SM Entertainment Accused of Sajaegi Scandal in RIIZE’s Over A Million Album Sales Deception — Here’s Why

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.”

CHART
(Photo : Panchoa)CHART

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.

RIIZE
(Photo : instagram)RIIZE

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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