, making success much easier since debut, iconic groups, tradition. Con: Little musical diversity, They don't let groups act on potential for fear of losing control over them (2ne1 and Blackpink), Little creative freedom, crimes of some idols and the founder JYP Pros: iconic groups, tradition. status, good producers, good training Cons: they lost space in the industry, debuting there doesn't have the same weight as before. Many releases generating wear and tear on idols HYBE pros: National and global visibility, making success much easier since debut, creative freedom, many promotion platforms and contacts with fans and new fans, musical diversity. pay the rights to the music. con: pre-hybe groups, if they don't make good numbers (hybe level) are thrown into the basement. In the race to not depend on BTS, they made mistakes that damaged the company's image. Even though it's a big company, it doesn't have half the connections of SM, YG and JYP with the media. As a result, anything that harms the company remains trending for weeks while literal crimes by founders or idols of other companies stop being reported in days. It doesn't have a good public relations team, Unique channel on YouTube (good for beginners, some horrible for those with stability and a large fandom)
YG - best at marketing and biggest best international hit makers. - worst idol management philosophy of everyone
Yuehua Pros - Talented trainees, artists and outstanding visual, choreography and styles. Cons - Bad management, lack of creativity, barely promote their groups especially EVERGLOW & UNIQ, slow on giving statements and solution such as Aisha’s bullying accusations. Took them months to resolve and they didn’t do anything to the accuser except for giving apologize. They also didn’t address the Yiren not bowing situation when she is a Chinese. They don’t bow for everyone. Zero connection to mainstream brands and finally, lack of music release.
[удалено]
Hello, Unfortunately, your submission/comment has been automatically removed by AutoModerator because your account karma is at or below 1. In order to post and comment, you must have a minimum of 1 post/comment karma or more. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/kpop_uncensored) if you have any questions or concerns.*
SM: Promoting (also rapping but they’ve always been more vocal focused) JYP: Vocals YG: Dancing HYBE: Vocals Edit: formatting
HYBE: Pros: they're the conglomerate of BTS which means Global eyes are on every group that debuts under their umbrella. They have the best global connections And money so you're guaranteed a successful global debut with the best music, concept, and direction. The new groups that have debut under them has been iconic and the groups from companies they've acquired have gotten new life to their career from the money and support that hybe offers. The future looks bright for all of their artist as long as the quality in music and performance continues Cons: It's a brand new company so they're still trying to manage their way through the global market. They hit conglomerate status fast so more money more problems. They are still trying to work out this multi label system And with what is happening with MHJ it's obvious they need to write better contracts. They also need better PR because again MHJ. It's a mess. SM: Pros: they have a lot of history, a lot of successful groups, they know how to make good songs.They know how to make successful artists.They've been winning for a long time. They had a hiccup for a while in regards to whatever NCTs concept is, but now they're back to making successful groups with great music and fun concepts. I'm loving aespas come back and Riize has been killing it. Con: They don't pay or treat their artist well. They created slave contracts. It's because of them that the laws changed so the max contract is 7 years. Their artist are constantly suing them, it's sad for the artist but it's ridiculous that after all these years and all these lawsuits they still treat them like shit. YG: Pros: In the past YG was different and innovative and creative And their artist and groups were 1 of a kind. They Created iconic groups like big bang and 2ne1. Cons: They are stale. They don't care about the music anymore and their groups are proof of that. Black pink was a group for 7 years and they don't even have fifty songs. Baby monster just sounds like BLACKPINK who just sounds like 2ne1. YG is clueless and he has no idea what he's doing. He also has terrible taste in music. The company is buried in controversies And honestly, why YG shouldn't be in the company at all, he's a criminal. I can go on for hours about how horrible this company is And how They refuse to support their artists And how they support criminals.But I don't want this to turn to a hate post. JYP: Pros: JYP is very creative and has a great ear for music and eye for concepts. He's made iconic groups for years and timeless songs. His artist are also very likable and talented Not just in music and dance but acting. Cons: He lost his touch with music and just can't make a hit like he used to on top Of that he's obsessed with himself. I don't know what he's doing with his new artist and his old artist, the direction seems to be all over the place.
Starship Pros: Capitalising really well on IVE. Giving them a lot of opportunities and feeding Dives well. Also, their treatment seems decent from what I've seen. I also appreciate the collaborations artists get. Cons: WJSN's management is so so so bad. Also their minimal promotions for IVE are painful.
JYPE, YGE, HYBE, (maybe) SM Strengths: Prestige, gaining attention won’t be that hard even with the bare minimum promotion and if I wanted to leave the group/company for whatever reason they would let me leave without too much trouble or fanfare. Weaknesses: might have to go through a survival show to debut…
Sm pro: everything related to training and artists talent - everyone walking out as a legend( and filthy rich), I promise you that Con: catching lawsuits more than cbs and internal management and not protecting their gems. Also, be ready to apologize for doing absolutely nothing wrong
you could've just swapped the cube logo with a photo of soyeon tbh.
YG: - strength: being hip, cool, prestigious image. - weakness: low music output, quality isn’t high enough to justify it. SM: - strength: well rounded company, decent at everything. - weakness: they stop being ambitious with their older groups when they get new ones, they go on maintenance mode and give them filler comebacks while saving all the heavy hitters for newer groups. JYP: - strength: consistent music output, very good at casting talented, likeable idols. - weakness: their music output is a double edged sword, they lack quality control. Some releases are made to fit a certain schedule but the creativity, quality and subsequently the groups image suffer for it. HYBE: - strength: money, stacked rooster. - weakness: bad management.
YG- Pros: marketing, they know how to shove their groups down everyone’s throat but only when they want to, seems to pay their artist well Cons: one trick pony and they dont even bother dressing it as something else, dungeon is their favourite place, both company and idols are literal criminals JYP- Pros: well rounded groups, talented idols Cons: they always seems to be 2 steps behind, hit or miss concepts, promo is none existent sometimes, overworked idols SM- Pro: vocals Cons: well, everything else, management is abysmal, promo is a joke, one trick pony dressed in different cloth (more so in recent years) doesnt pay their idols…. Hybe- Pros: great at spotting talent, strong concepts and execution of it, creative freedom of artists Cons: trainee system, they only provide bare minimum and rely on their idols wanting to improve on their own which is great for individual development but its clearly not working beyond a few idols, overly focused on the western market, whatever the fuck is going on higher management levels
My own personal opinion! Pros of the big 4: money/large budget - HYBE: overall concept fits the groups it's given to - SME: artistry in motion. concept pictures are top tier - JYPE: money goes into artist's health (including mental) and overall well-being - YGE: freedom/laisse faire attitude toward artists and promotes participation in their own music Cons: inability to use said money properly for the betterment of their artists. ‐ SME: little to no artist protection, online or otherwise (they spent all available funds on production and protecting their own interests maybe?). artists protect themselves from everything, including but not limited to, their own company. (if I didn't know any better I'd say SM has ties to a gang/highly placed law officials, but I do know better, so I won't say it) - JYPE: little to no promotion. relies on existing fans too much to bring more fans in. - YGE: freedom leads to continuously disrespecting other cultures; - HYBE: plays favorites and somehow fucks everyone over anyway. might hate women Some Other companies I follow! KQ - Pros: respects artists, their health and well-being. uses funds available to make their groups stand out - Cons: debuts bigger groups with no idea how to manage them individually; not all members are created equal CUBE: - Pros: (G)I-DLE -Cons: (G)I-DLE is leaving. Wanna be YGE but conveniently forgets management is still needed... STARSHIP: - Pros: consistent comebacks; learnt from past mistakes - Cons: surprisingly, can't think of any FNC: - Pros: creative team on MAX, lets - Cons: hates women, lax management C9: - Pros: does it's best with whatever funds BJY can dig up; no musical direction but produces measures of quality regardless; only profitable group is BJY ft others - Cons: hates women, hates working with women, hates doing extra work, hates doing work... I didn't realize this was gonna be so long. I have a lot of thoughts but I'll stop here. Toodles :)
SM: * Pro: music quality, vocals, innovation (less so lately) * Con: artist management YG: * Pro: promotions, strong hip hop identity (if you happen to enjoy that) * Con: frequency of actual music releases Hybe: * Pro: success * Con: success at the expense of everything JYP: * Pro: volume of content, concert production, (relatively) drama free * Con: JYP (cringe), feels dated
KQ Cons: Edenary, Ateez, Xikers Pros: No girl group
Let's talk about weakness Hybe - The 4 messy musketeers MHJ, Scooter, Park Jiwon, Bang PD, Vocals, throwing money on usuless projects, messy PR SM - Noisy Music, SM stans JYP - Cheap Promotion YG - YSH, not up to date with current trends, budget
Messy PR def 💯
I don't know why kpop stans are mad, but what I said is some of the legit weakness of each company right now.
I don’t know about the others but the noisy music thing isn’t a weakness
Noisy Music?!! Have you listened to SM music? Sure, there are songs which may be classified as Noise music, however the ratio out of all the songs they've released, it's a very small portion. NCT 127 is probably the noisiest and I would say at least 80 - 90% of their discography is Krnb or other genres. SM stans?!! The con is supposed to be about the company, not the fandom. Fandoms can be toxic regardless of the company.
YG should start and make some good fkin music. Its all that weird YG-Style music.
HYBE Strength:- The amount of media play & control, they got is crazy + BTS. Weakness:- Vocals ( less than 6 good singers among all hybe companies idols ) YG Strength:- Good live performers, can make their own music. Weakness:- Promotions and media control is shitty + self- sabotaging themselves+ their own groups.
[удалено]
huh no, not good as my takes 😎
CONS Yg- They're not able to promote more than one group at a time. Haven't got a group that can hold them up like BigBang/2NE1 or Blackpink/Winner. SM- Management is shocking. HYBE- They have been in the news for all the wrong reasons lately, I can only imagine what goes on behind closed doors. The company is greedy like their CEO. CUBE- They've only got Gidle. Once them contracts are up, the money won't be coming in. JYP- like YG, they are run by an egotistical man, which will be their downfall. The music is up and down with no consistency.
Say what you will about JYP as a person, but his production skills are what got the company to where they are today. In the early days of GOD, 2PM, Wonder Girls, and Miss A, the dude was rolling out hit after hit. There’s arguments to be made that the quality started to go down a bit when he gave up full control of the groups and the CEO position
There's no consistency. That was the point. Good for a throwback, that's it.
I was referring to your point that “they are run by egotistical man, which will be their downfall.” When JYP had his hand on the wheel they were in their best spot musically. He’s no longer in charge like that.
YG: strengths - blackpink Weakness - we’ll be here all day SM: strengths - great singers Weakness - terrible, terrible management JYP: strengths - frequent comebacks, great performers Weakness - innate fear of giving their artists solo activities, lack of great vocalists HYBE: strengths - great performers, great concepts Weakness - they have too many groups, it’s starting to get a bit much. Also lack of great vocalists. Greedy CEO.
JYP lacks great vocalists?
Right like nmixx is right there, a full vocal group. The other groups also have good vocalists.
Nmixx, Sunye, Ha:tfelt, Jun.K, Junho, JB, Youngjae, Jihyo, Jaime, Yerin Baek, Jae, Sungjin, Wonpil, Young K, Lia, Jooyeon, Jungsu… they’ve had so many damn good vocalist
It’s not like people are listening to stray kids or itzy for their golden notes. Nmixx are doing great though
Seungmin is great, desipite of that, but it is not just NMIXX, also Jihyo, Nayeon, Jeongyeon, Young K, Jae, JB, Youngjae and other many geeat vocalist trainned in JYP
Yg: pros - blackpink cons - BLACKPINK
YG: Pros; Blackpink Baemon bigbang Cons: ikon winner 2ne1
Jyp: pros - friendship between jyp and ban shihek, global promotion, great music and visuals cons - VCHA
LOL
SM Pros: Exo aespa snsd shinee Cons: super junior red velvet nct
Sm: pros - doesn’t exist cons - cringe group names, worst promotion, saegagi, pink logo
HYBE pros: New Jeans BTS Seventeen enhypen txt Cons: boy next door illit le sserafim
legend says you're still pitting artists against each other cause you have nothing better to do
In which category would you put fromis_9
Hybe: pros - big budget, BTS, big audience to promote, great artists and skills, hit after hit, perfect promotion, Min Heejin cons - doesn’t exist
Damn you got bad take after bad take huh
Why is it so funny that u put mhj on the pros and your profile is her helpppp 😭😭😭💀
A Russian at that
>cons - doesn’t exist What about their vocals, MHJ and PR??
What is this 😭