Netizens Are United In Their Anger And Response To HYBE’s Shocking Revelations About Dynamic Pricing For Concert Tickets

“HYBE are hypocrites, going against the ideology they were founded on…”
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Koreaboo

HYBE has always been one of the most popular and loved K-Pop companies, with some of the biggest artists. Starting as Big Hit Entertainment, the company has grown both in success and the number of artists.

BTS, Lee Hyun and TXT were the first artists under BigHit Entertainment and saw it grow to HYBE | BigHit Entertainment

It seems like HYBE has got itself into hot waters following a recent conference call, and now Korean and international netizens have joined together in response to recent revelations.

On May 2, netizens raised their anger after new images showcased costly changes to the platform Weverse. After VLIVE was closed, most idols moved to the HYBE platform, and the new changes would make certain features that had always been free part of a premium subscription.

The changes to Weverse | HYBE

Yet, while the changes to Weverse were significant, it was the revelation about ticketing prices in the US that shocked fans the most. Dynamic pricing is when companies allow ticket vendors to increase the prices of tickets depending on demand.

Although many K-Pop fans have experienced it, no company had openly admitted opting into the scheme… until HYBE. Recently, HYBE had its quarterly report, when the company discussed the results of the previous months and also plans for the future. In one clip from the call

We currently do apply dynamic pricing to the US market for performances by Suga and TXT. If any of our other artists do perform in the US, the same dynamic pricing will apply. Basically, to be able to apply this scheme, you have to have sell-out ticketing power and we think that all of our artists have that. It could apply to them if they are performing in the US.

— HYBE

Yet, while the initial worries came from US fans, the clip also expanded on HYBE’s desire to trial similar systems in other countries, depending on the market.

What about dynamic pricing in a non-US country? Well, we are considering our options, not just in terms of the pricing scheme but we’re also looking at what type of scheme best fits the characteristics of different markets. So, it doesn’t have to necessarily be dynamic pricing, but we’re looking into different means to boost concert and performance revenue overall. For example, in Japan, the venue tends to have very sub-segmented seating arrangements. So, potentially, we can differentiate ticket pricing to achieve a similar effect that is consistent with dynamic pricing.

— HYBE

When the clip was shared, netizens shared their anger at HYBE and its founder Bang Si Hyuk. For many, admitting the dynamic pricing for revenue went against the core values BigHit Entertainment stood for, which was all about the music.

While many expressed their anger that HYBE had taken fans’ love for K-Pop and idols, and found a way to capitalize on that admiration to create a profit.

After more fans had been made aware of the dynamic pricing, they took matters into their own hands and started canceling Weverse orders. While the cancelations were not regarding albums, as it would directly impact the idols, they focused on merchandise and those not affecting groups and music.

While it wasn’t surprising that international fans joined together to share their anger, the issue made its way to Korean netizens, who also expressed their own stance.

Like many international fans, Korean fans shared screenshots of themselves canceling non-album orders and stating that the reason was to protest the “Dynamic pricing,”

While HYBE has always been popular, netizens are starting to doubt how genuine it is. From a small company focused on music, artists, and fans, many netizens believe HYBE has lost what it made it special and become another corporation.

You can read more about netizens criticizing HYBE’s recent plans with Weverse, which has also caused controversy.

Netizens Raise Anger After HYBE Reveals New And Costly Changes To Weverse

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