Building a Music Network like NewJeans
On July 22, 2022, a music video was released from a girl group called “NewJeans” for their pre-release single “Attention”. The girl group made their entrance to the K-pop world with a “surprise release”, with no prior information about the members or promotional content for their debut. The following day, the 5-member girl group released their second pre-release single “Hype Boy”, with additional information about the names of the members: Minji, Hanni, Danielle, Haerin, and Hyein. On August 1, NewJeans released their self-titled debut EP, and buzz about the new girl group spread like wildfire around the K-pop world. They set a new record for a debuting K-pop girl group with 311,271 physical copies, the most amount sold from a debut EP. How did the girl group coming from nowhere all of the sudden rose up to the music charts and soon became a popular hit?
“Surprise releases” have been a common marketing strategy lots of musicians have done when releasing music. Most recently, Taylor Swift released her 8th studio album “Folklore” 17 hours after its release announcement in 2020. “Folklore” would later receive the Grammy for “Album of the Year” and widespread acclaim for Swift’s reinvention in her artistry. In order for a surprise release to be successful, there needs to be already anticipation from word of mouth beforehand. For NewJeans, there was already a word of mouth being spread earlier in 2022 of a new girl group debut under ADOR, the girl group’s entertainment label. ADOR’s CEO is Min Heejin, who is known for being the former creative director of SM Entertainment, one of the biggest labels in South Korea, and the Chief Brand Officer of Hybe Corporation, the multinational entertainment company home to the biggest boy group in the world, BTS. Already, there were individuals who knew about the upcoming girl group debut that CEO Min was preparing, they just did not know when.
When “Attention” was released on July 22, the music video reached 1.2 million views in 24 hours on YouTube. Over time, as people began to become aware of NewJeans’s debut, the song became more popular and the talk about NewJeans was all around South Korea. The song’s Y2K R&B beats are a major factor in garnering popularity in the K-pop scene. People who have listened to “Attention” would recommend it to other people who share an interest in K-pop. With hundreds of millions of people who listen to K-pop, NewJeans’s discography would strikingly enter the K-pop network. If two K-pop fans have listened to “Attention”, they would recommend it to another individual who also shares an interest in K-pop. Additionally, promotions during the pre-release singles on Tiktok and Instagram made the girl group’s information easily available to more people on social media. By the anticipation of their debut, 440,000 physical copies of the debut EP were pre-ordered. On the view of networks, NewJeans was able to successfully create its own global network as a result of people who are linked by a common interest in K-pop. The structural effects of the growth of NewJeans can be analyzed through the flow of information among networks of individuals and their behaviors. As the bridge between the Western world and K-pop becomes stronger, the chances for a new group to become popular are higher. The story of NewJeans’ success will be an inspiration for other South Korean entertainment labels to utilize similar marketing strategies to hopefully capture the attention of many avid K-pop fans.
https://www.billboard.com/music/pop/newjeans-interview-hybe-ador-girl-group-min-hee-jin-1235141512/
https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2022/08/17/entertainment/kpop/newjeans-hype-boy-attention/20220817131456552.html
The Trend of Surprise Music Releases: What Every Musician Must Know