“Need To Boycott”? Orbits Voice Extremely Mixed Reactions To ARTMS’s Latest Announcement
After leaving BlockBerry Creative, Heejin, Kim Lip, JinSoul, and Choerry signed exclusive contracts with a new agency, ModHaus. ModHaus CEO Jaden Jeong specifically reassured fans that the four idols “will continue the identity of LOONA.”
And also promised that the four members had “already started recording.”
We already started recording. It felt refreshing to see the Odd Eye Circle members again in the recording studio after so long.
— Jaden Jeong via NME
ModHaus also introduced the name of Heejin, Kim Lip, JinSoul, and Choerry’s current activities: Artemis Strategy (or ARTMS).
ARTMS is not a name of a new group.
It’s a story about the amazing strategies and plans of the girls to get to the moon.
HeeJin, Kim Lip, JinSoul, and Choerry, will start this story.https://t.co/mOvZ6PC72B#HeeJin #KimLip #Jinsoul #Choerry pic.twitter.com/R29RyIcvXQ— official_artms (@official_artms) March 31, 2023
And not only were fans excited that the members seem to have been able to keep their stage names, but the teaser image for ARTMS showed 12 moons, possibly hinting at the future of the group.
loona rebirth. oec will find them. heejin will create the universe. this lore about to begin again 😭 https://t.co/O0rD01Jmao pic.twitter.com/wI7OoYsfY6
— doggo (@louminousdarren) March 31, 2023
Fans also loved Heejin, Kim Lip, JinSoul, and Choerry’s gorgeous profile pictures for ARTMS.
The big 4 🔥#ARTMS @official_artms pic.twitter.com/AscDn2Ccy2
— Kim lip¹² (@Forkimlip_12) April 12, 2023
But when ARTMS announced that they would be using NFTs, which fellow ModHaus group tripleS also uses, fans weren’t so happy. For tripleS, netizens can vote for the group’s concept and lineup for each comeback by purchasing NFTs. And it seems like fans will also be able to purchase NFTs for ARTMS.
I got excited until I realized it was an nft 🤥
— steph (@pinkysgs) April 13, 2023
NFTs have been controversial in K-Pop, with many entertainment companies creating their own. The issue many netizens have with NFTs is that they aren’t environmentally sustainable. The number of computers required to keep track of all the information for NFT transactions takes a substantial amount of energy. The power necessary usually comes from power plants fueled by fossil fuels, which emit carbon into the atmosphere and contribute to climate change.
So understandably, many fans are unhappy with ARTMS using NFTs.
this is literally how it feels like https://t.co/obNSXPWhWR pic.twitter.com/efgR5cWF1p
— miyano • PLS READ PINNED (@maruyaemrest) April 14, 2023
Who the hell asked for this https://t.co/tEFRVTFpuj
— 💖☁️¹² (@chaeoerry) April 14, 2023
Some fans have even brought up the idea of potentially boycotting ModHaus since their previous boycott with BlockBerry Creative was so successful.
we need to boycott these nft “objekt” things because general nft issues aside ,, if this starts working like triple s then whoever has the most money to spend on these stupid things is gonna be deciding loona’s musical/creative direction :/
— oh ryan (@haseulgbt) April 13, 2023
sick and tired of kpop groups selling nfts… jaden jeong u going to hell https://t.co/I43d36ja60 pic.twitter.com/aAncMrDaRK
— cece (@llovelyhyuck) April 13, 2023
And while these NFTs allegedly run on a carbon-neutral blockchain, many netizens still argue that the difference is not significant enough to warrant their support.
“carbon neutral nft” is GREENWASHING and has no legal definition.
Greenwashing is designed “to make people believe that a company is doing more to protect the environment than it really is.” https://t.co/kHnMOwq7xR
— ˗ˏˋ🍓 ════╗ (@haseulfromloona) April 13, 2023
also i attached the thread for explanation that these are nfts, but i believe there is no such thing as an “environmentally friendly” nft even if promoted that way because “carbon neutral” simply means they are solving a problem they created in the first place.
— lei (@exohibit) April 13, 2023
But many fans are also concerned about how Heejin, Kim Lip, JinSoul, and Choerry will get paid if a boycott occurs. Some fans believe supporting the idols is most important, given their pervious struggles under BlockBerry Creative’s mistreatment.
orbits don’t realize that artms objekts will also be sold physically and you don’t have to scan the qr code on the back if you don’t want it registered on the blockchain, it’s as simple as that 🤷
— alex1.wav 🌴 (@lyonwav) April 13, 2023
I hate nfts but if the girls get paid from this ngl I wouldn’t mind https://t.co/lVlUBPZI1x
— daniela 🌹 🇭🇳🇺🇸 🍃💨 (@diosdinerodani) April 13, 2023
I need my wabbit moots to rt this. Please, spread the word.
We should support the girls more that they have a sure-fire way of gaining more money, instead of what monetization model the girls had with BBC that sent them to debt.
— PotetoEcho¹²*²⁴ 🧀💫 (@potetoecho) April 13, 2023
While others argue that there need to be other ways to support them.
and it's the way orbits want to support the girls so bad after everything they've been through, but why nfts ????? like jaden i'm sure there are other ways to get your money …. https://t.co/ENeqGC2z3v
— hyeju love bug 🦋☁️ (@hyejuskies) April 13, 2023
As of now, fans seem conflicted about how to best support Heejin, Kim Lip, JinSoul, and Choerry.
You can read more about NFTs here.
You can read about tripleS’ use of NFTs here.
TripleS Releases Debut EP “Assemble” Through An Unorthodox Voting System
