Netizens Raise Anger After HYBE Reveals New And Costly Changes To Weverse

Some of the shocking changes directly impact international fans!

Netizens have raised anger towards HYBE after changes to the global platform Weverse were announced.

The promo picture when HYBE started promoting a unified Weverse following the closure of VLIVE | Weverse

When the platform was founded, it was seemingly assumed to only be for HYBE groups. Many groups joined the platform following TXT in June 2019 and BTS in July 2019. Since then, it has allowed fans to interact with idols, whether it’s through messages or live broadcasts.

BTS group broadcast on Weverse | BTS/Weverse
TXT doing a group broadcast | TXT/Weverse   

While Weverse used to be an HYBE-only platform, after the closing of VLIVE, it has become a main platform for most artists from different companies.

Although fans had their grievances, such as the lack of subtitles, it became a centralized hub for K-Pop. Yet, it seems like there could be some huge and significant changes to the platform.

During the HYBE “Q1 2023 Earnings Report,” changes to Weverse were revealed to the public.

The new changes to Weverse | HYBE

While the Weverse DM is something fans are aware of, and the “Weverse by Fans” seemed intriguing, the “Membership+” is what seemed to anger fans. Looking at the photo, it seems like a new fee will have to be paid to access certain features.

While some options seemed reasonable to be paid services, fans were able to freely enjoy options like subtitles, ad-free options, and access to an early instant replay.

The features of “Membership+” | HYBE

When the new plans were released, netizens were unsurprisingly angry. Although some found it an excuse to make jokes, including the length of BTS V‘s broadcasts probably shorter than the ads…

Yet, for most, it was something that netizens couldn’t comprehend. It angered them that HYBE seemingly wanted to profit from fans even more. While everyone would be impacted by the ads, international fans would be directly affected by having to pay for subtitles.

In particular, one netizen posted that it would go against HYBE’s ideology to have music being the bridge between language barriers.

While it was the perfect way for international netizens to understand what the idols say, many even pointed out that learning Korean would be easier and cheaper.

If that wasn’t enough, during the call, it was revealed that the executives at HYBE deliberately put “Dynamic pricing” for their concerts and artists, including TXT and BTS’s Suga. This is something that has been criticized as it means that ticket vendors can increase the prices of tickets depending on demand.

While it is only natural for HYBE to want to expand the platform, taking away basic features, especially subtitles, becomes a barrier for global fans who want to enjoy K-Pop, instead putting a price on the “privilege” to enjoy what Weverse (and before that VLIVE) had previously provided for free.

Source: HYBE Corp

BTS

Scroll to top