RIIZE's 'Get A Guitar' initially boasted impressive first-week sales of 1.01 million, culminating in a reported total of 1.09 million units.
However, discrepancies between physical album shipments (Circle) and merchant sales (Hanteo) have raised suspicions, prompting a closer examination of the sales process.
Agency's Directive: Pre-Registered Orders Spark Controversy
Allegations suggest that the agency informed record labels about upcoming events, instructing them to pre-register a significant number of orders before the events even commenced.
This practice, which included lucky draws and fansigns, created a scenario where pre-registered "orders" exceeded the actual "sales."
Contrary to the reported narrative of 1.01 million initial physical copies and an additional 80K later, the 80K supposedly represents orders placed but not captured during the first-week sales.
This chronological misalignment raises questions about the accuracy of RIIZE's million-seller status within a mere week.
Post-Promotion Events: Impact on Sales questioned
Examining RIIZE's events since September, including fansigns and lucky draws, reveals minimal impact on sales. Even with the release of a digital single post-'Get A Guitar' promotion, the numbers failed to witness a significant surge.
Despite numerous events, RIIZE reportedly sold only an additional 1000 copies at the turn of the year.
This prompts speculation about the authenticity of the million-seller claim over a span of three months, raising concerns about possible inventory accumulation or unreturned sales by a record label.
Public Reaction: Doubts and Accusations Abound
Public response to the controversy has been a mix of doubt and accusations. Online discussions feature comments questioning the legitimacy of RIIZE's million-seller status, with some suggesting that the situation might be a new form of sajaegi.
"sm is buying riize's popularity"
"Wow, what is this?"
"Yet they introduce themselves as million sellers?"
"Amazing!"
"But what if the company couldn't sell everything? I won't be surprised if there are companies manipulating "
"This is a scam."
"treasure don't enter any charts, not even bugs "
"Is the company insane...?"
"So they're still holding fansigns for 'Get A Guitar'?"
"because yg doesn't media play with treasure the way sm does "
As the controversy surrounding RIIZE's 'Get A Guitar' sales figures unfolds, a cloud of uncertainty shrouds the million-seller status.
The discrepancies between reported sales, pre-registered orders, and the impact of numerous events raise significant questions about the transparency and legitimacy of the process.
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Written by Cassidy Jones.
