BTS continues to make waves in the music industry, continuously shattering records and inadvertently setting a high bar for their peers. The latest achievement comes from Jimin, the group’s lead vocalist, who has now claimed the Guinness World Record for being the Fastest solo K-pop male artist to reach 1 billion streams on Spotify – but it came at a big cost.
Contrary to popular belief among fans, Guinness World Records aren’t simply handed out to the public, not even to BTS. Guinness World Records is renowned for documenting extraordinary achievements in both nature and human performance, a tradition that has spanned nearly 70 years through its esteemed publication.
While achieving greatness is certainly deserving of recognition, every individual, including BTS, must fulfill certain requirements and meet the criteria in order to receive such a prestigious award, and that includes paying a large sum of money.
As per GOBankingRates, an economy-based website, in order to set a world record, not only do you need to pay a fee, but you also don’t win anything back. In fact, the acknowledgment may receive minimal attention on the company’s website and might not even be considered captivating enough to be included in their renowned book. According to the regulations set by Guinness World Records, there is a $5 fee for applying to establish a new category, while submitting an application for an existing category is free of charge. The application process itself typically spans over 12 weeks, involving an array of bureaucratic procedures.
Alternatively, if you want a record as soon as possible, it will cost a good buck. Currently at $800 for people trying to break existing records and $1,000 for those who want to set new records, every applicant must pay a large sum of money in order to apply despite not getting anything in return, nor having a guaranteed win. What this all means is that in the end, HYBE, BTS’ company, likely paid that sum in order to receive the recognition, in exchange for basically nothing.
While this doesn’t necessarily mean Jimin’s achievement is any less important, it does put things in perspective when a certain artist or celebrity suddenly achieves a ground-breaking record. At the end of the day, if the company has money to spend, why not spend it in making sure their artists receive the recognition they deserve?
BTS’ Jimin’s record derived from the release of his first solo album Face, which is currently available to stream on Spotify.
