BTS' Suga calls out K-pop industry for treating artists like 'products'

BTS' Suga called out South Korean music labels for treating their singers and other talent like "products".

In an interview with Weverse Magazine, the singer shared his two cents on how the K-pop industry has been very problematic with the way they treat their artists to the point of exhaustion. 

"The great thing about the label I'm with is they listen to the artists' opinions. I think both we and the label know to a certain degree what kinds of activities would be best commercially speaking. But the question is whether the body can endure it or not," he said.

"If the fatigue builds up as you continuously do those promotional activities, it's hard to do them the way you did when you first debuted. In that case, I think the label ought to actively accommodate the artist's views about what they can and cannot do.

"An attitude that's just like, Oh, we made you kids, and as long as you just do what we tell you to it'll all work out, so just do it—I think that really doesn't make any sense. Of course, there could still be situations where the label has to be pushy like that, obviously. But I heard there's been times where a label will just say, Do it, without any explanation to the artist, or, Why are you talking so much? I think that's the biggest issue and it's destroying the industry. 

"If you just see the artist as a product, how can they do anything creative? I really think it's very contradictory to ask the people on stage to put on an enjoyable performance when they're experiencing neither fun nor enjoyment," he added.