[talk] Kids, Treating Fans as 'Fools'?...Recruiting Fans to Work 'Unpaid'

Cube Entertainment (hereafter referred to as 'Cube'), the agency for the group (G)I-DLE, is facing strong criticism after posting a notice recruiting fan supporters.

On the 17th, Cube posted a notice to recruit (G)I-dle fan supporters through the fan community Weverse. According to the notice, the offline fan supporter recruitment period is from the 17th until the number of people is met, and the number of people recruited was not announced separately.

The activities of (G)I-DLE's fan supporters include public broadcast scenes and fan club management, and the qualifications for support are largely as follows: '(G)I-DLE's official fan club membership member', 'those who are over 20 years old and can participate in offline activities without time restrictions', 'those who will not disclose the fan club's operating status to the outside', and 'those who are not fan supporters or executives of other artists'.

When the notice was posted, controversy arose among fans, with some suggesting that Cube was using their fandom to demand 'unpaid labor'. The argument was that mobilizing fans for free to manage the site was not in line with contemporary sentiments.

In response, (G)I-DLE fans were in an uproar with criticism such as, "Doesn't Cube even have an on-site manager?", "You should pay for a fan manager, it doesn't seem like you're using your fans", "Having someone who can do offline activities without time constraints is just like hiring a slave", "You're blatantly treating your fans like fools", and "Stop using the fans' affection for your artist."

https://m.entertain.naver.com/article/213/0001298330