HYBE clarify that BTS’s Grammy boycott is not a company-wide decision

A bit lost in all the hoopla and arguing yesterday about BTS’s announcement that they’d effectively be boycotting the Grammy Awards was HYBE commenting to Korean media on the decision. Framed as a clarification, they say it won’t be a company-wide thing, “This is not a boycott at the company level. If other affiliated artists express their intention to submit, we plan to proceed with the submissions as scheduled.”

Truthfully, that’s not all that surprising, as HYBE still have deep connections to the American music industry and are a growing presence in the Recording Academy itself. They are, like some other K-pop companies, now part of that mostly Western industry circlejerk being mentioned. Still, amid the fallout from BTS’s announcement from the Recording Academy, to their fandom basically pre-hating on anybody who does win that award, to the usually completely subservient Billboard suddenly throwing in a jab*, there’s enough potentially compelling things to monitor that arise from this**.

*”Ironically, BTS’s smash English-language hit single ‘SWIM,’ which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, would have been excluded from this new Asian pop category anyway.”

**Already social media rants about BTS tearing down ab award meant for others from a Recording Academy member.

Seeing whether the Recording Academy reacts punitively to either/or HYBE or BTS next year or in the future should be interesting, and while the fandoms always fight anyway, if another HYBE group goes hard for the award BTS fans feel they essentially vacated for ethical reasons, I imagine that dial can get turned up past 100 towards whatever group that is really fast.

For me personally, though, the media’s kayfabe towards BTS showing the slightest of cracks in their coverage of the decision is probably the most interesting aspect to track. The most prominent and industry-connected/-friendly Western media is usually fine enough with riding along with the wave if the artist is cooperative, but considerably less so if they don’t play along, and I just wonder if there will be any change in the way they’re covered overseas. To some extent, with the trend of fan journalists firmly embedded by now, I think the status quo will likely mostly remain, but trying to track potential PR shenanigans is always entertaining in its own way.