The opening ceremony of the Korea Service & Content Market (KSCM 2014), organised by the small and medium business administration and KOTRA, was held in the Diamond Hall of Seoul Coex Intercontinental Hotel on 24th June (Tue) at 11:30AM. Guest girl group
at the welcome banquet. They also said,
(originally posted as a twitlonger in response reply to this ask.fm question)
Q: Why so much negativity about Spica trying to break into the US market? I don’t think they have anything to lose and they might gain more exposure.
I’ve tweeted about it many times before but this will be a good opportunity to let it all out in one post! (I think most of the Mercuries I know share the same/similar views, but I’m only speaking for myself here)
first off, I have absolute faith in Spica and have no doubt that they will put in 100000% in whatever they do, but I can’t say the same for B2M. second, afaik there are no concrete details about this US venture besides 1) Keisuke Moonlight’s tweet, 2) Misha Janette’s tweet and 3) a brief mention in a recent article; everything below is based on my own assumptions of B2M’s plans for Spica, and may well be extremely off the mark.
I agree that they can and will gain more exposure by breaking into the US market, but at what cost, and is it really a viable route? as much as kpop has been an international phenomenon, it’s still considered a niche market in most countries including the US. B2M is in the business of making money - how is it going to be more profitable going to the US than staying in Korea and further establishing their growing reputation as a power vocal group? (my view applies to Japanese promotions too, if/when it ever happens /touch wood)
ideally and selfishly, I’d want Spica’s US plans to be limited to KCON, English songs and worldwide release on iTunes. I don’t want them to suffer in a foreign land and have nothing substantial to show for it (besides the experience gained, of course). and IF B2M is really planning to send them to the US for actual promotions, I want a reality show to document their journey. that’d be a win-win situation - gaining exposure in the US and maintaining their profile in Korea. but how likely is that going to be tbh??
partly because of the lack of information B2M is giving us, it feels like this US thing came out of nowhere. how did people like Daniel Merlot, Daniel Bedingfield, Cory Enemy, Keisuke Moonlight, Goldsuitcase etc come into the picture..? I’m worried because I’m wondering if B2M really do know what they’re doing with these US and Japanese producers, and not just doing it for the sake of trying something new.
Look at Goldsuitcase’s music video portfolio (NSFW), it’s edgy as fuck but their aesthetic and style make me uneasy when I imagine it applied to Spica. I know Spica will pull it off like champs because they’re so versatile and adaptable, but it just seems like B2M is trying to mould them into something really different just for this overseas venture.
for all the shit I say about B2M, I do give them props for being somewhat less controlling of Spica (actually treating them like the adults that they are) and their image and understanding their strengths and style (Tonight era onwards, mostly), so I hope this isn’t a step backwards just for the sake of American dollars. it’ll be especially shitty if they resort to gimmicks just to gain attention. in a way, Tonight/Hyori’s X-Unnie and YDLM/butt pads were gimmicky, but those worked in their favour… mostly. their name will forever be linked to Hyori’s, and those butt pads.. well, just look at the comments on their YDLM teaser that has 7.8mil views rn.
SM, YG and JYP have all gone down the US route with SNSD, 2NE1 and Wonder Girls. I haven’t been a kpop fan for long (since Nov ‘12) so I wasn’t around when that happened, but I believe it’s true to say that only 2NE1 has found success over there, and it’s largely due to their ~fashion and ~atypical girl group image. I suppose it doesn’t hurt that they can all speak English too. (note: I am a Blackjack)
Spica aren’t well-known for their fashion (looking @ u park narae) and their English isn’t great (looking @ u kim boa) - passable but not fluent - so do they really have a fighting chance just with their spectacular vocals alone? I wish that were the case, talent over everything else.
call me pessimistic, but if SM and JYP’s millions couldn’t make it over there, I don’t have confidence that B2M and their partnership with Merlot/Cory etc can. the last thing I want to happen to Spica is for their talent to be squandered and their hard work undone because B2M bit off more than they could chew.
as for not having anything to lose, I beg to differ. I feel that kpop audiences are fickle, and dropping out of the scene for a while can damage popularity that wasn’t easy to build up in the first place. sure, the core fanbase - Korean and international - will mostly remain (I know I will), but I’m talking about the general Korean public/casual fans.
the market is oversaturated (what an understatement) and it’s already hard enough for Spica not to be buried under this deluge of comebacks and debuts. they aren’t household names and they will be forgotten if they lose this great momentum they’ve got going with Tonight and YDLM. Korean media largely doesn’t report on overseas activities, so if Spica disappears to the US for goodness knows how long, there won’t be any media coverage. there are Mercuries in the US of course, but they’re not fansite unnirs who can keep Korean and international fans updated about their activities and keep them in the public eye.
and where are they going to fit this US thing between this upcoming comeback and their full album “in the fall”? we don’t even know if the song(s) they were working on with the US and Japanese producers is the same as the one(s) for the US, if there are different versions for both markets, if it’s a concurrent promotion etc.
really, the main issue I have is with B2M’s poor communication. I mean, I get that there’s a need for mystery/secrecy especially about unconfirmed plans, but when they specifically mentioned a June comeback and a full album in the fall, they should at least put out a statement about preparation delays.
there are four days left in June, and Narae mentioned on her radio programme two days ago that they still haven’t fixed a comeback date. that’s just BS. I was just starting to think that B2M knew what they were doing after Tonight and YDLM promos, but now…. idk, it’s fine if they want to copy YG’s delays and all ((no it’s not)) but they’d better hit it out of the damn park like YG did with 2NE1, AkMu and Taeyang’s albums and now Winner(’s teasers).
who am i kidding lol spica could make a comeback in tshirts and shorts and sing a nursery rhyme and i would snap (multiple copies of) that shit right up
perhaps what I’m most worried about is that if this US venture and/or comeback (that may or may not have anything to do with the US) flops, B2M is just gonna stop trying with Spica. B2M has a boy group that has been in training for idk how long, and I have a feeling they’re going to debut them soon because they need another moneymaker besides Spica/Hyori/Eric Nam, and nothing brings in the won like a boy group, apparently.
that means a Spica hiatus. and who knows whether we’ll even get that full album before they go on hiatus? I really hope B2M doesn’t give up on them, but it’s been two and a half years with only moderate (at best) success and I’m just terrified that they’ll pull the plug.
((digression: sometimes I feel like B2M already missed the boat by not promoting them as well during their debut compared to Tonight/YDLM.. but maybe that’s unfair to B2M because it probably wasn’t the right time for Hyori to get involved earlier..? and maybe I’m being pessimistic about Spica’s prospects because groups like SNSD and Nine Muses didn’t have the most stellar of debuts either (mostly 9m here lol) but gained more recognition and success later on.))
I’m aware that this is A LOT of tl;dr and overanalysis for something that hasn’t even happened yet and it’s based on pure speculation and pessimism on my end and B2M may have a really good plan and Spica may actually do well…….. but yeah, I can’t help it :/
overthinking is my full-time occupation, especially when it comes to Spica. I’d be more than happy for B2M to release something tomorrow that invalidates my opinions and make me feel like a fool for doubting them and for wasting my time typing this essay.. I really hope they do. PROVE ME AND MY PESSIMISM WRONG, B2M!!!!!!!!
will continue to be annoyingly pessimistic about this until B2M says something concrete. but first WE NEED AN ACTUAL COMEBACK DATE
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