I think the main difference between K-pop idols and Western pop stars is that K-pop idols need to be genuine pentuple threats. They need to be able to rap, sing, dance, rap and sing while dancing, have the ability to cultivate and commodify parasocial relationships that could make them the big bucks on twitch all the while maintaining model level good looks.
Euro/US/UK pop is a lot less demanding, you can usually make do with two of those.
I don't think it's so much that k-pop is uniquely exploitative as it is that K-Pop Idols are athletes, models, parasocial relationship commodifiers and musicians all at the same time so the k-pop industry is a combination of all of those industry's exploitative behaviours and pressures, with the caveat that as people who are capable of doing all those things at once are super rare, performers, and even promising trainees, have more power than anyone with only one of those skills in their respective industry.
I think the trainee system is what makes K pop more exploitive than the American system.
As far as I know, aspiring pop stars in America don’t have to sign 12 year deals with a company when they’re teenagers and move away from their parents to train and do school all the time with 1 day off every 2 weeks and no contact with their family.
They’re also competing with everyone else and getting ranked all the time, forced into starvation diets, training for like 10 hours a day. If they can’t handle the lifestyle and want to quit they have to pay back to company for their training and housing. They also are frequently groomed and encouraged to be escorts to wealthy creeps.
Most don’t ever debut and even the ones that do still don’t make any money until they pay back the company for their training.
There are a few aspects here that I think do happen in the American music industry, like unfair contracts, artists not getting paid, grooming/exploitation, being overworked and underfed, but I think it’s worse how it’s an official component baked into the industry in K-pop.
I think the main difference between K-pop idols and Western pop stars is that K-pop idols need to be genuine pentuple threats. They need to be able to rap, sing, dance, rap and sing while dancing, have the ability to cultivate and commodify parasocial relationships that could make them the big bucks on twitch all the while maintaining model level good looks.
Euro/US/UK pop is a lot less demanding, you can usually make do with two of those.
I don't think it's so much that k-pop is uniquely exploitative as it is that K-Pop Idols are athletes, models, parasocial relationship commodifiers and musicians all at the same time so the k-pop industry is a combination of all of those industry's exploitative behaviours and pressures, with the caveat that as people who are capable of doing all those things at once are super rare, performers, and even promising trainees, have more power than anyone with only one of those skills in their respective industry.
I think the trainee system is what makes K pop more exploitive than the American system.
As far as I know, aspiring pop stars in America don’t have to sign 12 year deals with a company when they’re teenagers and move away from their parents to train and do school all the time with 1 day off every 2 weeks and no contact with their family.
They’re also competing with everyone else and getting ranked all the time, forced into starvation diets, training for like 10 hours a day. If they can’t handle the lifestyle and want to quit they have to pay back to company for their training and housing. They also are frequently groomed and encouraged to be escorts to wealthy creeps.
Most don’t ever debut and even the ones that do still don’t make any money until they pay back the company for their training.
There are a few aspects here that I think do happen in the American music industry, like unfair contracts, artists not getting paid, grooming/exploitation, being overworked and underfed, but I think it’s worse how it’s an official component baked into the industry in K-pop.