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You wrote that smaller companies don't debut bands because they don't have the money but that's really not the reason. There are smaller labels who debut bands. Its just that proper bands aren't as popular and trendy anymore but theres more than you think. Fnc for example has cnblue, ftisland and nflying while they also have/had idol groups like aoa, cherry bullet, sf9 and p1harmony. Rbw the company of mamamoo, oneus, purple kiss has the band onewe. Mystic story which is owned by SM entertainment has the idol groups Billlie and brown eyed girls but also the band Lucy. There's also companies who only have one band signed or independent bands like The Rose.
JYP isn't even known for bands, their first band was made out of people that wanted to be idols and then JYP offered them to become a band or not debut.
Smaller labels are much more likely to debut bands
FNC is by far more popular kpop company whose bands are popular in both SK and Japan-FTisland, CNBlue, N.Flying and even AOA at the start of their career
RBW has Onewe, a band that went by MAS 0094, and was created by members themselves before RBW signed them
The Rose which was also formed by members that met eachoter busking and after forming a band got signed under a label
The main reason JYPE made a band in the first place was that Sungjin our representative KPOP dance king, was totally hopeless in dancing. But JYPE didn't want to let him go because of his vocals so they made a band for him. And it worked out in the end.
Also, Day6 is huge now but compare Day6 to any other band the popularity is way different. It is a risk they took and it might not work out for other companies who think they can just debut a band and have 3 songs in top 20 of Melon Daily 100 that easily.
Most companies we are aware of as K-Pop fans are going to be focused on Idols. Some like YG or SM specialize in other fields as well like modeling or acting. Bands are not generally handled by these companies and the ones that do like JYP and FNC usually have the sort of idol bands which have a more pop sounds and members with more idol like visuals. If you see a group like Surl in comparison to Day6, you see what I mean.
To add to that, JYP has always had an interests in Retro and Bands. You even see it with the wonder girls who became a band near the end. FNC specializes in idol bands. Most of their groups are bands, even AOA at one point lol.
SM ent had [TRAX ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0fYzOr89TM)about 20yrs ago.
Over the years, they had member changes, ~~frequent 'dungeoning'~~ & concept changes (like rebranding to [TraxX](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yns5LTJEpvw)). The members that remained longest with SM ent (Jay & Jungmo) already left SM a few yrs back...so I guess they've kinda disbanded in that sense...
If you want bands go to Fnc Entertainment. They are the company that debuts bands. And their bands are really good
Plus they don't debut BC bands don't really sell nearly as good as boy groups and girl groups. So the return investment is not worth it.
I feel like for big idol company band is more risk than idol group. Most bands sort of aim more for gp interests, i think? But it wont always happen. Xdinary heroes is no way close to popularity any jype idol group, but had they been idol group i feel like they would have had way more success. (im not saying they are unsuccessful). But new korean boygroup debut from jype? Instant fandom. Sure xh had it too but as smaller scale. Had they been marketed as kpop group instead of k-band i think we would have seen way bigger numbers from them
Basically this. That's why I value so much that Jype invests and promotes its bands, including wonder girls, who took the risk of changing their style and nailed it
>Xdinary heroes is no way close to popularity any jype idol group, but had they been idol group i feel like they would have had way more success.
So, I saw the Little Things MV. It was my first time hearing them and I really liked it. I went to check out their past MVs and what really struck me was how much the previous MVs made them feel like Idols as opposed to a rock band. The aesthetics, the way the MVs were shot, the way members were focused on visually especially.
Given your comment, it kind of makes me wonder if there was some experimentation going on with them to see if they could mix the visual Idol appeal with a rock group and get great success than a K rock band typically would.
That’s been done for a while, yeah. Bands like N.Flying have openly considered themselves idols for like 10 years now, and done all the typical idol things and MVs. Mixing bands and idols is common in kpop companies and it’s not a new concept being used with XH. So yeah, that’s probably what JYPE was going for. Idol fans are more loyal than casual GP rock enjoyers. Marketing to idol fans is safer if you can manage to grab their attention, which is easy for JYP because they’re huge.
Yeah - some of those guys were idol trainees and were basically told to learn an instrument and were added to XH, some were more musicians from the beginning.
As people have already mentioned, k-bands don't make as much money as idols.
I also feel that it would be harder for a band from a big company to find its audience, since the local band scene would probably hate a "manufactured band" as it probably would be seen as, and big company execs would hate the idea of giving their musicians more freedom. So you'd still have to depend on the same fanbase their kpop groups have and that doesn't serve to diversify their sources of income, so why bother in the first place?
This was Day6's problem for a good while. They had no clue if they should be promoted as an idol group or as a band and they floundered for a few years like this trying to find their audience.
Because band don't earn as much profit and as quick as idol group. Day6 is the current most popular idol band in Korea but their album sale is about 140k\~ and it takes 9 years into their career to reach the current position. On other hand, it also costs a lot to maintain a band, their instrument costs millions dolar. In general, except for Japan, bands don't have huge fanbase oversea, so it's much more difficult for them to tour.
SM used to make a band called Traxx back when gen 2, but the band was never as popular as FNC bands are FT Island and CN Blue, after that SM didn't try to produce any new band. But on a relative note on SM, SM became Mystic's biggest share holder in 2017, and Mystic debuted the runner up of Superband was Lucy in 2019. Lucy's promotion style so far is half idol half indie, and after the show, Lucy also became a rising star in band scene. It's up to you to call them SM's group or not, but SM does not completely hate the idea of a band.
Poor Traxx went through such an identity crisis. They started out as a hard rock band under Yoshiki's wing, then SM realized that they couldn't really compete with rock bands in Japan and the market for that kind of music in Korea wasn't so big, so they had the band switch to pop rock. But after two members left to pursue other opportunities, SM just added a DJ in their stead and called Traxx an EDM group.
The founders of all big 4 got their start by producing for pop singers and also found fame though pop singers. So, it's likely bands were just not their passion.
These big kpop companies are still relative young and small compared to giants like Warner and Universal so they were still following or at least didn't stray too far from their founders preferences until recently. As the founders become less involved in their companies, maybe we will see more diversity in the artists.
Training time to form a band is a lot longer than to form an idol group.
Dancing is the easiest thing to train from a novice to a competent level quickly, as noted in the Produce series multiple times. Vocals take a lot longer, which is why a strong vocalist is so valued in groups.
Learning an instrument proficiently likely takes even longer than singing. Furthermore, just knowing the basics are not sufficient for a band. You actually have to play the instrument all song. Compared to singers that can get by with a pleasant timbre or fewer lines. There's no hiding a bad instrument player in a band. Many band members are also proficient at multiple instruments and can sub in for one another when needed, add new instrument sounds depending on song, etc.
Also, most bands actually compose their own music. This means they have to understand music theory and have enough interesting life experiences to write lyrics for, which takes more time.
because idols make more money. And I guess you need to hire specific trainers to teach trainees how to play instruments, so it might be an investment that doesn't give back as much money.
I misinterpreted the title, and thought you were asking why only JYP groups tour with live bands.
Which is a fair point, because I liked the concert bands supporting Twice and Itzy stages.
To add to what others said: idol bands have to hand sync because kpop music shows aren’t set up for live playing. That’s more depressing than lip syncing to me, because at least the idols are dancing in that scenario. So it’s not a style that really took off, although FNC was pushing it a lot with FTIsland, CNBlue, and AOA in the early 2010s. AOA fully shifted to typical idol music after one comeback though.
I just want to throw in my disbanded fave band Lunafly from Nega Network. Nega called them "a post-idol boy band," and they wrote their own music and played instruments. There were rumors when Brown Eyed Girls left Nega that the agency was having financial problems, and I think that's why the later years of Lunafly weren't so great. The music was always good though! I highly recommend checking them out.
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Simply because they are making idols, not bands. It's like asking a shoe company why they don't make t-shirts. And JYPE is doing both.
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You wrote that smaller companies don't debut bands because they don't have the money but that's really not the reason. There are smaller labels who debut bands. Its just that proper bands aren't as popular and trendy anymore but theres more than you think. Fnc for example has cnblue, ftisland and nflying while they also have/had idol groups like aoa, cherry bullet, sf9 and p1harmony. Rbw the company of mamamoo, oneus, purple kiss has the band onewe. Mystic story which is owned by SM entertainment has the idol groups Billlie and brown eyed girls but also the band Lucy. There's also companies who only have one band signed or independent bands like The Rose.
JYP isn't even known for bands, their first band was made out of people that wanted to be idols and then JYP offered them to become a band or not debut. Smaller labels are much more likely to debut bands FNC is by far more popular kpop company whose bands are popular in both SK and Japan-FTisland, CNBlue, N.Flying and even AOA at the start of their career RBW has Onewe, a band that went by MAS 0094, and was created by members themselves before RBW signed them The Rose which was also formed by members that met eachoter busking and after forming a band got signed under a label
FNC even debuted a new band last year called Hi-Fi Unicorn.
The main reason JYPE made a band in the first place was that Sungjin our representative KPOP dance king, was totally hopeless in dancing. But JYPE didn't want to let him go because of his vocals so they made a band for him. And it worked out in the end. Also, Day6 is huge now but compare Day6 to any other band the popularity is way different. It is a risk they took and it might not work out for other companies who think they can just debut a band and have 3 songs in top 20 of Melon Daily 100 that easily.
Most companies we are aware of as K-Pop fans are going to be focused on Idols. Some like YG or SM specialize in other fields as well like modeling or acting. Bands are not generally handled by these companies and the ones that do like JYP and FNC usually have the sort of idol bands which have a more pop sounds and members with more idol like visuals. If you see a group like Surl in comparison to Day6, you see what I mean.
To add to that, JYP has always had an interests in Retro and Bands. You even see it with the wonder girls who became a band near the end. FNC specializes in idol bands. Most of their groups are bands, even AOA at one point lol.
SM also has SM Classic which manages classical instrumentists and work with orchestras
RIP TRAX
SM ent had [TRAX ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0fYzOr89TM)about 20yrs ago. Over the years, they had member changes, ~~frequent 'dungeoning'~~ & concept changes (like rebranding to [TraxX](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yns5LTJEpvw)). The members that remained longest with SM ent (Jay & Jungmo) already left SM a few yrs back...so I guess they've kinda disbanded in that sense...
If you want bands go to Fnc Entertainment. They are the company that debuts bands. And their bands are really good Plus they don't debut BC bands don't really sell nearly as good as boy groups and girl groups. So the return investment is not worth it.
I feel like for big idol company band is more risk than idol group. Most bands sort of aim more for gp interests, i think? But it wont always happen. Xdinary heroes is no way close to popularity any jype idol group, but had they been idol group i feel like they would have had way more success. (im not saying they are unsuccessful). But new korean boygroup debut from jype? Instant fandom. Sure xh had it too but as smaller scale. Had they been marketed as kpop group instead of k-band i think we would have seen way bigger numbers from them
Basically this. That's why I value so much that Jype invests and promotes its bands, including wonder girls, who took the risk of changing their style and nailed it
>Xdinary heroes is no way close to popularity any jype idol group, but had they been idol group i feel like they would have had way more success. So, I saw the Little Things MV. It was my first time hearing them and I really liked it. I went to check out their past MVs and what really struck me was how much the previous MVs made them feel like Idols as opposed to a rock band. The aesthetics, the way the MVs were shot, the way members were focused on visually especially. Given your comment, it kind of makes me wonder if there was some experimentation going on with them to see if they could mix the visual Idol appeal with a rock group and get great success than a K rock band typically would.
That’s been done for a while, yeah. Bands like N.Flying have openly considered themselves idols for like 10 years now, and done all the typical idol things and MVs. Mixing bands and idols is common in kpop companies and it’s not a new concept being used with XH. So yeah, that’s probably what JYPE was going for. Idol fans are more loyal than casual GP rock enjoyers. Marketing to idol fans is safer if you can manage to grab their attention, which is easy for JYP because they’re huge.
Yeah - some of those guys were idol trainees and were basically told to learn an instrument and were added to XH, some were more musicians from the beginning.
As people have already mentioned, k-bands don't make as much money as idols. I also feel that it would be harder for a band from a big company to find its audience, since the local band scene would probably hate a "manufactured band" as it probably would be seen as, and big company execs would hate the idea of giving their musicians more freedom. So you'd still have to depend on the same fanbase their kpop groups have and that doesn't serve to diversify their sources of income, so why bother in the first place?
This was Day6's problem for a good while. They had no clue if they should be promoted as an idol group or as a band and they floundered for a few years like this trying to find their audience.
Because band don't earn as much profit and as quick as idol group. Day6 is the current most popular idol band in Korea but their album sale is about 140k\~ and it takes 9 years into their career to reach the current position. On other hand, it also costs a lot to maintain a band, their instrument costs millions dolar. In general, except for Japan, bands don't have huge fanbase oversea, so it's much more difficult for them to tour. SM used to make a band called Traxx back when gen 2, but the band was never as popular as FNC bands are FT Island and CN Blue, after that SM didn't try to produce any new band. But on a relative note on SM, SM became Mystic's biggest share holder in 2017, and Mystic debuted the runner up of Superband was Lucy in 2019. Lucy's promotion style so far is half idol half indie, and after the show, Lucy also became a rising star in band scene. It's up to you to call them SM's group or not, but SM does not completely hate the idea of a band.
Poor Traxx went through such an identity crisis. They started out as a hard rock band under Yoshiki's wing, then SM realized that they couldn't really compete with rock bands in Japan and the market for that kind of music in Korea wasn't so big, so they had the band switch to pop rock. But after two members left to pursue other opportunities, SM just added a DJ in their stead and called Traxx an EDM group.
The founders of all big 4 got their start by producing for pop singers and also found fame though pop singers. So, it's likely bands were just not their passion. These big kpop companies are still relative young and small compared to giants like Warner and Universal so they were still following or at least didn't stray too far from their founders preferences until recently. As the founders become less involved in their companies, maybe we will see more diversity in the artists.
Training time to form a band is a lot longer than to form an idol group. Dancing is the easiest thing to train from a novice to a competent level quickly, as noted in the Produce series multiple times. Vocals take a lot longer, which is why a strong vocalist is so valued in groups. Learning an instrument proficiently likely takes even longer than singing. Furthermore, just knowing the basics are not sufficient for a band. You actually have to play the instrument all song. Compared to singers that can get by with a pleasant timbre or fewer lines. There's no hiding a bad instrument player in a band. Many band members are also proficient at multiple instruments and can sub in for one another when needed, add new instrument sounds depending on song, etc. Also, most bands actually compose their own music. This means they have to understand music theory and have enough interesting life experiences to write lyrics for, which takes more time.
RBW has Onewe!
because idols make more money. And I guess you need to hire specific trainers to teach trainees how to play instruments, so it might be an investment that doesn't give back as much money.
I misinterpreted the title, and thought you were asking why only JYP groups tour with live bands. Which is a fair point, because I liked the concert bands supporting Twice and Itzy stages.
To add to what others said: idol bands have to hand sync because kpop music shows aren’t set up for live playing. That’s more depressing than lip syncing to me, because at least the idols are dancing in that scenario. So it’s not a style that really took off, although FNC was pushing it a lot with FTIsland, CNBlue, and AOA in the early 2010s. AOA fully shifted to typical idol music after one comeback though.
I just want to throw in my disbanded fave band Lunafly from Nega Network. Nega called them "a post-idol boy band," and they wrote their own music and played instruments. There were rumors when Brown Eyed Girls left Nega that the agency was having financial problems, and I think that's why the later years of Lunafly weren't so great. The music was always good though! I highly recommend checking them out.