From Play to Labor

written by 20714 Ryu Hajin

Idol fandoms have now become a solid part of the K-pop music scene.

NCTzen, the NCT fandom, is doing fan labor for the growth of idols beyond just fan activities.

As a result, the fandom culture surrounding idols is changing rapidly. This change is having a big impact not only on the way fans are active but also on the way they consume and create idol content.

Idol fandom is becoming an increasingly industrialized consumption culture in that fans who used to focus simply on consuming idols are now performing a kind of labor for their success and development.

Idol Fandom’s Playbor Fairy Tale

As the idol industry develops, fandom activities become increasingly laborious. When there is an idol’s comeback or the release of a new album, fans go beyond just listening to music. In addition, they help by carrying out various strategic activities for the idol’s success.

Fans actively search for idols on portal sites or rank them in search rankings. They also share related posts on social media and spread hashtags. They also share related posts on social media and spread hashtags. In addition, they repeatedly stream music, participate in online voting and promote album sales. These activities entertain fans, but at the same time, they devote their time and resources to take care of their favorite idols.

These fandom activities go beyond simple consumption and take on the nature of playbor, which contributes to the idol industry. Fans are willing to invest their time, money and effort, but this fandom’s spontaneous play has been replaced by unpaid labor.

The idol industry increases the value of idols by obtaining new content, data and creative ideas through the voluntary activities of fans. In this process, fans gain pleasure through play, while their activities play a role in increasing the industry’s profits.

Weakening of the Fan Community

Along with the development of the idol industry, the emergence of fandom platforms has also brought about important changes.

In the past, there used to be fan communities that operated spontaneously in cafes, social network services and community sites on portal sites, but now paid-based fandom platforms operated by industrial capital are taking over.

Platforms such as Weverse, Lysn and Universe bring fans together into one space and ensure that all official fandom activities take place within these platforms.

The emergence of these fandom platforms has led to the weakening of the self-sustaining fan community.

The fandom platforms manage and control fan activities. They also place all aspects of their fandom activities under the management of industrial capital. This includes the sales of content and merchandise. It even controls holding events where fans can meet their idols.

As a result, fans lose the opportunity to produce and share their own creations. Instead, they end up consuming the content provided by the industry.

In addition, industrial capital has become more vigilant about fans’ secondary creative activities.

It often only acknowledges its justification under certain conditions. Although there are differences in degree, industrial capital that has the right to primary creations is generally recognized in a specific situation or when distributing and selling for the purpose of not-for-profit or full donation of profits.

Eventually, these changes have resulted in fan created activities being further reduced and the fandom’s identity being weakened. Instead of communicating and creating their own communities, fans now have limited activities within the convenient platforms provided by the industry.

Under these circumstances, it is difficult for fans to feel solidarity with other fans, and there are fewer ways to make their voices heard.

Some fan activities include fan art, goods production, sharing, sales and video. As a result, fans will no longer be able to influence the idol industry through their activities, remaining only as consumers under the control of industrial capital.

The Future

The idol industry continues to expand and become more complex internally. Existing entertainment agencies are rapidly expanding their business areas. New businesses are also emerging one after another.

Amid these changes, the activities of fandom are becoming more complex due to the industry. It is necessary to pay continuous attention and analyze how the relationship between the idol industry and the fandom will change and how its influence will deepen in the future.