How the BTS ARMY is a Reflection of BTS’ Music!
In a recently published Forbes article, music industry executive Scott Cohen recounts his ARMY story — confused and panicked, the employees at the digital distribution company The Orchard were trying to find out how a billboard advertising BTS in London had gotten cleared. It wasn’t long before they realized that the billboard was funded entirely by BTS’ fans, collectively known as ARMY. Clearly, “BTS had awakened a passion in their fans, unlike anything the music industry had seen before.”
Fandom culture has always been a mystery of sorts — for years, observers have studied, dissected, and theorized the various facets that drive fans to organize massive collaborative efforts to achieve common goals. Today, however, no discussion on fandoms can be complete without mentioning the most powerful fandom: The BTS ARMY.
Every artist wants an ARMY. As popular music industries grow increasingly capitalistic, artists depend on fan bases that actively consume all types of content. Businesses pour millions of dollars into finding marketing tactics and outreach formulas that fuel this level of public engagement. Millions that essentially strive to answer the burning question, how does one create an ARMY?
What is BigHit’s secret formula? How did BTS do it?
From the perspective of the business-oriented mind, there is a clear intention in how BTS is marketed — the band has their own logo, their own variety show, collective social media accounts — all which are undoubtedly carefully constructed means of communication. A business person is prone to look at these intentional measures and consider BTS’s fan base as nothing more than a result of their clever marketing strategies. However, BTS’s approach to social media and marketing is not significantly different from various music artists from all over the globe, yet these artists have failed to establish a fan base as passionate as ARMY. BTS member Jimin expressed his own perplexity at the phenomenon, asking “why do people like us? Probably because we work hard, but who doesn’t work hard? Others make good music and do their best too” (BTS Docu series, episode 5). While smart business certainly has its benefits, it alone is not enough to create an ARMY.
It is fairly intuitive to associate certain personality traits with specific forms of content. While one might be able to stereotypically assign certain characteristics to fans of Hip Hop or Rock music, people within these communities find similarities that, although much more complex than what outside observers see, allows them to associate with each other. It is the collective force of these very bonds that drive the organized interactions that define fandom culture. ARMY, however, challenges this idea.
ARMY, like BTS, is collaborative. Members of ARMY exist in their own groups, finding commonalities within sub-communities in the fandom, but coalesce as one in efforts to achieve the main goals. Each sub-group of the fandom pursues different interests —intellectual theories embedded throughout BTS’s music, creative art inspired by BTS, discussions through social media, community-wide charity projects — all under the name of ARMY. In a fandom as expansive and diverse as ARMY, it seems rather impossible to find a sense of commonality that unites the entire community.
There is inherent complexity in ARMY that is often lacking in other established, organized fandoms due to ARMY’s cultural, social, and intellectual heterogeneity. Therefore, the content required to create an ARMY must reflect all these characteristics. As a medium of art, it must imitate cultural, social, and intellectual heterogeneity delivered within a sphere of inclusivity. Finding a platform that satisfies all these requirements is rare. Finding an ARMY, therefore, is also rare. The only place it currently exists is with BTS — and the only content that embodies these principles is BTS’s music.
Music is often thought of as a participatory means of emotional communication, and BTS and ARMY are a direct example of this. BTS’ earlier works, full of anger and outspoken criticism of society, invite a sense of defiance among ARMY, one that pushes them to vocalize unjust practices in music and journalism industries. Along with their defiant music, BTS continues to write songs of self-love and positivity, inspiring a sense of hope, love, and acceptance among their fan base.
BTS’ music also embodied dense, reflective symbolism, both in the music videos and lyrics, that fueled an ARMY culture of investigative work, theories, and intellectual analysis. While many suggest that BTS’ personalities and journey drive their passionate fanbase, these very personalities are what make BTS’ music so personable. It is BTS’ own unrestrained sincerity, conveyed through their own music, that empowers millions to join forces with each other. If music is a means of emotional communication, then BTS’ music communicates an emotional journey, one wrapped in elaborate storytelling that symbolizes the members’ own personal traits and life lessons over time.
The characteristics of ARMY are not just reflected in the messages of BTS’ music but in the style of the music itself. BTS are genre-bending artists, allowing for their sound to come with few preconceived expectations. It is difficult to determine what a new BTS song will sound like due to the sheer diversity in the band’s style. While such flexible, unpredictable content is a nightmare for any marketing campaign, BTS has managed to maintain an inquisitive, enthusiastic community despite the lack of clarity on what content the fanbase will be receiving. Therefore, there is a deep sense of trust between BTS and ARMY — BTS maintains sincerity throughout their music, promising fans that no matter their creative direction, their music will be the best they have to offer. In turn, ARMY continues to embrace BTS’ honesty, giving them the freedom of artistic experimentation throughout their music.
Asking how to create an ARMY is essentially the same as asking how to create a culture — how do you establish a way of life, a means of identity? No marketing formula or business tactic can truly match the force that is ARMY, despite the fact that ARMY’s creation is no longer a secret – ARMY is simply a result of musical storytelling and has consequently formed a deep connection with the narrators of that story. As time will tell, such a personal, unique bond between audience and artist cannot be replicated or forced.
DISCLAIMER: I do not own any audio & visual content in this video except for the editing. ALL RIGHTS BELONG TO THE RIGHTFUL OWNERS. No copyright infringement intended.
Written By: Padma
Edit By: Aury and Mheer
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