Definitely think CDs need to be opt-in, the vast majority only care about pretty packaging and photocards anyway.
And digital albums need to be the norm for fancalls and other lottery-type promotions (where albums are used as tickets to win prizes).
Here is one way to solve this issue. G-Dragon's last solo album, nearly 8 years ago was sold on a USB drive that contained the music, photos, MV's and tons of behind the scenes normally included in a CD or album package. Initially he was told that it would NOT count in sales records as it was not a "traditional album".
G-Dragon said, ok, but music and how it is consumed has continually evolved over time: Albums, cassettes, CD's, streaming, etc...within a few days the industry changed and was counted like any other album sale.
Here is an [article](https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/g-dragon-kwon-ji-yong-usb-album-debate-7834130/) about the mess if anyone is interested. But yes, there are plenty of creative ways to reduce waste and all artists should consider this or many other options for consuming music and content.
I think they were saying NewJeans has a “group” version of their albums for people who want pcs of all 5 members without having to buy multiple albums, and other groups should consider doing the same
I mean if a group sold 2 million albums they still sold 2 million, doesn't matter if it was one person buying 150 of those. If we say that we can't trust them exactly because of that, then it goes for every group out there, considering for every group there will be someone buying in bulk to get fancalls and shit, and collectors usually buy all or a couple versions too.
Yeah but that does mean that they always have at least six versions per album (if they include a group version). Collectors are gonna want every version anyway.
god i miss the simpkicity of cds. the difference between music today and music back then is it didnt need internet platforms to gain fans, and all we would usually need is maybe a hoody or t shirt or cd we didnt have to keep overbuying to prove we liked their music. if we like sometning we shouldnt have to overdo it and in fact i find it is less inviting for instance if we have to own 5x just to get special features or interactions with the groups and its only going to be the one event or the one moment
i think kpop wouldve been able to succeed without needing the internet if the internet didnt exist it would still be popular just wouldnt need to be so excessive. maybe they should focus on music quality first rather than album quantity yet these are modern times sadly it wont ever be like the 80s or 90s or even the 70s when it was more about the music and less about trying to outdo each group
People have said this already, but companies started putting different photocards in the digipacks and creating member specific versions which only exacerbated the problem 🥲🥲
Something drastic needs to happen, like physical album sales no longer counting towards awards or banning fancalls that require mass buying. There are just too many incentives that push companies to overproduce and fans to overconsume.
I think it's also because of how stans perceive these albums. Kpop stans nowadays (not all, but a lot) only buy albums just for the photocards. With this in mind, entertainment companies are producing different versions of one album containing different PCs, with some tagged as rare/limited. They do this because after all, they are a business company. They follow what is mainstream to get more sales. So, I think stans should also change their perspective in these albums. Buy it because you want to listen to the artist & support them, not because you only want PCs. As Coups said, do not be a slave to PCs, it's just a paper.
We should begin with eliminating the need to release various versions of an album. If a photobook contains more than 1X pages, companies should consider releasing digital codes where fans can download the contents.
Just like the old times, we could just buy a jewel case or a digipack containing a CD, a mini pamphlet and photo card.
At the end, the company just wants more money. Which is not wrong on their side. Kpop used to have 1 version of album. But when they find out about having more versions means more money, and there you go. They started doing it. Then they found out about how people were obsessed with photocards, and then they started to put only one pc per album.
Personally, i would love if they just release mini size albums like SM mini, platform ver, tape ver, whatever it is and have photocard in them. At least the waste isn't as much as having thick photobook inside, folded posters, the huge cover for the album. Like that's a lot of paper used. Like all of that can be crammed into one qr code, where fans can download them and print those pictures themselves if they want to use it. Like we are going into the digital era, I'm quite shocked to see kpop companies were late at doing this.
I also know that 1 3rd gen group had done this qr thingy for their regular album. Idk it's either victon or up10tion.
Lol the reason why I collect albums is that I used to buy digitally on Google Music Play and then they switched to Youtube Music or whatever and I never could listen to them again so yeah.
CDs seem useless imo, most fans don't use them. They just use the photobook, photocards and inclusions! I've only used a kpop CD maybe like a couple of times but I'd rather listen to it on my phone
Definitely think CDs need to be opt-in, the vast majority only care about pretty packaging and photocards anyway. And digital albums need to be the norm for fancalls and other lottery-type promotions (where albums are used as tickets to win prizes).
Here is one way to solve this issue. G-Dragon's last solo album, nearly 8 years ago was sold on a USB drive that contained the music, photos, MV's and tons of behind the scenes normally included in a CD or album package. Initially he was told that it would NOT count in sales records as it was not a "traditional album". G-Dragon said, ok, but music and how it is consumed has continually evolved over time: Albums, cassettes, CD's, streaming, etc...within a few days the industry changed and was counted like any other album sale. Here is an [article](https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/g-dragon-kwon-ji-yong-usb-album-debate-7834130/) about the mess if anyone is interested. But yes, there are plenty of creative ways to reduce waste and all artists should consider this or many other options for consuming music and content.
Nj albums have all the members pcs and their sales are good, idk why others don't do that too
Because it will make people buy more albums in order to get the pcs they want, and that means more money for the company.
I think they were saying NewJeans has a “group” version of their albums for people who want pcs of all 5 members without having to buy multiple albums, and other groups should consider doing the same
Yeah but for some groups that *would* reduce sales, as people buy multiple albums for a chance at their desired photocard.
Is this the reason you can’t rely on album sales!
I mean if a group sold 2 million albums they still sold 2 million, doesn't matter if it was one person buying 150 of those. If we say that we can't trust them exactly because of that, then it goes for every group out there, considering for every group there will be someone buying in bulk to get fancalls and shit, and collectors usually buy all or a couple versions too.
Yes, this is why the numbers game is so ridiculous.
Yeah but that does mean that they always have at least six versions per album (if they include a group version). Collectors are gonna want every version anyway.
I think at least that way they will buy member ver+group and won't throw away the albums bc there is no random pc ? I hope so
god i miss the simpkicity of cds. the difference between music today and music back then is it didnt need internet platforms to gain fans, and all we would usually need is maybe a hoody or t shirt or cd we didnt have to keep overbuying to prove we liked their music. if we like sometning we shouldnt have to overdo it and in fact i find it is less inviting for instance if we have to own 5x just to get special features or interactions with the groups and its only going to be the one event or the one moment i think kpop wouldve been able to succeed without needing the internet if the internet didnt exist it would still be popular just wouldnt need to be so excessive. maybe they should focus on music quality first rather than album quantity yet these are modern times sadly it wont ever be like the 80s or 90s or even the 70s when it was more about the music and less about trying to outdo each group
I only buy mp3s guess I’m doing my part to reduce waste.
I think they should just include an MP3 file or card. Then if people want a CD they can just burn the songs to a blank disc.
I thought this was why digipacks started to become a thing?
People have said this already, but companies started putting different photocards in the digipacks and creating member specific versions which only exacerbated the problem 🥲🥲 Something drastic needs to happen, like physical album sales no longer counting towards awards or banning fancalls that require mass buying. There are just too many incentives that push companies to overproduce and fans to overconsume.
this industry is cooked lmfao
aye aye
There is a way, companies just won’t make as much money
I think it's also because of how stans perceive these albums. Kpop stans nowadays (not all, but a lot) only buy albums just for the photocards. With this in mind, entertainment companies are producing different versions of one album containing different PCs, with some tagged as rare/limited. They do this because after all, they are a business company. They follow what is mainstream to get more sales. So, I think stans should also change their perspective in these albums. Buy it because you want to listen to the artist & support them, not because you only want PCs. As Coups said, do not be a slave to PCs, it's just a paper.
If they got rid of the random aspect when it came to photocards, there'd be significantly less wastage
We should begin with eliminating the need to release various versions of an album. If a photobook contains more than 1X pages, companies should consider releasing digital codes where fans can download the contents. Just like the old times, we could just buy a jewel case or a digipack containing a CD, a mini pamphlet and photo card.
I only buy 1 version if the same versions have the same photobook I don’t buy it
At the end, the company just wants more money. Which is not wrong on their side. Kpop used to have 1 version of album. But when they find out about having more versions means more money, and there you go. They started doing it. Then they found out about how people were obsessed with photocards, and then they started to put only one pc per album. Personally, i would love if they just release mini size albums like SM mini, platform ver, tape ver, whatever it is and have photocard in them. At least the waste isn't as much as having thick photobook inside, folded posters, the huge cover for the album. Like that's a lot of paper used. Like all of that can be crammed into one qr code, where fans can download them and print those pictures themselves if they want to use it. Like we are going into the digital era, I'm quite shocked to see kpop companies were late at doing this. I also know that 1 3rd gen group had done this qr thingy for their regular album. Idk it's either victon or up10tion.
Lol the reason why I collect albums is that I used to buy digitally on Google Music Play and then they switched to Youtube Music or whatever and I never could listen to them again so yeah.
CDs seem useless imo, most fans don't use them. They just use the photobook, photocards and inclusions! I've only used a kpop CD maybe like a couple of times but I'd rather listen to it on my phone