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TINFOIL HAT TIME THREAD!
Desperate Times & Desperate Measures: The Race To Stop Big Hit's Successful IPO Debut
Desperate Times & Desperate Measures: The Race To Stop Big Hit's Successful IPO Debut
First, I want to thank @UltravioletCore for their help in creating a new TFHT banner. :)
Second, and as always with Tinfoil Hat Time, a disclaimer: These opinions and theories are my own and though they might seem plausible in a certain light, feel free to take them with a tiny grain of salt!
Lastly, this thread will touch on some themes I mentioned in older TFHT threads. You can check them out below if you haven't already!
https://twitter.com/sweetbtstea/status/1154567231663161344
https://twitter.com/sweetbtstea/status/1204629669930315776
https://twitter.com/sweetbtstea/status/1154567231663161344
https://twitter.com/sweetbtstea/status/1204629669930315776
Okay! So I have been meaning to talk for a while about the ongoing effort to interfere with Big Hit's future IPO debut. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-bts-big-hit-ipo/k-pop-group-bts-label-big-hit-entertainment-files-review-for-ipo-bourse-idUSKBN23413E
Ever since it became public knowledge that Big Hit had IPO inklings, ARMYs have been at the center of SOMEONE'S desperate bid to get us to turn on BTS and Big Hit Entertainment and stop funding the company.
After all, It's no secret that ARMY is THE major factor boosting BH.
After all, It's no secret that ARMY is THE major factor boosting BH.
Some attempts at muddying the relationship between ARMY and BTS as well as ARMY and Big Hit have been more subtle than others. Perhaps the BIGGEST tell was the behavior of a person connected with the rightfully dragged news organization J/T/B/C. https://twitter.com/sweetbtstea/status/1204631734320533504
Despite being blatantly in the wrong, this person expressed surprise at ARMY's behavior. We went after JTBC and not Big Hit Entertainment. This reaction told me:
(1) The attempt to smear Big Hit had malicious origins
(2) I suspect they didn't start with the news source itself
(1) The attempt to smear Big Hit had malicious origins
(2) I suspect they didn't start with the news source itself
Media play (PR antics) requires media allies to work with you to spread whatever narrative works best for your brand, whether it's how great YOU are or how TERRIBLE someone else is.
BH and BTS aren't strangers to media smear campaigns.
BH and BTS aren't strangers to media smear campaigns.
But what set the J/T/B/C incident apart was, as far as I could tell, it was the first time someone remotely connected with the offenders tipped their hand in revealing the anticipated outcome: Fan outrage at Big Hit and potential backlash that could cause the brand harm.
The timing of the J/T/B/C drama as well as repeated attempts to cast BTS members in a bad light doesn't feel like a coincidence at this point. Every time we're about to get IPO news, there are rumors, non-stories, and other antics.
As nobody is likely to step forward and give us a villain's monologue about WHY they're trolling and shilling ARMY to get at Big Hit and BTS, I'm going to take this opportunity to share my own theories in the first thread I've completed in ages. 
THEORY #1 - Fighting The End Of An Era
The day Big Hit goes public, the "Big 3" is over. Especially if BH is able to successfully get a seat at the KOSPI table. https://pulsenews.co.kr/view.php?year=2020&no=551150
The day Big Hit goes public, the "Big 3" is over. Especially if BH is able to successfully get a seat at the KOSPI table. https://pulsenews.co.kr/view.php?year=2020&no=551150
The biggest Korean labels have shares on KOSDAQ. For Big Hit to successful debut on KOSPI and with a much higher valuation would be the ultimate slap in the face. It would also punctuate the reality of just how big a gap there is between Big Hit and the future ex-Big 3.
So if the shills/trolls are coming from that direction, there are a couple of interesting implications.
BH getting onto the KOSPI exchange would put the entire Korean idol industry in a very strange place. First, there's the obvious "End of the Big 3."
Then, there's the less obvious: The rise of the self-made music group and subversion of the current K-pop model.
Then, there's the less obvious: The rise of the self-made music group and subversion of the current K-pop model.
You could no longer even claim a group is "the next BTS" merely by copying their style, music, or lyrics.
The group would need to build an insane amount of wealth for themselves and their management, have a HUGE global presence & be treated like partners rather than products.
The group would need to build an insane amount of wealth for themselves and their management, have a HUGE global presence & be treated like partners rather than products.
Because the CEOs that run the Big 3 are control freaks to various degrees, this is NOT a shift that I imagine any of them would favor, even if it's the way forward if you want to have your groups taken seriously on the world stage.
THEORY #2 - Fighting The Rise Of A Future Rival
As much as we'd love to give credit to the devils we know, I have also considered that the shills sent our way didn't originate from the Big 3.
...At least not *all* of them.
As much as we'd love to give credit to the devils we know, I have also considered that the shills sent our way didn't originate from the Big 3.
...At least not *all* of them.
Big Hit hasn't been making moves like a company that wants to be the biggest in the idol market. Instead, they seem to be making moves you would expect of a future conglomerate. The company might have started in music but in 20 years, BH could be known for many surprising things.
Look at Google. Once, it was just one of several popular search engines. What separates one brand from others is vision, ambition, and drive. Big Hit is expanding rapidly and if the Big 3 see it, I suspect future rivals do as well.
THEORY #3 - Trying To Save Face By Blocking Big Hit
Crabs in a barrel.
It's the ultimate image of those who don't want you to do better or escape terrible circumstances so they grab your legs and hold you back.
Crabs in a barrel.
It's the ultimate image of those who don't want you to do better or escape terrible circumstances so they grab your legs and hold you back.
These antics could have to do with disturbed business rivals. It could also have to do with a desperate attempt to hold fast to BH and prevent the company from successfully distancing itself from the rest of the pack forever.
I suspect that BH's moves aren't just about being that future conglomerate. I really do wonder if they are bearish on K-pop in the long-term. While it's true they will not be able to create the next BTS (nobody will), even before COVID, BH was making moves that suggested-
at least to me, that they were protecting themselves from future struggles with a debuted group. Sure there's the I-LAND project, but BH is connected from the POV of making music, not management.
So as far as I can tell, they passed on any shared management responsibility for that I-LAND project in addition to moving to acquire ownership of companies with established groups (Source and Pledis).
This might help BH feel less pressure to debut any new groups for a long time, giving them years to nurture TXT the way they did BTS. Or, it might be that BH is skittish about developing their own stable of acts because they see how flooded the Korean idol market is.
The heavy emphasis on diversification and also "entertainment" over "idol" could signal that BH doesn't want to be associated with a limited and potentially doomed industry. Honestly, actions do not make me feel they have much confidence in K-pop's long term viability.
AT LEAST THE IDOL INDUSTRY AS WE KNOW IT. Subverting the current model would force a "change or fade away" scenario that I imagine those most likely to be impacted are doing their best to avoid however they can.
CONCLUSION: DESPERATE ANTICS WILL CONTINUE, AND FOR ANY OF THE ABOVE REASONS.
It seems like right ahead of IPO news, someone tries to stir the pot. It's like an ongoing tantrum and they're desperate to draw us in. Don't be fooled.
It seems like right ahead of IPO news, someone tries to stir the pot. It's like an ongoing tantrum and they're desperate to draw us in. Don't be fooled.
As I've said repeatedly and others have also warned, we can expect more rumors, media smear campaigns, and attempts to get the fandom to work against our own best interest and that of BTS.
Whatever my suspicions as to the cause, one thing is certain: SOMEONE is feeling very desperate and frustrated and they'll only feel more so as the BH's public offering draws closer. They'll do anything to manipulate and discourage the fandom.
Thankfully, ARMY as a fandom has a mental toughness and a will that make us harder to thwart. I suspect we're a source of massive frustration and terror to these people.
....Good.
/THREAD
....Good.
/THREAD
