FIFTY FIFTY’s CEO Allegedly Spent Lumpsum Amount On “Cupid” To Make It Go Viral

A music industry professional who goes by the name of HAVAQQUQ recently took to Twitter to discuss the viral success of K-Pop girl group FIFTY FIFTY‘s song “Cupid.”

Girl group FIFTY FIFTY

HAVAQQUQ is the founder of a Korean underground media company, Young, Gifted & Wack. As an industry insider himself, he claimed that FIFTY FIFTY’s agency ATTRAKT invested a lumpsum amount into TikTok influencer marketing to push for the success of “Cupid.” In one of his tweets, HAVAQQUQ mentioned that the group’s label spent around ₩8.00 billion KRW (about $6.08 million USD) on the song, a significant chunk of which was spent on TikTok. However, he added that the strategy caught pace only because the song itself was good, ensuring its extended stay on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

피프티 피프티 틱톡 바이럴에 돈 태운 거 업계 사람들 사이에서만 도는 이야기였는데 이번에 대표님이 자기가 80억 투자했다며 틱톡에 돈 썼다고 같이 이야기해 결국 다 알게됐네. 물론 바이럴에 돈 태워도 빌보드 핫100에 올라 오래 머무를 만큼 인기를 유지하는 건 곡의 힘입니다.

— 하박국HAVAQQUQ-303 (@HAVAQQUQ) June 29, 2023

The fact that FIFTY FIFTY’s virality on TikTok cost a lot of money was only known to people in the industry. But since the CEO said that he invested 8 billion won and spent money on TikTok promotions, everyone finally found out all about it. Of course, no amount of money can force something to go viral; It was ultimately the song’s power that made it popular enough to stay on Billboard Hot 100.

—@HAVAQQUQ,Twitter

He also followed the initial tweet with a screenshot of an email that proposed promotional content posting with influencers. HAVAQQUQ mentioned that the screenshot was just an example to demonstrate how social media and influencer marketing work for promoting songs. In the email, the discussion was about YouTube shorts, and influencers were encouraged to post content with certain tracks in exchange for which they would receive a cooperation fee.

Currently, our company is planning a YouTube Shorts digital promotion. We ask if you can participate this time.

To be more specific, if you use our company’s music (100 BGM songs) in a YouTube Shorts, we will pay you a promotion cooperation fee according to the number of uploads made. Currently, dozens of YouTubers are participating and earning a steady income of ₩1.50 million KRW (about $1,140 USD) to ₩6.00 million KRW (about $4,560 USD) per month.

If you use our music, it will not affect your advertising revenue. In addition to the revenue from YouTube shorts advertising, you can also receive PR sponsorship money.

If you are interested in this opportunity, we can talk more in detail online.

Thank you for reviewing this offer.

—The email in the screenshot

HAVAQQUQ also mentioned that the exact number of ₩8.00 billion KRW (about $6.08 million USD) was actually reported by Lee Jin Ho, a popular YouTuber and reporter who deals with Korean entertainment industry news.

YouTuber Lee Jin Ho mentioned “8 billion won” investment of ATTRAKT CEO | @Behind_Master/YouTube YouTuber Lee Jin Ho talks about how the money was spent heavily on TikTok | @Behind_Master/YouTube

After HAVAQQUQ’s tweets gained significant attention on online forums, netizens expressed their opinion on this revelation. While some were nonchalant, mentioning that every company spends money to make their songs go viral, some were taken aback that a small company like ATTRAKT spent such a lumpsum amount on a rookie group.

• “These days, TikTok’s influence has grown so much. So, it makes sense to promote there.”
• “Is there a company that doesn’t push for virality? It’s strange to see the criticism.”
• “A small company used up all of its money to promote the group… only to have the members run off. I feel terrible for the CEO.”
• “He really did everything he could. Wow.”
• “There is no company that doesn’t want [songs] to go viral. In fact, it’s a good thing that a small company spent 8 billion and tried its best.”

Meanwhile, all four members of FIFTY FIFTY is currently fighting a legal battle against their agency to suspend their exclusive contracts. Read more about it here.