Price concert tickets on demand
According to Allkpop, at the Q1/2023 Investor Conference, Hybe (BTS's management company) introduced a dynamic pricing system to guide its application to concerts.
The system, which was introduced by Ticketmaster, was tested for recent concerts by Suga (BTS member) and TXT. The company plans to apply the system to all future performances by its artists.
BTS's management company is accused of trying to profit from fans in every way.
Accordingly, the dynamic pricing system is similar to the airline ticket and hotel room pricing models. The ticket pricing model is based on demand. As demand increases, the ticket price increases. The price continues to change throughout the ticket sales process and the buyer will not know what the final price is.
This made BTS's fan community extremely angry because they thought that calculating concert ticket prices like that was indiscriminate.
On Twitter, BTS fans started a hashtag campaign “#SayNoToDynamicPricing” to protest. The hashtag quickly climbed to the top of Twitter’s global trends.
In fact, the dynamic pricing system was the subject of controversy when it was deployed at a Taylor Swift concert in November 2022. It even prompted the US Senate Judiciary Committee to hold a hearing to examine Ticketmaster's role.
The system has also been used for performances by artists such as Harry Styles, Coldplay and Black Pink in the UK.
The system is intended to prevent “black market” ticket sellers and speculators from profiting from buying and reselling tickets. This is expected to contribute to bringing in more revenue for artists.
But for fans, this system causes many inconveniences. Korean media reported that BTS fans were recently upset when they had to spend $1,800 to buy tickets for member Suga's concert in the US, even though the original ticket price was only $400. Not to mention, to log into the ticket purchasing system, buyers had to pay $22 to register as members.
Many people think that this is an act to “squeeze money” from Hybe’s fans. Because with ticket prices that cannot be predicted and can be many times higher than the original price, only those with deep pockets can go to the concert.
Viewers must pay to view subtitles when using the app.
Not only with the dynamic pricing system, Hybe is said to be looking to profit from BTS fans when it announced that it will upgrade the Weverse platform.
The Weverse platform will change and some content will require users to pay to experience.
The platform was created for Hybe's music groups to communicate and interact with audiences through messages or live broadcasts.
But in its latest announcement, the company said there will be changes to the platform. Fans will have to sign up for a membership to join the platform. However, users may have to pay a fee to use certain features like subtitle options, ad-free options, and early playback updates.
The newly announced plan has angered fans, as it could affect the fan experience when interacting with the artist.
Domestic fans who want to avoid the ads will have to pay to avoid them, while international audiences will face barriers to interacting with their idols. Instead of being offered free content, they may have to pay for subtitles.
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