Netizens Point Out Discrepancy In SM Entertainment’s Claims That HYBE Is Causing High Ticket Pricing In K-Pop
On February 20, SM Entertainment‘s CFO Cheol Hyuk Jang uploaded a video on the official YouTube channel of the label, expressing his concerns about the “hostile” takeover of the company by HYBE.
In the video, Cheol briefly explained why he is against the acquisition, pointing out three issues that might arise from the merger.
SM Entertainment Discloses Three Major Concerns For Their Company And Artists Amid HYBE’s Takeover
He also explained his fear that HYBE’s acquisition of SM Entertainment will create a market monopoly in K-Pop, which, according to Cheol, will only hurt K-Pop fans. Taking ticket prices as an example, Cheol stated that HYBE has taken “advantage of its position in the K-pop market” to charge higher ticket prices. In contrast, SM has kept ticket prices lower “to allow a broader scope of fans to enjoy cultural performances.”
A graphical representation on the screen showed the difference between the concert ticket prices of SM artists and HYBE artists. Cheol claimed that apart from the original subsidiaries, HYBE also bumped up the ticket price for its acquired labels. Following this trend, Cheol said that an HYBE and SM merger would only hurt concert-goers.
The consolidation of SM and HYBE will accelerate the ticket price increase, adding burden to fans who love and support K-Pop and K-Pop artists.
—Cheol Hyuk Jang
But netizens are not convinced of the logic offered by the SM CFO. A few hours after the video was out, the ticket pricing issue became a hot topic on social media. Those who opposed the explanation raised two counter-arguments.
First, netizens argue that as HYBE manages the biggest K-Pop group in the world, BTS, concert ticket prices are bound to be higher. But even then, netizens believe the prices are fair in comparison to those for Western artists.
now i’m getting annoyed because he is now blaming hybe for skyrocket of kpop tickets but not saying why…. hybe has the biggest kpop group in the business ofc the tickets have to go up a bit. like if sm had the biggest kpop group it will be the same as well . here’s the chart pic.twitter.com/qSK8VvtVOq
— keke⁷ 🤍 (@stallseok) February 20, 2023
They also don’t do dynamic pricing on Ticketmaster. So you don’t see the crazy things happening like happened with TS. Yes, there are a lot of issues, but they still price the tickets…fairly? And ticketing his high all around, not just for Hybe
— Annie Driscoll⁷ (@AnnieDHarpie) February 20, 2023
Second, netizens noted that the price points included in the graphics are different for the two labels. Specifically speaking, the representation compared the regular ticket prices of aespa‘s concert and the V.I.P. ticket prices for TXT‘s concert, which include benefits like sound check. When similar tickets are considered, there is little price difference between SM and HYBE’s concerts.
yes, they said on the graph that they're comparing the highest ticket prices but the comparison would have only made sense if they're comparing tickets that have the same benefits. if we're looking at it in perspective, the price increase for the soundcheck benefit is reasonable
— ㄹㄹ (@dollzyunjin) February 20, 2023
not SM comparing hybe's VIP ticket prices with their regular concert ticket prices to support their narratives ?!😭 spreading misinfo deliberately cuz they know kpoppies gonna eat it up without fact checks. so shameless pic.twitter.com/qXGDvjLDPb
— 𓃺⁷ (@nwjnsbts) February 20, 2023
Some people also pointed out that bigger venues and more expensive stage production are valid factors that might increase HYBE’s concert ticket pricing more than competitors, but not beyond a reasonable bound.
Not to mention, all those price spikes are from HYBE getting them bigger venues & better production & equipment. Then we had a whole pandemic that raised the price for everything.. 🙄
Comparing that to the ticket price of a rookie group who hasn’t even had a CB, lol— Terra⁷ ⟭⟬ ⟬⟭ (@LadyAlustria) February 20, 2023
man idgi bc i looked up the tours of nct vs bts (the biggest in the world) internationally, the ticket prices are similar. so like.. how are hybe responsible for ticket prices souring if they’ve always kept their biggest groups prices low.. pic.twitter.com/2DLO4vawpq
— 🌻annie⁷💛HOBI DAY (@nayeonieseok) February 20, 2023
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