There is no single advancement that has impacted music more than digital streaming. Digital streaming platforms are designed to churn out numbers, rankings, and geographic consumption rates. Over the years, however, this data has proven to be rather problematic; artists and label companies have taken advantage of the fact that reaching the “number 1” position on streaming sites is guaranteed to turn that artist into a hit, regardless of how popular they may be.
Not too long ago, an Indian rapper known as Badshah recognized this loophole. Badshah and his label company, Sony Music India, bought ads for his single titled Pagal. This propelled his video past 76 million views in the first day, effectively surpassing the previous record for most views in 24 hours, set by BTS and Halsey with their single Boy With Luv. In response, YouTube released a blog post stating that paid views will no longer be used for the “organic” 24-hour view count – therefore, the record would not go to Badshah.
A fascinating statement by YouTube, considering that hundreds of Western and non-Western artists have used ads to boost their views. Prominent Grammy-winning artists such as Taylor Swift have used this technique. Why, then, does this matter now?
Although YouTube has played a major role in global music consumption for many years, it appears that ARMY has strategically used YouTube to present BTS’ popularity to the world, demonstrating just how effective the platform can be in promoting music. These results have become apparent to many artists who also desire to reach such global heights.
Unfortunately, this is far from ideal – all artists should have an opportunity to achieve international success based solely on their art, regardless of the type of fandom they have. But since the Western music industry is nearly impossible for non-English artists to break into due to heavy gatekeeping and discrimination, non-English speaking artists must resort to other techniques, such as breaking view count records on more global platforms like YouTube.
ARMY has been one of the main catalysts in the fight for equal rights on music platforms. Unlike most mainstream artists, BTS worked their way up from the bottom in a manner rarely observed in music today. Almost all artists have some significant backing from labels and agencies that can pay for a certain number of ads and views. Yet BTS has never utilized such means; in fact, BTS has been caught in its own YouTube battle for quite some time now, being a frequent target for unexplained deleted views. Despite this, their approach to being global artists is not any different from the underdog artists they were years ago -- they focus on remaining grounded as individuals while also playing fairly in the music industry.
It’s a bold but righteous move, one that most artists would hesitate to take. The music industry today is more fast-paced than ever before, and industry professionals have different goals than they did years ago. Today’s music is all about quick profit rather than establishing passionate, dedicated audiences. Being nice rarely produces quick cash.
As a result, the statement by YouTube is also a reminder that BTS has shaken up this entire format -- in a market aimed at promoting superficial music and momentary fame, BTS has an opposite vision. Rather than creating profitable singles that are disassociated from their album, BTS outlines stories throughout their albums that then creates more holistic music. This, in contrast to the desperate attempt at making single hits that YouTube regularly gets paid for, generates a devoted fanbase that will stream for millions of views in the first 24 hours, reaching results that even ads struggle to produce.
This YouTube fiasco did, however, confirm that Western platforms are significantly biased towards non-Western artists. The timing of their statement was a direct response to an Indian artist taking over YouTube’s record. As an Indian-American myself, I was upset that YouTube only acted when it saw it as relevant - Badshah is popular among Indian music circles, and although he’s seen as more of a commercialized trend than a legitimate rapper, the commentary YouTube presented was clear: Western artists could continue using the same strategies and would most likely never face repercussions for them. Asian artists, however, must be called out.
These are much of the same biases that previously kept BTS out of mainstream US award shows and other Western events. The only difference is that there is now direct evidence of these unfair actions and BTS has an entire army to help them overcome these setbacks.
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Written By Alapadma
Edited By Aury