As K-pop fans now know, music shows are an integral part of promotions in the South Korean music industry. Whether the artists are mainstream or independent, music shows are the easiest way for songs to reach mainstream audiences, increase popularity, commercial success, and gain new fans. On top of that, a good-humored competition is encouraged as new versions vie for the trophy of the week. With 10 and 20 releases each week, these wins help non-fans and the general public alike to focus on what they think is the best song of this promotional period as a priority. This is why SF9 fans are upset by a voting fan base.
While international fans don’t pay much attention to the victories of music shows, companies see them as a deciding factor in their artists’ success in South Korea. Artists may have had successful world tours and made it to international charts like Billboard and iTunes, but if they’re not popular in their own countries, companies sometimes have to resort to tough decisions. That’s why fans band together to help their favorites win as many music shows as possible and even resort to mass voting and streaming to collect the points needed to win. But it looks like SF9 fans have been fooled.
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SF9 fanbase embezzles funds
User @ SF9music_, a trusted Korean fan base, raised money from Fantasys (SF9 fandom) with the promise that they would use it for streaming and voting. And while SF9 won its fifth music show with ‘Trauma’ on December 3, fans noticed that the points did not match the claims of voting fans. For their recent victory, SF9 won solely from album sales from “Rumination” which is an impressive achievement, but fans felt betrayed as the digital streaming points were 7.
The voting fan base had been managing funds since 2020, which led Fantasys to realize that they had been scammed by noticing that the voting and streaming points for ‘Tear Drop’, the survival show ‘Kingdom’ and ‘Summer Breeze’ in 2020 were non-existent which didn’t make sense for a very popular band like SF9 who have a loyal fan base that has grown steadily since their debut in 2016. Some fans have calculated the amount embezzled to a minimum of 4.8 million won (~ $ 4,000). They then got fanbase @ SF9music_ to admit that they had actually hijacked and would fix it ASAP.
올리신 엑셀 로 계산 했을 때 횡령 한 금액 은 총 4,831,335 원 이구요 여기 에 킹덤 + 여날 춤 총공 남은 금액 까지 합하면 더 나오 겠네요 ^^ 지금 모금 하신 분들 환불 해드 린다 해도 하신 거 다 인정 얼른 킹덤 때 랑 여날 춤 어디 갔는지 도 해명 하세요 https://t.co/Jib1Vf8fxS pic.twitter.com/PUK5GFKRPc
– (@ kkyybb25) December 3, 2021
“It’s time to go to jail”
Fans and non-fans alike are unhappy that a fan base has benefited from fans’ love and loyalty to a band. Non-fans also supported Fantasys as they claimed they too would have been upset if someone from their fandom cheated on them with such a huge sum. One fan pointed out that the fan base had also been accused of being a stalker, “I don’t think you all realize how bad it is, the kfanbase administrator was a sasaeng and used the money for himself on top of that even spread rumors about some of the members and revealed the address of their dormitory, it’s really no fun.
Another Twitter user shared it wasn’t funny, “You all laugh in the quarters until that shit gets to your fandom.” One fan dispelled the confusion: “Some of you cannot understand what embezzlement is. The digital points were only 7 bcs they did not broadcast and the score of 0 is bcs this is their 1st week of promotion. No one manipulated the scores, in fact they managed to win with album sales after what this fanbase did. An angry fan tweeted: “The way you cut so many opportunities for sf9, a hard working band that deserves so much recognition… you will never feel happy again, go away.”
Another fantasy drove the scores up in the SF9 era on the survival show ‘Kingdom’, “The believer’s 3 digit kd digits are your fault !! while all the other teams got 4 digits digital and the endless array. kingdom era was your fault if nvr did anything. tear era we almost won bt lost bcz of agn digitals. all because you chose the pedicure instead than sf9. One fan was disappointed with the potential wins lost, “You mf..you are literally the reason for SF9’s digital suffering …. all those wins SF9 could have gotten if your asshole could have used it for the comeback. ”Another fan recalled the moment when ‘Tear Drop’ lost every win by just a few points:“ Your apologies can’t give Tear Drop a win, I think it’s time to go. jail.”
I don’t think you all realize how bad it is, the kfanbase admin was a sasaeng and used the money for himself on top of that even spread rumors about some of the members and revealed the address of their dormitory. It’s really not funny
– Halo SF9 VICTORY 5 + ATZ CB (@_xHalox_) December 3, 2021
some of you may not understand what embezzlement is. The digital points were only 7 bcs they did not broadcast and the score of 0 is bcs this is their 1st week of promotion. No one manipulated the scores, in fact they managed to win with album sales after what this fanbase did. you should all https://t.co/QLKq6Np9oC
– | ia mais stream TRAUMA 💄 (@fantasyenn) December 3, 2021
the way you stripped a lot of opportunities for sf9, a hard working band that deserves so much recognition … you will never feel happy again fuck you https://t.co/EOhsUA8vQt
– kyla (@chanigyu) December 3, 2021
the 3 digit digits of the believer in kd are your fault !!
while all the other teams got 4 numeric numerals and the endless board.The era of the kingdom was your fault if nvr did anything. tear era we almost won bt lost bcz of digitals agn. all because you chose the pedicure rather than sf9 https://t.co/RkMCRjrh75
– rti🧇☼ (@lilbaekyooni) December 3, 2021
You mf..you are literally the reason for SF9’s digital suffering …. all these wins SF9 could’ve gotten if your asshole could have used it for the comeback https://t.co/1m2rkElOCc
– Snehal Jadhav (@SJ_YIJDRZTHC) December 3, 2021
