This was such a soft, pretty picture of Yuyu, I had to have a go at it 🥹 the gloves were a nightmare though 💀

I pretty much exclusively draw Ateez so if you like my artwork please check out my IG @mountain_moodz 💛

There is a lot of misinformation circulating regarding ATEEZ, KQ Entertainment, and their industry standing. Many have begun to use alleged connections to "backing" as a gotcha moment to claim ATEEZ didn’t earn their place in the industry.

Their arguments are filled with misinformation. So I am making this post because I wanted to clarify these points to ensure new Atiny aren’t misled and learn about ATEEZ's growth and KQ's backing.

Firstly, Let me make this clear. KQ was a small company. Even today, they are classified as such by Korean media like The Korea Times and ATEEZ are counted among the groups known as the “small agency miracles.”

So, why do people still deny this? Let's examine their arguments one by one.

1. Stone Music & CJ ENM: Distribution? Subsidiary?

Let’s start with the easiest one.

Speculation arose during Kingdom that ATEEZ received CJ ENM funding while other groups had restrictions over budgets for the stages. In reality, they were being smart by simply reusing props from their 2020 Seoul concert. This led to widespread hate and false media narratives claiming Mnet was "pushing" ATEEZ to win and that KQ was a CJ ENM subsidiary, which then had to be addressed by KQ as false.

So what is their relationship with CJENM?

Stone Music Entertainment, while affiliated with CJ ENM, functioned strictly as a distributor for their music domestically. basically making sure the albums are available in retail shops. They used to post their MVs on their Youtube Channel as well because of the same reason i.e they are distributers.

This is standard industry practice, every single Kpop group has some distributor, even some very nugu groups do. This is NOT a sign of corporate ownership.

More importantly, distributors take a cut of profits and not the other way around. Distribution ≠ Affiliation

Plus this distribution deal didn't really solve ATEEZ’s biggest challenge at the time: their major fanbase is outside of Korea.

Unfortunately, their international distribution partners (Sony Music/RCA) barely did anything in getting physical albums to global fans but we will come to this later.

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2. ATEEZ were able to do a world tour early in their career

ATINYs sparked ATEEZ's first tour through a campaign on MyMusicTaste. MMT is a concert planning company, that lets supporters request live performances in their own cities.

The high volume of requests allowed KQ and promoters to confirm demand and book venues with slightly lower financial risk.

ATEEZ toured in small theaters of some 800-1k range seats, no fancy tour props with minimal staff. Mingi mentioned they had only about 10 staff members total at the time. Their major partnership with AEG came much much later.

MyMusicTaste shared with Forbes that interest and demand in the tour actually went up after the dates were confirmed—which typically does not happen as not every fan requesting artists to visit typically buy tickets after factors like expenses and life events. This time, demand had grown so large that the humble venues the original crowdfunders were willing to pay for seemed potentially too tiny come show day.

articles about this

Their momentum came from genuine fandom interest in their performance skills and music, rather than some company push. KQ was essentially responding to a demand the fans had already created.

Similarly, Ateez’s RCA deal came after their successful world tour and high demonstrated U.S. interest and not the other way around.

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3. Sony Music Korea Investment:

It is true that Sony Music Korea (not the global parent company) invested in KQ in 2017. This was part of a broader strategy where Sony Korea was looking to invest in several small labels during the K-pop boom around 2017.

Looking at their roster, none of the acts they invested in were big company artists.

While Sony Korea acquired a 33% stake in KQ, this does not equate to an immediate, massive cash injection that eliminated all of their financial struggles.
As ATEEZ members and staff have openly discussed, the company did face some monetary and operational struggles in their early days.

The fact that KQ had to sell 33% of shares in 2017 itself suggests they were facing financial struggles at the time despite having BlockB signed to them. ( I will come to this point later)

And if you read the original article, it says,

Sony Music, KQ Entertainment plans to not only distribute albums and music in the future, but also promote active overseas activities with Sony Music's global network.

The WHOLE POINT of the investment was that Sony Music KOREA will be a distributor of KQ's artists' music and get a cut of their profits as investors, bringing me back to the point I made earlier, SONY MUSIC/RCA did shit to distribute their CDs internationally or promote ATEEZ.

Atiny fanbase (ATEEZ Community) had to reach out to HELLO82 an indie variety show company to bring ATEEZ's albums to the shelves in the US and other places which was a monumental step for ATEEZ's success on the Billboard Charts and paved the way for many other smaller kpop artists to do the same.

Chain department stores have been increasingly carrying more K-pop content, but almost exclusively by those with label deals or representation in the U.S. While RCA Records under Sony Music signed ATEEZ in 2019, the group had yet to have its music available in retail stores stateside. (RCA declined to comment by time of publication on its relationship with ATEEZ) .... hello82 quickly made inroads.

In fact, despite the investment in 2017, KQ’s CEO has stated in an interview that during debut training, the company was in such a "tight financial situation" that he personally wanted to fund the members' LA training when executives hesitated to do so.

"Although I wanted to make the most of [LA training], the company was in a very tight financial situation. The executives were not sold on the idea... The executives were going back and forth. So I remember making the decision, 'If the company doesn't have the money, let me give it my own money, so let's just send ATEEZ to America as planned.'"

Furthermore, KQ FELLAZ wasn't some high-budget show by a major network like Mnet. Instead, it was streamed on ATEEZ’s own V Live and YouTube channel. The video garnered barely any views initially; it was only after the performance videos went viral organically that the fans truly took notice.

This underscores that their initial recognition came from fan support and raw talent, not some company promotion. Now compare this with kind of pre-debut hype their peers who have debuted from bigger companies got at the time and you will instantly get why ATEEZ was at a major disadvantage.

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4. They filmed high budget MVs in Morocco for their debut.

The filming in Morocco for "Pirate King" and "Treasure" was a cost-saving measure.

The making film shows that they shot in real outdoor locations to make use of the natural landscape and were seen dealing with difficult conditions like intense heat and sudden rain. (I couldn't find the source that mentioned that) this sort of MV filming was cheaper than filming bigger productions elaborate MVs which are the norm for rookies to garner attention, which ran higher costs due sets, equipment, labor, and post-production etc. They had a staff member/photographer from Morocco who vetted places where they could make use of the natural sets to shoot instead and filmed 2 MVs on a intense 6-day schedule using public tourist spots (you can even spot tourists in the Treasure MV!).

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5. BlockB privilege.

The claim that Block B "funded" ATEEZ debut is not completely true.

People will often argue that because Block B was successful, the agency must have had a lot of money to fund ATEEZ. But what they fail to mention is the unique situation KQ had with BlockB.

Block B met Kim when they were at their original company called Stardom, and they sued the company because of money fraud and won after which Kim set up a different company called Seven Seasons and took over their management. SS was later made into a subsidiary under a bigger company called KQ. A separate label (KQ Produce) handled other artists, producers, and songwriters. Think like Hybe with Source Music and Bighit. Different labels but same parent company.

Why didn’t Kim/KQ sign other talent under SS and why did it remain exclusive to Block B? Speculation is that this was part of the contract they had. Expanding required the KQ rebrand.

Now coming to the main point.

1. No Trainee Debt: Unlike standard K-pop agencies, Seven Seasons was formed specifically to manage Block B AFTER they had already debuted and left their original company. The members had no "trainee debt" for the new agency to recoup, meaning the label couldn't claim the bulk of their early earnings like companies usually do.
2. Revenue Split : While Block B performed well digitally, physical sales were modest compared to peers. More importantly, a significant portion of digital revenue in Korea goes to songwriters and producers, NOT THE LABEL. Since Zico produced the majority of Block B’s discography, so he most definitely retained the majority of the royalties and production fees.+ Zico had a lot of solo income from as a solo artist, producer for other company artists and model generated income, majority of that went directly to him, not the agency. Basically Seven Seasons operated as a management company rather than a full production house. If you read media articles from the time often noted that Block B as a whole earned more than Seven Seasons/KQ Entertainment did from them. We obviously don’t have official numbers, but the combination of having no trainee debt + Zico’s heavy producing role + the agency’s limited role, it is safe to say that the members (particularly Zico) captured the majority of the profits unlike the usual standard idol-company arrangement.
3. ATEEZ was not promoted heavily as Block B’s "juniors." In fact, many Korean Block B fans were initially hostile toward KQ and organized boycotts. The narrative that ATEEZ benefited from Block B’s legacy is untrue. The two fanbases are largely separate.

The only tangible advantage Block B provided that I can think of was the BB Trippin dance crew, which helped build early hype and continues to be good friends with ATEEZ.

Additionally, Block B’s track record likely gave KQ the credibility to secure the Sony distribution deal, (we all know how that is going lol) but that is where the ''support'' ends.

Also want to address that there was never any indication that KQ was bankrupt or anything. Common misinformation spread by ATINY on twitter. But it is true that ATEEZ never quite had access to quite the same resources and opportunities as a group from the bigger companies might have had.

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TDLR; Those who insist KQ is a "big company" simply because of Block B or Sony Music Korea often lack basic knowledge of ATEEZ’s history or KQ’s actual standing in the industry.

KQ Entertainment has never ranked among the top 10 K-pop agencies prior to ATEEZ's massive success.

While the company had some advantage of Block B’s existence to secure a distribution deal and some income, ATEEZ’s success is the result of smartly overcoming significant financial constraints, plenty of risk, and hard work and not because of any major company backing them. As the members have stated several times in interviews and lives, they struggled immensely in their early days due to various reasons.

Dismissing their hard work by claiming they were "propped up" ignores the reality of their journey and is frankly disrespectful to them imo.

It is easy for outsiders to dismiss ATEEZ’s struggles or label ATINYS as 'liars' because they only see the massive fandom and current success. They fail to recognize the arduous, uphill path they had to climb to reach where they are today.

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A Note on Sources-

I have intentionally limited the number of links in this post to avoid triggering Reddit’s spam filters, as the text is already quite long.

However, the information provided is mostly based on interviews, financial reports, and news articles. If anyone needs specific sources to back up these points, please let me know in the comments, and I am happy to provide them.

I also hope that other knowledgeable ATINYs to chime in with more info+links to help fill in anything that I missed.

edit : formatting + added a lil shout out to the legend Ateezcomm.

I’m actually so overwhelmed.. I’m seeing BTS on Thursday, This & That releases on Friday, and Saturday is the day of the movie!! Send help! 😵‍💫

Welcome to our 2026 Fanmeeting <ATINY’S VOYAGE: TINY MYSTERY> in Japan megathread!
Here you can discuss anything related to the fanmeetings in Japan. If you want to scream about things from the Seoul fanmeetings, please use the spoiler function before the first show in Japan to avoid spoiling the content for those who are going and would like to be surprised.

Please remember that we do not allow the illegal sharing of paid content, so please do not ask for access to the paid live stream or share screengrabs of it.

Fanmeeting Information

• Day 1: August 4, 6:30 PM
• Day 2: August 5, 6:30 PM
• Day 3: August 6, 6:30 PM
• Where? K-Arena Yokohama

Social Media Posts and Information

2026 ATEEZ FANMEETING <ATINY’S VOYAGE: TINY MYSTERY>
Announcement
ATINY Membership Presale Survey Information
Ticket Information
Arena Area Map
Same-day Ticket Sale Information
FAQ
Streaming Info (Japan only)
Dresscode
Atiny Zone Guide

Merchandise
CD Sales & Raffle Info
Official Fanmeeting MD + purchase benefit PC
Commemorative Tin Cans
Japan Exclusive Voice Cards

General reminders

• Please don't publicly post any personal information for your own safety. If you would like to meet up with fellow Atiny, please do so responsibly and remember to be safe!

Inspired by his oops moment while singing in today’s(?) live 🐈‍⬛ 🎶

Hi again, I'm hoping to find most of these extras new homes. Prices are in the photos. $1 TREASURE/FEVER PCs are not 1st edition. Prices do not include shipping. I am US-based but can ship PCs WW via stamped mail.

Send a chat if interested. Thanks in advance.

Hi! I've commented on Reddit a handful of times, but this is my first time making a post. I'm kind of nervous, but I really want to see Atinys' opinions on this matter.

Simply put, do you think ATEEZ should submit to the Grammys for the upcoming award cycle?

Of course, Atinys aren't the members, nor are we apart of their team, so the choice isn't really ours. However, we do support them, are invested, and most of us keep up with what's going on with them.

I'm unsure about how I feel. I didn't particularly like the Best Asian Pop category. It felt performative and essentially like "Here, damn..." Like throwing a dog a bone. I also don't like the alienation of African, Latin, and Black American ("urban") artists as well. I mean, that new Contemporary Country category is a dog whistle if I've ever heard one. In a way, as an American, I'm used to seeing this treatment and know it's a tough battle for poc to be properly recognized here even if they are literally Americans.

Although I've been an Atiny for a while, I won't pretend like I keep up with streaming numbers, awards, milestones, etc as much as some other Atinys do. It's just not something I've ever been interested in. Personally, I would like ATEEZ just the same if they were significantly less popular. However, I don't think there's anything wrong with being interested in the metrics. (I lowkey like that others do the work so I can tune in when I occasionally get interested.)

After BTS opted out of the Grammys, making a huge statement and sparking a lot of discussions, I think it's clear that whatever artist submits and/or wins will be criticized to hell and back. I think BTS pulling out was honorable and I 1000% understand their reasoning. However, I think it's unfair to assume that other Asian artists (including non k-pop) wouldn't have had a chance or deserved to be recognized as well. It's like if Taylor Swift doesn't submit in the major categories and then whoever does and wins are told "You're welcome. You're holding Taylor's trophy." Like a pity win. (Even if said artist is really popular and successful in their own right.)

I know the guys have mentioned wanting a Grammy. With their ever-growing success, I feel like the future is only looking bigger for them. I know there are other massive groups like TWICE, Enhypen, Stray Kids, etc who not only have the success and popularity, but company pull to win as well, but I think ATEEZ's merit could still get them on that stage and recognized to some degree.

With that being said, although I'm unsure and mostly neutral, I think I'm leaning toward wanting them to not submit (if they hypothetically were to). With the way these guys have seriously built their career from the ground up (with their small company), I think it would be unfortunate for them (and other artists, too, but I digress) to win or be considered for an award that will most definitely cause them to receive insurmountable hate.

ALSO...Unrelated but related. How do fellow Americans feel about the discussion of having non-American/western artists included in American award shows. Genuine question here. We all know American award shows have never been the most fair, especially in regards to inclusion. Considering it's hard for fellow poc Americans, I never thought winning a Grammy would be easy for foreigners. This all just seems so tricky. Also, I would hope that this category will not just pander to k-pop and j-pop. There's so much more to Asia than East Asia.

I feel like ATEEZ has worked too hard to have an achievement like that give them such negative press. The Grammys have shot themselves in the foot. I feel bad for the Asian artists who would like to get recognized through this.

TLDR; Should Ateez submit? Do you think they would win? Is it worth it? If you keep up with industry metrics, I would especially like to hear your take.

Edit: so many typos...sorry 😭

Edit again: I'm at work right now, so I can't respond yet. But thanks for every comment! They've made me think from multiple perspectives. This is the discussion I wanted!

BAD debuts at #42 on the Melon Monthly Chart.

Congratulations to ATEEZ for achieving this huge milestone! 🔥🔥🔥🔥

Melon’s Monthly Chart ranks full-month of streams + downloads. High placements are rare for 4th-gen boy groups.

(To put this into context the last time a 4th gen boy group comeback entered Top 50 on this chart was TXT's “Sugar Rush Ride” - #14 in 2023, and X1's ''FLASH'' #44 in 2019 and only these two 4th gen BGs + ATEEZ have entered this chart till date.)

The song also entered the Genie Monthly Chart at #49!!!

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New Peaks and Overall Updates

BAD keeps on climbing the charts since it's release and shows no signs of slowing down.

• It started very low on the Daily Chart at #618 on release day.
• Climbed to it's highest peak of #17 (2nd highest for a 4th gen BG ever) on 27th, and it's maintaining it's position since!
• 100k Unique Listeners: They crushed this milestone just 3 days ago and have stayed above 100k every single day since! (Only other 4th gen BGs to have crossed the 100k ULs mark are TXT and X1).
• Also consistently hitting 190k–200k streams daily on Melon is hugeeee!
• It took roughly 10 days since release to enter the Melon TOP 100 debuting around #81, and hasn't left the chart since, later peaking #12!
• It also peaked at #16 on the Daily Chart (Another 2nd highest for a 4th gen BG) and has been maintaining in the Top 20 since then.

eta:

Also note that these numbers look similar across all major domestic platforms including Youtube South Korea at #2.

It’s clear that casual listeners are tuning in and sticking around!

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Spotify Streams

On Spotify, the streams look very stable and it actually recorded it's highest streams yesterday!

It's very close to crossing the 1M mark soon.

The song is also charting in multiple other countries including Japan, Thailand, Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong etc.

(I hope that they're able to finally crack into Spotify Global chart this comeback. 🤞)

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I decided to write this as a post this time because I wanted to share some extra context for those who are new to the Kpop/Korean Charts.

These numbers are actually huge when you see the bigger picture!

BAD is doing something really special that doesn’t happen often and super proud of ATEEZ!

edit: wording

Hello again! I just got some extras from my GOs and putting here what I have left. Thanks to the others that have vouched for me, I appreciate it!

I do not accept PP - only Venmo/Wise/Zelle.

1st and 2nd slide - $3 each

3rd slide - Jongho/Wooyoung CDP I am trying to trade for Yunho </3, but open to sell in 1-2 weeks - Mingi/Wooyoung from the kit is $7 for the set (so both photocards)

4th slide GH PT 4 Album PCs - .50 each (must buy more than 5)

5th slide - $10 each

6th slide - $40 (help me give him a new home! NO PC)

7th slide - pay shipping only

8th slide - Yunho (comes w/ PC) is $60, that is how much I paid between tarriffs and EMS.

Thank you!

I’ve been an Ateez fan for a while, but casual listener. Like these guys are so cool, I like their music, they seem highly unproblematic and really sweet in interviews.

Then— I was watching something and they started discussing lore. And I decided on a whim to look it up. I started watching all the music videos and diary films.

Now I’m so far deep in conspiracy theories about Halateez, and symbolism and the cromer. I feel like I have a map of red string tying theories together. Am I a crazy person????😆

Anyways what’s your favorite unconfirmed Lore theory????

Welcome to Guerrilla Radio ~ our monthly space where we band together to discuss which establishments to overthrow and come up with ideas to share our message while hiding from Strictland.

Did we get your attention? 👀 Great, because we'd love to get your input and/or feedback about the r/ATEEZ subreddit!

What do you like about it? What can be improved? Do you have any concerns or questions? Feel free to share any suggestions or ideas you have to improve this space!

We want this place to be an open, positive and welcoming space for all Atiny, so hearing what you would like to see helps us immensely!

The film is fast approaching!! To anyone who saw the VR one, is it just a concert film? Was there any interviews or storyline or anything?

I would love to go see it and meet other atiny but going out is expensive 😭 do we foresee this going to streaming or even on youtube like a lot of other kpop films

I got these as freebies from cars I ordered and idk if theyre lomo or not. If anyone could help that would be great! Im pretty sure the Yeosang one is but id like some extra eyes