In #messymanagamentnews: Fans in an uproar over BTS' poorly managed US Highlight Tour

[happydirections.livejournal.com]

BTS fans, largely known as ARMYs, have expressed their outrage and utter anger towards organizers after they were mistreated due to an oversold concert and more.

The popular Korean boy group recently kick-started their second tour with TGM Events around North America called Highlight, which began in San Francisco, California on September 22nd, followed by Houston, Texas on the 24th, Atlanta, Georgia on the 26th, and finally, Toronto, Canada on the 27th.

What made this tour oddly unique was that no formal tickets were sold for the concert and instead, fans looking to attend the BTS concerts needed to purchase a promotional t-shirt through TicTail as this was a fashion collaboration between Community54 and the boy group.



T-shirts were initially sold for $70 USD and gave each purchaser an entry into the event in the city selected as well as a hi-touch with the group. Due to popular demand, a $50 t-shirt was then added with the same options though no hi-touch was included.



Additionally, fans who were interested in photo, autograph, and VIP passes were allowed to purchase passes separately.

- $150 VIP Pass: Group Photograph Pass + Autograph Session Pass + Early Entrance (300 passes available)
- $100 Autograph Session Pass Only (100 passes available)
- $50 Group Photograph Pass Only (100 passes available)

After the Atlanta stop which was just recently completed, BTS fans who attended the concert expressed their outrage at TGM.

According to several fan accounts, due to the Atlanta concert being oversold and the small size of the venue, many fans (said to be approximately 100 or more) were left out in the rain and unable to watch their favorite idols perform. Instead, notes were handed out explaining the situation which read, “We’re sorry the venue is at capacity, we will give you a full refund as well as a group photo and hi-touch with BTS after the show. Please write your name and e-mail address and we will give you a full refund.”

How did u have time to print out all these denial notes? @tgm_events Hmm seems like u already knew before u over sold pic.twitter.com/u4Dl5HBugy

— Cortney Anna (@ontaekey_) September 27, 2015

@tgm_events needs to get it together. 100 people were left out in the rain because they oversold the show. pic.twitter.com/wV94Xqb7NV

— Ladee Danger (@Brttnymchlle) September 27, 2015

#HighlightTourAtlanta this is what fucking happened. fuck you tgm. pic.twitter.com/eGgbOuDj2t

— emmie smh (@wotemmie) September 26, 2015

With the promise of compensation, fans unable to enter the venue waited outside until the concert ended (two and a half hours) when they were ushered inside for their hi-touch and group photo. However, after a long wait, it was finally announced that BTS had already left the venue.
“So right now, the situation is that due to our own mistake, we oversold you guys tickets. We sincerely apologize for that, it was definitely our fault. In this respect, we don’t have a solution for you right now, but we are trying to come up with one right now. Everyone in here, we will definitely refund you […] we will do our best to reimburse you any expenses you may have incurred coming over here,” said one of the staff.

In various fan videos, Atlanta ARMYs were heard shouting their anger at the unfulfilled promise. Another TGM staff member was heard apologizing to the crowd, saying, “We made a bad mistake. We can’t say that everyone makes mistakes. We made a bad mistake. […] We wanted to, we thought we could, we can’t […] We wanted to make you all happy.”

One fan’s recording revealed that another female fan stepped up and volunteered to keep in and be the main contact with TGM after getting everyone’s information to make sure they are given what they deserve (see video above). Unfortunately, fans were ushered out of the venue due to it being past its hours of operation.

#HighlightTourAtlanta pic.twitter.com/hKds3n54aI

— emmie smh (@wotemmie) September 27, 2015

Another fan uncovered a post allegedly tweeted by a TGM staff member revealing that the company had known for over two months that the Atlanta stop was oversold.

@tgm_events @tgm_nadia they knew they were sold out since July.. #Awkward #Highlight2015 #HighlightTour #BTS pic.twitter.com/WyCPGr9HFB

— Dawnyy ;D (@DarkendDawn) September 27, 2015

Unfortunately, this is not the only Highlight stop that received complaints, with the very first one in San Francisco garnering major criticism. Fans reported that VIPs were given entrance at an arbitrary time with General Admission allowed in afterward in which non-VIP holders were able to fill in seats “reserved” for VIPs. Because the seating was considered “free seating,” security was unable to get VIPs who came in later their to their designated seats.

Additionally, fan accounts also stated that those who did not pay for hi-touch were given hi-touch, causing many VIP pass holders had to wait to go after those who did not pay for it in the first place.

In Houston, the second stop, fan accounts revealed that the hi-touch was disorganized. It was also noted that posters for BTS to sign ran out, so sheets of paper were given to the group to sign for fans instead.

Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time that TGM has been under fire for their management. In the past, the company was said to be blacklisted after what happened with Korean group B1A4 in Malaysia. Additionally, they are known for the cancelled concerts of Kim Tae Woo and more in North America.

TO ALL THE FANS WHO DOESNT HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT'S HAPPENING: #sueTGM @tgm_events pic.twitter.com/urkD6wwXUL

— kihyuniee (@jagiyummy) September 27, 2015

EDIT: Statement by KPOPUNITIED

[STATEMENT ON TGM EVENTS]

KPOP UNITED has been, and always will be, by the fans and for the fans.
As a company built upon the foundation of fan empowerment and respect for fa
ns and artists alike, we are dismayed and saddened to learn about the current situation caused by the actions of TGM Events. We want to express our deep sympathy and support for the thousands of fans whose dreams of a concert were shattered at great personal expense.

For entertainment companies that seek to bring Korean music and culture to fans all over the world, the trust of fans is integral and paramount. Incidents that take advantage of that trust put the integrity of the industry in jeopardy and cause unthinkable harm to the fans.
It also must be said that Nadia Leong was released from KPOP UNITED in April 2014 and we have had no contact or collaborations with her since that time. KPOP UNITED is a Korean government-certified global entertainment company, and is required to adhere to strict standards of ethics and financial responsibility in order to retain the certification.

With regards to any further questions, please contact our Product Manager, Gabe Salgado, at gabe@kpopunited.com.

We look forward to working with global K-pop communities to move forward and quickly find healing.

We are united.


what the fuck is going on? this whole thing has been a bad from day 1. i feel so ridiculously bad for the fans. especially for those that didn't get to go inside even though they had tickets! they were promised they would get a meet and greet/high touch at the end of the show as a compensation and they didn't get that. they really have been screwed over.

apparently bangtan weren't told either that there were still 100+ fans waiting outside the venue in the rain. it has been said that bangtan are not happy with the situation either. they were getting yelled at by tgm staff for trying to talk to their fans and giving them an enjoyable experience. namjoon also apologized yesterday because they only got to perform 4 songs and they themselves didn't know about that (they were cut short basically). to think that they could have been home spending chuseok with their families but instead they took the time to see their fans and this is how everything goes. MESS tbh.

Sources: koreaboo, ontaekey_, Brttnymchlle, wotemmie (1) & (2), Emily Pafoua, DarkendDawn, jagiyummy, MK ER, kpopuntited facebook

Comments

[chastainy.livejournal.com]

omg this expose! good job OP.
and i feel so bad for those fans stuck outside

[kai-minami.livejournal.com]

I can't imagine the emotional, financial, and physical stresses these armys and BTS are still enduring. Even though it's not enough, i hope that they get their full refund for all expenses they had to endure and that TGM gets their ass handed to them in court. I just hope the money's not long gone. I feel really angry also at the injustice BTS has received to have to see this tour go to shit and hope that they will be able to recuperate for their comeback ):

Re: Queen tbh

[audiograms.livejournal.com]

get her a crown tbh

[jaelissi.livejournal.com]

I feel really bad for all the fans who were excited to see the boys. I hope they never work with this company again, cause when I fly to wherever next year to see BTS in concert, I better see BTS in concert. I don't know what the hell is in tgm's head, but there are fans who wouldn't trade in a chance to see them perform for touching their hand for like three seconds.

[eomie.livejournal.com]

This is sooooo fucked up. The event people already knew they over sold so they already had those printed out papers ready.

And big hit isn't innocent in this shit either. Scheduling them another tour during Chuseok and has a Korean person let me tell you I spent a good week and a half cleaning my parents house preparing for Chuseok. Its an important day to be with family and they should have been with family.

But I think big hit got strong armed into doing this cause they have connections with that Nadia woman who basically scammed fans out of money.

And from what I read Seokjin was not ok, something was definitely wrong with him. And Jimin too.
They need a damn break. But no they're having another comeback after a whole year of go go go. They better get at least a half a year off next year. Better yet a whole year.

[jaelissi.livejournal.com]

(edit: on the stuff about them missing chuseok:)
I know because I'm in one of them, but certain jobs at the onset, they tell you this is going to change your life. You're not going to be there at holidays, you're not going to be there at birthdays, you're going to miss a lot of stuff in your life. Are you sure this is more important? I think the fact that they're there means that they decided it was.

[froggster.livejournal.com]

overselling mess aside; 4 songs????? that was it? damn.

[iftheshoefits88.livejournal.com]

i went to the show in sf and i guess we can be considered "lucky" compared to the other stops, but overall this whole "tour" was a joke and a mess. i was soooo excited to finally see bts live and by the end of the night was just ready for it to end. they only performed no, boys in luv, dope and i need u. pretty much everyone was confused why it was so short. the high touch went by so quick that i cant even remember what order the boys were in. i was really happy to tell jin that i love watching him eat and he just smiled and nodded, pretty sure he was super confused but im happy i was at least able to say it. they had the group photo in a dark ass parking lot and i wouldnt be surprised if you can barely see anything in those photos.

in the end, i was just so exhausted with how sloppy it was.tgm/nadia need to seriously be held responsible for all this bullshit.

[shintotchi.livejournal.com]

You and I are comment twins, cuz that's exactly what I told Jin. XD

[madielou.livejournal.com]

it's so sad to look at all the people crying in that video. and you have parents who waited with their kid for hours, just to be told you can't get in.

bless that one girl who went off.
afaik it's not just the fans who were locked out, but all fans who were a part of the highlight tour are planning a lawsuit.

i saw the video of one of the staff saying it was a ripoff. i don't think it was tgm but a venue staff though. he was talking to someone else asking how long it was and how much the tickets were etc, and was like "so basically this is just one big ripoff?"

fuck tgm. they knew exactly what they were doing.
i wonder if bts knows that they unintentionally left over 100 fans waiting in the rain.
if i had a ticket for the toronto show i'd start my refund process immediately.

[happydirections.livejournal.com]

i wonder if bts knows that they unintentionally left over 100 fans waiting in the rain

they would probably feel bad if they did find out. i heard from various fan accounts that they were very gracious and they were making sure everybody was getting what they came for by making small talk with people. and they tried to make contact even after the hi touch by saying goodbye and waving at people. but some of them get called out for doing that/pulled away. the whole thing was just so terrible organized for every city.

[iznanassi.livejournal.com]

i can't believe this essentially turned into dashcon

actually i can lmao, hope everyone sues for real.

[mamamoos.livejournal.com]

holy shit what a mess i hope tgm gets their comeuppance

[leopolitan.livejournal.com]

praying for my torontonians tonight tbh

[iznanassi.livejournal.com]

i know some of my friends have been doing everything just to get there, i'm so worried

[gray-fairy.livejournal.com]

I hope they get their asses sued. What a MESS.

[audiograms.livejournal.com]

TGM is such a mess I hope they stop doing these 'tours'...and lbr if you weren't supposed to get hi touch and managed to get it you'd take it.

[trishs16.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I was one of the people who were left out and it was a complete mess from the beginning. No one was out there to organize the two lines ;one for those who had a wristband and those who still needed to get one. Took 15 min for to find which line i needed to be in. But i put more when Im on my lunch break.

[aki-san.livejournal.com]

Gosh, I'm so sorry this happened to you. I was there too, in the general admission line for hours in the rain, and there was no organization at all. My friends and I were towards the beginning of the general admission line, and when they let us in the door, there was a girl with a line counter who said "250 left", meaning that only 250 people after us were going to be let in, and the line was waay longer than that. It's really unforgivable that they not only made you guys wait in the rain for additional hours, but also that they didn't even bother to tell BigHit about their "compensation" plan. Even if they did tell BigHit, it's not on them stay for extra hours when they have to be in Toronto the next morning just to cover TGM's asses. Total bullshit.

[maebyfunke.livejournal.com]

now i'm REALLY glad i decided not to go. i feel bad for fans who spent all that money + travelled only for four fucking songs? i would be livid.

[maebyfunke.livejournal.com]

and i hope the fans actually get refunded instead of getting the run around + ignored.

[pbutterlion.livejournal.com]

wtf they only ended up performing 4 songs? they 100% know something went wrong then ugh mess

i think if i was in america the only concert i would ever go to would be kcon, it seems like a safe choice compared to the horror stories i hear every time a group is in america

[kary1591.livejournal.com]

BTS' actual tour concert, not with TGM, was pretty great though. I wouldn't swear off all concerts.

[infadel-x.livejournal.com]

I'm so so sorry for you North Americans, when BTS came here the concert was an hour late, but at least it went through, we had some good times and nothing major came up except the organizer not sending fangifts to Bighit.

I'm starting to think Bighit went into it knowing TGM would fuck up - a few weeks back a FB leak came up, basically because TGM was incompetent, Bighit refused to post confirmation and greeting video from the boys until right before the tour. Not to mention the numerous failed 'tours' TGM had done. But Bighit got strong armed into coming, and they didn't know the clusterfuck would get this big.

I hope people sue and a lot of people get back their money. If TGM take a huge hit, Bighit will feel some of it as well and will probably learn to screen their international partners better.

[jaelissi.livejournal.com]

Agreed. If this company has such a bad reputation, BH shouldn't have been fucking with them to begin with. I hope they feel enough of it to learn their lesson cause they're putting BTS' reputation on the line.

[kazu-kumaguro.livejournal.com]

wait, something really similar is happening to BTS fan meeting in my country. basically the EO sold more tickets than agreed with the management (900 instead of 100/200) and so the fanmeeting was cut short (that's what I heard, there might be more but I don't really follow). the only good this is there are no locked out fans but they definitely are paying way more than they're supposed to.

[baramji.livejournal.com]

are you from indonesia? cause i heard it was all just some big hoax

[kashiyaek.livejournal.com]

this is horrible. i hope everyone gets home safe. ):

[arysthaeniru.livejournal.com]

So this is the mess everyone keeps talking about. Jesus Christ, this is unacceptable, both for BTS and the fans. What kind of screwups.... I hope they get to completely sue the company.

BTS really haven't had a good time with their America Tours, have they....?

[citrine047.livejournal.com]

regarding their first official US tour, TRB in the US, the NYC stop was the only that got messed up and that was because of the death threats, promoter subkulture responded appropriately by prioritizing BTS' safety. the rest of their tour went well and some of the boys even shed tears on some of the stops because of the crowd reception

i just hope no other kpop artist works with this kind of company ever again

[mlmello.livejournal.com]

tgm is shit and it's nothing new tbh. big hit should know better.

I hope they say something about it, even if they're not directly responsible for what happened. but I feel like I'm being too naive. they just want the money, they don't care about fans at all.

[kary1591.livejournal.com]

I wonder if they will give refunds. I was reading they organized an Eric Nam concert that got cancelled and the refunds never came. Also read that if you got a shirt and signed for it you're extra screwed because they could easily say the money you paid was for the shirt which you received.

I went to the Houston one and had paid for the photo op but didn't get to do it. They had released an announcement on twitter about how the autograph session was before the mini-concert and the photo op after so my friend and I left to go eat because we weren't in a mood to be in line for hours and went back when the concert began. Apparently they had a last minute change and made the photo op before the concert instead of after, so no picture. They made it up to us by giving us autograph passes but I'm guessing this is why they ended up running out of posters and having people get blank pieces of paper instead.

[iftheshoefits88.livejournal.com]

i saw on twitter that people can request a dispute on paypal and even tho that dumbass nadia hasnt responded, paypal has refunded a majority of the tickets. since you werent given what you paid for you, you shoud make a dispute and get your money back as well

[pippopippo.livejournal.com]

I feel really bad for ARMYs and BTS. I thought the whole t-shirts instead of tix (and then separate benefits packages)/indiegogo funding was shady to begin with though, which is why I didn't even consider going (and I already saw them during TRB). I heard there wasn't even really a fashion component to this whole thing...? w/e I hope tgm gets their asses handed to them.

[citrine047.livejournal.com]

was highlight tour marketed as a concert tho?? i thought it was clear from the start that this is more like a fashion event with bts showing up for a few moments , does a small setlist then autograph session. i dont know why people expected a TRB out of this, but i guess it's the misleading title??

and this company, man, just when you think they couldnt fuck up any worse, they just DO.
and reading all the fanaccts from houston (2nd stop) i already knew TGM stopped trying. i feel sorry and frustrated that big hit and bangtan just could seem to just go home, like they're stuck (im very inclined to believe that thing about them being indebted to nadia re: the kota kinabalu trip); and even more sorry for the fans who were bullshitted left and right. i am honestly wondering what makes this company think they can just get away with it? cos apparently TGM was already notorious for being a messy organizer for a while now but they still go around acting like they're legit and trustworthy.

i hope the fans do manage to see this through and sue this company for damages, put them in their place tbh. and im praying big hit and other companies blacklists the hell out of tgm, man no one deserves to be treated this way.

[iftheshoefits88.livejournal.com]

other than the boys wearing some nice clothes, i LOVED AND WANTED suga's jacket, there was nothing fashion about it, unless you wanna consider shirts as tickets "fashion". lol

[citrine047.livejournal.com]

i am laughing at the subtle shade of subkulture even sending bts rice cakes for chuseok while tgm is doing nothing but orchestrate a nightmare for both bts and army's