Ask any SONE about the extent of Girls’ Generation’s popularity, and the response will likely be the same: “They are a global sensation.” And it’s true. By and large, it has become a Global Generation, stretching across the world, enjoyed by people of all walks of life. But within that is where we start to see sharp differences in fans: not in their love, but in their wealth. While there are individuals with high-paying jobs and disposable income, there are also students with nothing but a meager allowance attempting to import relatively expensive albums from halfway across the world. It’s situations like this that make us ask, “Does merchandise and money spent on the group measure a person’s dedication?”
We’ve all heard the stories and the jokes when it comes to the cost of the fandom. Whether it is something small like a digital release on iTunes, or something elaborate like the $170+ Complete Video Collection (Blu-ray, of course), to the oodles of “I Got A Boy” sponsored merchandise, fans are constantly spending. I’m honestly convinced that fans say “I’m broke” more often than cheer when a new release is announced, as seen with “I Got A Boy” when fans lamented about having to spend $200 to own each of the ten individual albums. This isn’t even counting concerts, where people can spend as little as $40 for a cheap seat if they live in the area and have a casual interest, to upwards of thousands of dollars for people flying in from a different country and aim for nothing less than the best seats in the house, or even more elaborately, attending every date of the tour, no matter the location; such is the habit of certain well-off SONEs.
This past month alone, we saw the release of the “I Got A Boy” fangoods with a total value easily over $500. Some fans opted to purchase their bias’s hat, while some chose to purchase the entire set, and still others were unable to scrounge up the cash or didn’t want to put money down on something they didn’t feel was worth their hard-earned cash. Are any of them wrong in their choices? No. They all they made their decisions based on what they felt would be best for them as a fan, and that’s something we can’t really dictate that others do as well. It’s a decision that can only be made by ourselves.
But what about those less fortunate? While many of us can arguably afford at least an album, for some fans, notably the younger fans without jobs or those struggling to make ends meet, even just one album or a Japanese single is stretching their budget, much less when they desire to own much more than that. Many will argue, “Not eating out for a meal or two and you’ll have enough money”, but to some fans, even that’s too big of a price. Is there a rule saying we need to own merchandise to be a fan? Isn’t loving, following and spazzing about the group enough to be considered a fan? I’ve been unfortunate enough to witness an incident where someone was “judged” for not owning any merchandise, even when it was entirely out of their control.
Even without funds, there are still several ways to support the group. End-of-the-year award shows typically factor online voting in their award decisions (usually around 20%), or occasionally even have an entire award based on a poll. With some of the most prestigious awards, like the Disk Daesang at the “Golden Disk Awards”, factoring in fan votes, a simple click of the mouse can somewhat suffice for the inability to purchase an album and can often be done repeatedly, depending on the rules. Other shows, including the “Mnet Asian Music Awards” and “Seoul Music Awards”, also use a similar system.
Social networking is also an easy and free way to help them out. A like/follow/retweet/view on pages like Facebook, Twitter or YouTube generates interest from big names, such as YouTube itself linking and tweeting about recent Girls’ Generation music videos like “PAPARAZZI” and FLOWER POWER”, and are often referred to by journalists in articles, such as the recent article referencing them in The New Yorker. Facebook pages are simple, and be it the Girls’ Generation page or the SMTOWN page, liking either is a way of helping them grow in size and letting others know how SONEs and K-Pop fans together are slowly growing across the globe. With the amount of airplay “I Got A Boy” is getting, even as a teaser, a simple request or phone call to the local radio station can potentially jump start a phenomenon that could sweep across an entire nation…and a phone call is something just about anyone can afford to do.
For those that simply cannot resist purchasing merchandise even though they are on a limited budget, there are ways to circumvent or alleviate that urge. Many large communities across the globe such as Singapore, the Philippines, and the United States regularly do bulk orders for various albums or pieces of merchandise, which can bring a $25 expense down to a $15 one if enough people join. To some this may not seem like a lot, but to others, it’s the difference between “affordable” and “out of reach”. Even better, where available, iTunes versions of albums have no shipping fee or tax, and are instantly downloadable, a godsend to those in remote areas where K-Pop albums are not readily available. Even simply hunting around eBay or other websites can lead to people selling their old collections for a fraction of the price of a new one, providing a simple way for people to inexpensively jump start their Soshi stashes.
At the same time, there is a cheaper method for supporting Girls’ Generation: Twitter spamming. The project drive to get them slots on shows like “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” as well as radio stations simply requires a Twitter/Facebook/e-mail account and the means of reaching those in charge. It’s a stark contrast to the need to spend money, and in many ways, could be even more beneficial to the group than buying albums. Who’s to say a couple of minutes a day behind a computer clicking a mouse and typing isn’t as important as the spending of actual money, when both lead to equally favorable rewards for both the individual and the growth of Girls’ Generation? You can even go as far as factoring in the “9 Days of Caring for Girls’ Generation“, where the support of fans in various charitable activities can help spread awareness and support the girls in a different fashion. Perhaps the kindness of one SONE can lead to the birth of another SONE by the sheer factor of giving.
As the years go on, and the amount of merchandise grows larger, people will opt to buy or ignore, splurge or save. But no matter what, every SONE is a SONE, and no amount of money spent can equal how much they love Girls’ Generation in their hearts.
Disclaimer: Views expressed are solely those of the author and are not representative of the Soshified community as a whole.
Photos by: KC@soshifed, Soy@soshified
Written by: SNSDave@soshified
Edited by: moonrise31@soshified, SeraphKY@soshified, MoonSoshi9@soshified
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I’m so jealous of those rooms my mom don’t like kpop in other words hate kpop so she never let me buy or order for collection or anything else and i’m still student so i can’t buy them by my self the only thing i do is that i vote as much as i can and tell my friends about kpop and snsd but they think I’m kind of crazy about them :'(
Are snsd coming to australia
How.much are ticket prices aud
How much for just 1 poster IM 13
Hey could I ask when snsd will come to Australia? And how much are tickets in AUD correct? How much is merchandise like yoona/Tiffany/taeyeon posters?
Hey could I ask when snsd will come to Australia? And how much are tickets in AUD currency? How much is merchandise like yoona/Tiffany/taeyeon posters?
Nice one! It’s totally sensible to put it this way. I just own the repackaged albums and the concert DVDs. I don’t all buy the merchandise all willy-nilly. Although I busted a lot for the 2nd Asia Tour in Bangkok, SMTOWN in Taiwan, and DKFC in Manila, I did save a lot of money. But I am also at that age where I need to think about buying my own living space. So financially, it’s a really tricky situation. I do agree that there are tons of ways to support SNSD, and online activities do count a lot.
Nice read here! Gratz!
i can totally relate to this article!!! HOWEVER i’m not a fan who has lots of Soshi merchandise instead i’m one of those less fortunate ones..
since i’m still a student, i could only depend on my meager allowance and just recently they went to the Philippines to perform in DKFC and it just sucks so bad not seeing them personally since it’s their first time to perform here and i can’t do anything about it coz no matter how much i save up, with all the expenses such as plane tickets, concert tickets etc, I still can’t make it.. And so, instead of crying or feeling really bad about it all day, i tried to make up for it by showing those simple ways to show support to GG such as watching their Youtube videos to increase the views and voting them on online polls.
So to all my fellow SONES, in whatever way, let’s continue showing our support to Sonyeoshidae unnies.. SNSD jjang! SONES daebak!
Nice Rooms. I totally agree with what you say. Happy 5th Birthday to SSF! :D
Wise words from a wise SONE ^^
Hope this message reaches out to all the SONEs out there ~
Happy Birthday SSF !!
a very awesome article from a very awesome author! happy birthday Soshified!!^^
Fantastic article, enjoy reading. It both makes me feel exciting about buying more merchandises to support the Girls, but then there are definitely times I would say, man where did my money go? Haha.
You don’t have to buy a lot of stuff to be true SONE if you can’t afford, buying is not the only way. Telling people about SNSD is one way to be SONE. ^^
I totally agree with this article and the sheer awe in those rooms, makes me want to buy more ;p
That Sone that was described as being a student and only having pocket money, and birthday and christmas money to spend on Soshi goods is me :) I am collecting Soshi’s albums, dvd’s ect… But I know that even though I don’t have that money to buy things, that it doesn’t matter :) You’re still a sone even if you don’t buy merch… We all love the girls and thats what matters :D
I can’t help but nod in agreement to this article. Being a SONE from the PH, it is quite tedious to keep on ordering stuff online. I don’t like to go through the process but with the girls, I don’t hear myself complain. Not once. I never expected to even like the word “waiting”. I work online and don’t mind spending a huge amount of money for these girls. The DKFC event here in the PH was no exception when I just had to book for my flights and find a hotel to stay overnight. It was my first time to see them live and I couldn’t just miss that! Lost my voice the next day but I felt like the happiest creature on earth. I love them and have no regrets. Been a fan since 2008, still catching up on all their albums and slowly getting everything in place. I love the feeling of having all their albums rest on my desk while working – MOTIVATION! <3
Well said :)
i spent almost 300USD on IGAB stuff and im not disappointed. but as Dave said, each sone has their own way of supporting, some discreetly and some openly. if you love SNSD, you dont need to buy an album(well it would be better but it doesnt really matter) because you’re supporting them in YOUR own way..
nice one! this will be a reminder for me that eventhough I didn’t spend much money on snsd goods (bec. I have other priorities which is more important), I still put time on making fanarts to share it with my fellow sones which is kinda fun though, its like spreading snsd love. ^^
I agree with this article. It doesn’t matter how much merchandise you have to prove that your a SONE. (I’ve slowly started my SNSD collection late last year. So far I’ve brought some dvd’s and cd’s.) I’m a budget, so I typically spend only so much a month on SNSD stuff and the rest of my $ goes towards bills. lol
this is probably my favourite article to date by you, Dave! thanks for writing this :) a pleasure to read~ even the only mr taxi album i own was given to me as a birthday present <3
Great piece, Dave. Definitely agree with the overall message of the editorial. Just as a related aside, the mentality of “You’re not a SONE if…” needs to stop, too. The amount of judging that goes on in the fandom (in every fandom) is unacceptable. As much as they’re dying to, a lot of people just can’t afford to splurge.
Great editorial! Got me thinking about how these girls mean a lot of so many different types of people and how everyone has a different way of showing their love.
wow…daebak…
i wish i can have it too…
You’re a sone even if you aren’t able to have such wide collections when you have a pink heart and passion for soshi. Bravo to these people who support soshi too ^^. Don’t be disheartened if you don’t have all these collection as you have already contributed/supported soshi in the first place by registered in soshified.
Cheers~!
i totaly agree with this article.. sones have their own way to support SNSD..
i love all the rooms especially Soy’s one (the 3rd pic). i dream of having a room just like that with nothing but Soshi treasures. thanks for the article SSF staffs and thanks for the pics too. that’s right a Sone is a Sone in anyway they show their love. i need to start tweeting back those peeps on the list, requesting for our girls to be on. >.<
I suddenly felt ashamed of my shrine during my TV Interview. lol
woah those rooms are awesome *^*