Few rules should be followed if you’re an internet user, but an unspoken and yet prevalent law that everyone must abide by is not to mess with BTS upon a new release — but Spotify must have missed the memo.
Four days after the release of the long-awaited solo album by BTS’ IT boy Jimin, FACE has had one of the biggest debuts in the group since BTS temporarily ceased group activities in favor of pursuing mandatory conscription back in June. As ARMY celebrates the release of Jimin’s first individual work outside BTS, attentive fans have quickly noticed that the English version of the song “Like Crazy” was not generating streams to the original Korean version after the music app discredited producer GHSTLOOP from the song.
After “SPOTIFYCORRUPT” started trending on the bird app, Spotify has taken the time to fix the crediting issue. With one problem down, however, another arose when fans notices that both songs’ streams are still falling, separately, on the music app’s charts. This SNAFU (an old U.S. Army acronym for Situation Normal, All Fouled Up) has too been extensively criticized by the massive fanbase, who have pointed out that several Western artists, like Ed Sheeran and Ariana Grande, have more than two versions of the same song where the numbers aren’t separated, unlike Jimin’s “Like Crazy.”
Moreover, the passionate fanbase has used up the opportunity to call for fairness and cease inequality when it comes to BTS’ successful numbers in comparison to those of their industry peers. While this is the first instance of alleged “sabotage” from Spotify, it is not an isolated case.
Albeit a minor occurrence for many, ARMY is extremely protective of BTS’ success and exposure, as the group suffers from continuous undermining by the Western music industry. Nonetheless, all seven members can rest assured that no matter what goes on, ARMY will have their back.