K-pop agencies hit out at YouTube for algorithmic errors

▲ The captured image shows the YouTube page linked to an impersonation account for V's "Friends." Currently, the issue has been resolved, and the impersonation account cannot be seen. (Yonhap)

 

SEOUL, March 22 (Yonhap) -- YouTube, a major global platform for promoting K-pop, has been causing headaches for various agencies as cases of troublemaking continue to arise.

 

According to sources in the music industry on the 22nd, a page allowing the creation of shorts (short-form content) using BTS member V's new song "Friends" recently appeared on YouTube.

 

However, it turned out that the YouTube account listed on that page was not an official one belonging to V or BTS but rather a fan-made impersonation account, causing problems. This could potentially mislead users who are unaware of the situation into following the wrong impersonation account.

 

Thanks to this, it was reported that the impersonation account experienced a sudden surge in followers within a day. As of the morning of the 22nd, the impersonation account is not visible on the page.

 

Upon the revelation of this fact, online spaces were filled with criticism, labeling it as a situation where agencies promote impersonation accounts.

 

Regarding this, a music industry insider explained, "Artist-themed channels are automatically set up according to YouTube's algorithm, so agencies cannot request their creation or modification. It's a structure that is created by the algorithm and updated periodically."

 

This issue stems from YouTube's automated system, and similar error cases have been reported not only for V but also for other artists multiple times. Each time, agencies had to individually request corrections from YouTube, but it reportedly takes a considerable amount of time for the corrections to be properly reflected in the system.

 

One agency continuously requested YouTube to rectify the error but received a response stating that "it takes a long time to resolve."

 

As a result, wrongly directed accounts gain tens of thousands of followers and views, causing agencies to miss out on crucial initial promotional opportunities.

 

▲ This image, captured from official YouTube channel of girl group IVE on March 4, 2024, shows the channel's name changed to 'SpaceX' due to hacking. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

Fourth-generation representative girl group IVE had their official YouTube account, with over 3 million subscribers, hacked earlier this month, resulting in it being inaccessible for over a day. Singer Lim Young Woong also experienced a significant drop in views, with over 170 million views lost within a day due to an error on his official YouTube channel in August last year.

 

In contrast, singer Movning's official YouTube channel experienced a surge in subscribers, reaching 24.3 million within a day in June last year, which was nearly half of the nation's population. At the time, Movning's agency stated, "We are communicating with relevant platform personnel to understand what happened," and the subscriber count later returned to normal.

 

A music industry insider pointed out that "there is a need for improvement in YouTube's system," emphasizing the necessity for reform on the giant platform.

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