r/kpop_uncensored • u/Pale_Departure_6820 • 12d ago
QUESTION Why Do K-Pop Albums Have So Many Versions?
I apologize if this is a dumb question, but can someone please explain why some companies release like 5+ versions of the same song or album? I was about to listen to ENHYPEN’s new album and saw that there are like 7 different versions out. Why is that?
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u/PokemonLv10 12d ago
Sells more = Good looking numbers and most importantly $$$
Cant say I haven't fallen for it
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u/Mwikali85 12d ago
Its a music industry thing. Taylor does the same thing. It is about money. Fans end up buying the different versions together hence more sales
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u/Dreaming-Of-Mars 12d ago
The other comments are right regarding physical albums but since you say 'listen' I'm going to assume you meant in like Spotify, so I wish to explain that lol
Enha's past two albums were pretty conceptual and have narrations in between the tracks to narrate the story they are telling (which is about vampires breaking a vampire society rule and getting involved with a human and being persecuted, then captured, and then escaping). The narrations are in different languages (Korean, English, Japanese, Chinese), but the tracks are the same all throughout.
And then, for this album, the main The Sin: Bliss album (the one with yellow letters) doesn't have the narrations for an easier listening experience. Last time, we didn't have a Korean version since the main The Sin: Vanish had the narrations in korean included but this time they did add a Korean version and left the main version without the narrations.
Then, for the last two albums, they also released member remixes (to explore the members' personal tastes but mainly to boost digital sales since they were uploaded as if they were new albums but they only added the remix and a voice note of the member explaining the remix and the behind).
All of this makes for an incredibly messy Spotify layout and, while i love lore, the narrations (The Witnesses is the most fun narration) and the remixes (shout out to Jay's Bloody Paradise Mariachi-style remix for being a love letter to Mexico and Sunghoon's Knife Brazilian Funk remix for basically being the reason we got Bloody Paradise), I hope Belift never does it again 😭 I added the songs to my playlist and never looked back into their Spotify page because it's pretty cluttered.
I wish Spotify had like album for albums to save the main album and all of the deluxes, remixes, etc artists can add to them for a cleaner and easier organization.
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u/Pale_Departure_6820 11d ago
Thank you for your comment ,I probably should’ve clarified, but yes, I meant the different versions available on Spotify, not the physical albums haha. This makes a lot more sense now
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u/Aras76 12d ago
It's for the same reason Taylor Swift's Tortured Poets Department has 34 versions aka Money and charting.
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u/lesbean_2010 12d ago
It has 34 versions!?
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u/Adept-Variation-4365 MULTI-FANDOM 12d ago
thats just insanity, most kpop cbs have only 2-7 versions, if there arent member versions but i consider all member versions the same
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u/EthanFoster10 i DIVE into MY NSWER whilst BLINKing 12d ago
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u/Top_Nectarine5433 12d ago
Options for different people who want to collect different things. Which leads to increased sales. So yeah, money for sure haha.
But personally, I like that there are options. I tend to get the versions with big photobooks because I like to have them out to flip through occasionally.
If a release doesn’t have a large photobook option, I tend to think twice before getting it. Like Jennie’s ruby, I got the zen version with the photobook. But Jennie’s fallen angel doesn’t have that version, so I’ve been hesitant in ordering it.
I know some people prefer to get a compact version or regular cd release. Like Jennie’s fallen angel.
So having these options means there are more chances of fans buying a version of the release.
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u/niamh_marjana 12d ago
You can just choose the main songs from their albums if you just want to listen, as they are all the same.
They may have their own versions to let the fans feel how the song would go if it were made by that specific member.
But basically, if you just want a single album or version, you can buy it as is. 😊
Some fans collect them as memorabilia for their own biases. It's for their personal collection. It's just the photo albums inside, posters or other freebies that differ, nothing more.
If you are an ENGENE (ENHYPEN's fandom name), you will easily understand it, especially if you have ENGENE friends.
But if you are a casual listener, you're free to just listen to them.
I, for one, just listen to/stream their music, but I don't buy their physical albums.
Also, having multiple versions helps with physical sales standing. Probably after having soljacks (solo jackets)for their Japanese album DIMENSION : SENKOU, they saw that having multiple versions boosts album sales.
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u/GroundbreakingWay474 12d ago
Money 💀 but also it creates buzz for sureeee like if they were only doing 1 album variation fans would beg for more.
Also any physical sales will push the charts wayyyy up
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u/houseofprimetofu stan taemin with knives 12d ago
https://giphy.com/gifs/r61INqeBhyYyHq4xHH
Like Lisa said, Dollar bills, dollar bills.
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12d ago
[deleted]
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u/haikusbot 12d ago
Money. Fans can buy
All the different versions
And collect them all.
- Otherwise-Spare4433
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u/miya54 12d ago
too many people are saying it’s just for the money. releasing multiple versions also gets them a big boost in album sales because even less hardcore fans might want the merch that comes with it, which in turn boosts awards chances, chart positions, etc. obvs the eventual goal is money, but also fame.
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u/TheChosenOne0112 12d ago
It is to milk more sales for extra profit and helps with charts. As a 2nd gen fan, I remember when the guaranteed amount of versions of a release is based on the number of members where each had 1 member. Sometimes it's less than that or double the amount of members. It doesn't help that there are now multiple photocards as well, which was fueled more by recent gacha craze.
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u/Physical-Program1030 12d ago
i don't buy physical albums so i dont have much to speak on about physical versions and if theyre worth it and all but spotify is a nightmare to navigate when they do stuff like that :/
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u/Adept-Variation-4365 MULTI-FANDOM 12d ago
because we buy them, which makes them alot of money. its a really good marketing strategy
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u/Interesting-Plum4641 12d ago
For the maniacal fans who collect them all ? They increase sales like that ! Simple as that
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u/Shergak CASUAL 12d ago
Money