Is HYBE really charging ARMYs $120 for one season of their new BTS-inspired show?

The world of K-pop has undoubtedly pioneered the art of extracting as much money as possible from fans through merch, endless events, platforms… You name it. And this is coming from one such fan, so I have some firsthand experience.

The latest attempt comes from HYBE — the label behind groups like BTS, NewJeans, Tomorrow x Together, Seventeen, Le Sserafim, and countless others. The music industry juggernaut paired up with K-Drama production company Chorokbaem Media to make a BTS-inspired show called Begins ≠ Youth. Fans were excited to see the band’s fictional “The Most Beautiful Moment in Life” storyline come to life in this format after being explored through webcomics and music videos across the years. That was until they realized how much they would have to pay to see it.

How much is HYBE charging for Begins ≠ Youth?

The simplest answer is that HYBE is charging BTS fans $91,32 for 12 episodes of Begins ≠ Youth. Each batch of four episodes will cost fans $30.44 (discounted from $40.58 which would bring it to a total of $121,74). The general understanding is that the 25 percent discount is a pre-sale offer, and the price will increase after episodes are made available.

Episodes 1 through 4 will be available on April 30. Followed by episodes 5, 6, 7, and 8 on May 7, and the remaining four on May 14. But here’s where it gets tricky. The episodes are limited to existing stock because these are not regular digital releases, but something more akin to NFTs (non-fungible tokens), sold and operated through blockchain technology.

Anyone who wishes to watch the episodes after stock runs out must re-buy or rent them from other people who got there first, essentially turning these episodes into investments that may generate a large amount of profit through re-selling and renting, possibly causing price escalation, and drastically limiting the number of fans who can access the show. The $90 alone was reason enough for fans to express their dissatisfaction.

These types of technologies and concepts have been labeled under the banner of “Web 3.0” which aims to turn everything you find online into a financial asset that you can buy and own exclusively (like NFTs), thus “redefining content ownership and distribution paradigms.”

HYBE and Chorokbaem Media partnered up with South Korean-based company Fingerlabs Inc. for the show’s release. Fingerlabs Inc. is using Begins ≠ Youth as its calling card to launch their “fandom-based content distribution platform ‘Xclusive’.” According to PR Newswire, this is the first time Web 3.0 blockchain technology is used to distribute content in this way.

HYBE’s controversial history with NFTs and blockchain technology

This is not the first time HYBE has expanded to the world of Web 3.0, blockchain technology, and NFTs. The first came in 2021 when HYBE chairman and founder Bang Si Hyuk announced a partnership with Dunamu, a company that provides “blockchain virtual asset trading, securities trading, cryptocurrency exchange, and other related services,” per Bloomberg.

Together they launched the platform Momentica through which fandom-based content like photocards is sold as NFTs. It received massive backlash from fans due to the environmental concerns related to blockchain technology, whose profuse energy consumption results in significant greenhouse gas emissions.

By the time Momentica launched, there was a noticeable absence from its catalog of artists — BTS, the world’s biggest boy band and the reason HYBE became as big as it is today in the first place. There were unconfirmed reports in Korean media at the time, that the band’s leader, RM, had argued against BTS’ involvement with Momentica.

Whether or not the two things are connected, it should be noted that all seven members of BTS are currently carrying out their mandatory military service and possibly less involved in the nitty and gritty of HYBE’s decisions.