With streaming services charging record amounts for payola, there are several labels that have turned to the cheating method used by the foreign born boy band to manipulate sales numbers.

BTS

BTS Denies Claims of Chart “Manipulation” Tactics: “We’re Easy Targets”

BTS wants to set the record straight when it comes to their success on the music charts.

For more than a year, the popular K-pop group has come under scrutiny for the band’s high rankings. Some consumers and critics theorize that their fans, the ARMY, might be gaming the system by organizing mass purchases of BTS’ music. Billboard notes that BTS’ singles have topped the music charts despite the group’s weaker streaming numbers and radio airplay than some of its pop contemporaries.

“It’s a fair question,” BTS member RM told the magazine in a cover interview, published on Thursday, Aug. 26, regarding allegations that the ARMY’s work amounts to chart manipulation. “But if there is a conversation inside Billboard about what being No. 1 should represent, then it’s up to them to change the rules and make streaming weigh more on the ranking.”

He continued, “Slamming us or our fans for getting to No. 1 with physical sales and downloads, I don’t know if that’s right…It just feels like we’re easy targets because we’re a boy band, a K-pop act, and we have this high fan loyalty.”

BTS’ latest single, “Butter,” is currently ranked No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. Their previous song, “Permission to Dance,” is at No. 66. Both debuted at No. 1. – Source

BTS Member RM Responds to Allegations That Their Fanbase Manipulates Chart Performance

K-pop megastars BTS have one of the most dedicated fanbases in the world, but recently it was suggested they had manipulated their chart performance.

The group’s latest single “Butter,” which is hopefully set to get a Megan Thee Stallion remix soon, is the longest-running No. 1 single on the Billboard Hot 100 this year. Some fans of competing acts have suggested it was only through organized “manipulation” of the charts from the BTS fanbase, known as ARMY, that the group was able achieve such success. While the fans are very dedicated and often extremely organized, BTS member RM firmly shut down accusations that “manipulative” tactics are in play.

“It’s a fair question,” RM said in a Billboard cover story. “But if there is a conversation inside Billboard about what being No. 1 should represent, then it’s up to them to change the rules and make streaming weigh more on the ranking. Slamming us or our fans for getting to No. 1 with physical sales and downloads, I don’t know if that’s right. … It just feels like we’re easy targets because we’re a boy band, a K-pop act, and we have this high fan loyalty.”

As is the case with most No. 1 songs in the U.S., streaming is the biggest contributor to chart success. BTS and its label Big Hit Music often drop multiple versions of each release, but it’s worth highlighting that this is a common practice across all popular music. “Butter,” for instance, had a total of eight versions across both digital and physical releases.

Some fans of the boy band are so passionate that they’ve pooled money together to help buy more purchases that count toward sales in the U.S., Billboard reports. This has resulted in accusations that ARMY used “fraudulent ways” to push BTS to the No. 1 spot, but music sales data company MRC Data has not raised any concerns about suspicious chart activity. – Source


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