Usually, award ceremonies become the center of criticism when it comes to issues of awards, fairness, performances or organization.... However, this is the case with the awards ceremony. The award below is related to the issue of taking advantage of fans' love for idols.
Specifically, the recent award ceremony that is becoming the center of discussion is The Fact Music Awards. A new content supposedly released for fans of this awards show is accused of being "scam" and "stealing money" from fans instead of receiving support.
Below is the situation that is receiving a lot of attention from kσrєαn netizens surrounding this awards ceremony:
In a fandom-centric world like K-Pop, idols and fans have an unparalleled bond. Sadly, this connection is often exploited by capitalists and The Fact Music Awards were recently accused of this practice.
The Fact Music Awards, a prestigious awards ceremony established in 2019, has been making waves throughout the kσrєαn entertainment industry since its inception. Known for recognizing major contributors to the Hallyu wave, the awards body has always attracted great attention for its major events and commendable winner selection process, which includes the combination of Pie Chart data, judges, and fan engagement.
However, this year's highly anticipated event faced criticism after announcing new content for fans. As per their official Twitter announcement, fans can contribute to adorning their favorite idols’ rooms by purchasing in-app currency named “Rainbow Stars.” These stars, which can also be obtained by watching ads, can then be used to buy three types of decorations for the waiting rooms, namely: Coffee + Snacks, Flowers + Photo Cakes, or Banner + Party Supplies, each with its respective price in stars.
The pricing model for purchasing Rainbow Stars is as follows:
100 stars = ₩1,000 KRW (about $0.76 USD)
1,000 stars = ₩10,000 KRW (about $7.58 USD)
5,000 stars = ₩50,000 KRW (about $37.90 USD)
10,000 stars = ₩100,000 KRW (about $75.80 USD)
The event is scheduled to take place on October 10 - featuring an all-star lineup such as aespa, IVE, NewJeans, ATEEZ, ITZY, TREASURE, NMIXX, ZEROBASEONE, and more. Therefore, fans need to organize big projects as well as prepare for the decoration of their idol's waiting room at this year's The Fact Music Awards.
As soon as the news broke out, it didn’t take long for kσrєαn netizens to voice their strong disapproval. A post on the popular kσrєαn forum, TheQoo, garnered more than 35,000 views and a staggering 500+ comments within an hour of its posting. Many fans labelled the move as exploitative, expressing their disappointment in the award ceremony for seemingly monetizing fans’ love and support for their favorite artists. Some even went as far as to accuse the organizers of being “scammers” and “stealing money.”
Although, the original idea of the music awards ceremony was probably hoping that the initiative would be seen as a fun and exciting opportunity for fans, but it seems to have backfired. significantly used. On many other social media platforms, fans have expressed similar outrage, raising questions about the ethics of monetizing fan support in such a way.
As the controversy continues to rage, many are eager to see how The Fact Music Awards will handle this backlash. Will they stick to the original plan or pivot in response to fan concerns? Only time will tell!
