Yes, mostly from kpop. Are you familiar with photo cards? An album of those cost a lot too. I'm not really into kpop but my friends are so I kinda see them buy some but not a whole album
oh wow. i mean i guess its a sort of merch too. I'd stick to buying just shirts and like records though
Yaaahh, I also heard than an album cost around $50-$100 dollars??? I'm not really sure
It really depends where you live, but most albums are around 25 dollars
well i mean to each their own. i wouldn't pay to have a photo album of random people. no matter how much i like their music. a shirt and like posters are different but why would people want entire albums of celebrities
Omg me too
Well the album is basically like any other record book it has all the songs listed and concept photos for the theme of the album. A lot of the artist have a working storyline and the like concept art, the photos of them are them posing in that said concept. Think of it like buying posters. Except its in a book form neatly placed and not ripped out. And a lot of the time the albums have official unreleased photos that werent released to the public unless u buy the album. Photocards are mini freebees for the fans most of the time its selfies taken from the artist themselves posing in cute ways. Most people see it as having a mini version of the star in their pocket. People just like collecting them cause again they are rare and random and their favorite artist took it themselves so its cute! I didnt mean for this to be this long but hopefully u get it ヾ(❀╹◡╹)ﾉ~
Yes! I’ve purchased albums, photo cards, light sticks, posters, and some plushies. But it’s crazy how I’m not as dedicated as other fans are. I’ve got 8 albums all from different groups (I’m a multi Stan) while others typically have 20+ or even more. I’m not that dedicated to k-pop as I was in 2022 so it’s been a while since I’ve collected lmao, I’m more of a book and figurine collector now. It’s just that it’s not only the music that they like? But the literally the members of the group. They don’t only release music videos, but also do personal vlogs, lives, show up in game shows and fan meetings, where you really get to know the idol/singer better as a person. That’s why fans tend to get attached more to than just their music!
so its a marketing catch to make fans form interpersonal relationships with these idols amd make them buy anything they throw out the market lol. the industry is smart ngl
oh if its about the music and the song making process i guess its more understandable, though i still dont understand the purpose of a photo card. like yes you like their music but in the end of the day its just some guy/girl you dont know. im all for enjoying music but never understood how people can make a celebrity into a such part of their everyday life like that.
Definitely a genius marketing strategy. But sadly these interpersonal relationships can seriously get out of hand, fans can get absolutely obsessed with the idols to the point of stalking them, from following them in airports, to getting into the same hotels as them, people call them “sasaeng” fans. And there’s sm more borderline illegal stuff that they’ve done that has reached the news
thats honestly so sad. for the idols and the delusional fans too. pretty sure its a form of coping for some of these people but to take it to that extent is wild
Haha ig its just a preference in people. For kpop artist a lot of their lives are on display. Theres a company that literally is all about digging for dirt on idols its called Dispatch (search em up some are pretty hilarious) but since their lives are on display a lot of their real life interactions are for the public eye and people can just genuinely like people you have never met and it happens. You may not know them but a lot of artist make their songs on own. And their songs like i said before always hv a message. And it has gotten a lot of people out of bad places. Its not simply cause the songs are catchy or the beats are really nice. The lyrics mean something and people can resonate with it. I mean this was me with BTS their music always had a message and you could hear their emotions through it. One song which is a parody of an existing one called Born Singer. Its literally them venting about their struggles in the peoples around them shitting on them for taking on the idol life instead if persuing a 9-5 job and basically calling them out now that they had made it. I dont mean to preach (though it might sound like it) but to some people these idols were their escapism from real life and hearing that these people had struggles like they did they tend to appreciate them and want to support them by buying their products ╥﹏╥
Though i can say i never strived deep enough to buy albums cause i wasnt old enough to buy such expensive things on my own but if i wanted to now i could. But i do know others who hv bought them and they are happy its something to display and show offヾ(☆▽☆)
I think it’s a personal preference. I personally love collecting things and kpop so it’s perfect. I have spent hundreds of dollars though but as long as it makes me happy right?
you do you queen
every artist and songwriter has a message, whatever that might be and i understand that it does help people thru hard times. i myself have been brought out of pretty depressive phases by certain songs and thats a hreat thing to have. however, no matter how much they are on display it is really never truly their own personality yk. it is literally their job to appear likeable for you. so forming a parasocial relationship with an idol like that is still not understandable to me because you never spoke to these people and dont really know what they are like off camera.
i guess to me its just a little dehumanizing to these people lol
do people actually buy physical photos of celebrities? like a pokemon card?