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Early in June, those fans - collectively called
ARMY - put their energy behind an online campaign called #MatchAMillion
to raise money for social justice causes in the United States.
It hauled in $1 million in roughly one day, matching the
donation of the band itself to Black Lives Matter.
This accomplishment, ARMY members say, shows that being a fan of
BTS is about more than buying records. It also illustrates how
the fan base extends into older demographics, tying their
spending clout to a generation that is internet-savvy and able
to harness the power of social media.
"We're buying cars and selling out stadiums; you can't just do
that with some overexcited girls," said Erika Overton, 40, one
of the administrators of One In An ARMY, the fan group that
organised the #MatchAMillion fundraising effort. "This is not
just a fan group to enjoy music – it's an economic force, and
something you can't really dismiss as something trivial."
(Open https://tmsnrt.rs/309qC6P in an external browser to see an
interactive graphic on how BTS ARMY raised money for social
justice causes in the United States.)
Some Black ARMY members say BTS has a responsibility to continue
publicly supporting the racial justice protests that affect
them. And BTS has also publicly acknowledged their music is
based on hip-hop and R&B – genres that were created and
popularised by Black American artists.
But others are concerned the wider fanbase's attention to these
racial issues may be fleeting.
“When people care – like seriously care – they're going to put
action behind that and not just words. And to actually see
action behind it? That made me wake up and have hope,” said Nico
Edward, who runs a BTS reaction video YouTube channel.
“People lash out and do the hashtags and stuff and that's fine
to raise awareness, but it usually, historically, dies out and
people's attention moves to other things. But we're still
dealing with this every single day.”
(Reporting by Aditi Bhandari; Writing by Gerry Doyle; Editing by
Stephen Coates)
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