HYBE Reveals Whether SM Artists Will Move From “Bubble” To “Weverse DM”
Earlier this week, SM Entertainment broke some pretty big news to their artists’ fans. The company announced that they will be moving forward with plans to integrate their artists and commerce into Weverse. Further reports revealed SM had shared that 12 artists, including groups and soloists, will be completing the move by September 2023.
This move is expected to create more opportunities for fans to engage with their idols and create a more interactive experience.
The SM artists shifting from KWANGYA CLUB to Weverse comes as ‘the result of a platform collaboration between HYBE, Kakao Entertainment, and SM.’
— Jeff Benjamin
While many fans are excited and eagerly anticipating the move to Weverse, they are curious about how the logistics of the move will work. Fans are wondering if they will need to purchase new fan club memberships or if their existing memberships will transfer over to Weverse. Additionally, fans are curious about how this move will affect the artists’ use of DearU Bubble, a unique platform that allows idols to communicate with fans through messages.
This curiosity only increased after Weverse announced the integration of a new feature called “Weverse DM,” which will allow artists to send messages to fans, similar to DearU Bubble.
A recent report by News1 Korea puts fans’ worries to rest by sharing that, according to an HYBE employee, SM Entertainment artists will continue to use Bubble to communicate with fans. While they will be using several services Weverse has to offer, there are currently no plans for the idols to use the platform’s DM feature.
SM Artists will continue to use Bubble. Although they will be entering Weverse and using most of the services, there are no plans yet to use Weverse DM.
— HYBE staff
Now we DM each other!💌
Weverse DM is a messaging service that lets you have direct conversations with your favorite artists, and it will open soon💞 Find out which artists you'll be able to DM soon! Stay tuned!#Weverse#Weverse_DM pic.twitter.com/fcOyjXQgOm
— Weverse (@weverseofficial) April 24, 2023
Weverse has become increasingly popular among K-pop fans since its launch in 2019. The platform offers a variety of services, such as community boards, live streaming, and exclusive merchandise sales. Weverse has already established itself as the go-to platform for HYBE’s own artists, including BTS and TXT. Other groups of labels part of HYBE also use the popular platform, including SEVENTEEN, ENHYPEN, and LE SSERAFIM.
However, groups of labels unrelated to HYBE have also joined the platform in the past, similar to how SM artists are set to do. BLACKPINK, CIX, Dreamcatcher, and Weeekly are only some of them. These moves have only increased Weverse’s popularity further, making it one of the most used fan platforms in the K-Pop industry.
Similarly, DearU Bubble has also become an essential tool for artists to stay connected with their fan base and share updates about their music and personal lives. The messaging service allows fans to send direct messages to their favorite artists and vice versa. Many popular K-pop groups and soloists, such as TWICE, NCT, ITZY, Stray Kids, Super Junior, and Red Velvet, use the platform daily, which helps strengthen the bond they share with fans.
