I'm a big Bee Gees fan and in my travels of learning about how the Bee Gees got to the level they did, I came across something that I was reminded of as all these thinkpieces and discourse on r/popheads came about.

In 1965 or so, the Bee Gees were struggling to gain momentum in their home base of Australia. They released single after single, and though they had their own fanbase, beyond that, the singles didn't sell, and they didn't gain any ground with the general public. So when it came time to release their next single, "Wine and Women," their fan club decided to buy up every copy of the single, any time they saw it, so that it would chart and the group would gain more visibility. It worked, and the song peaked at #19. Within two years, the Bee Gees were on their way to international success and had their first UK and US #1 singles. And we all know what eventually happened after that.

All of this to say that none of this is new. The option is available to any and all, it's not a special advantage for any one artist. One can say that having a fanbase that is willing to spend the energy, time and money is unfair, but again, it's open to all. Building a fanbase that is so invested in you is part of the overall success.

And when it comes to organic, just look at BTS over the past eight years. The entire build from the ground up, create meaningful relationships with fans, encourage your fans to want to be invested in you, and care about your success, and want to participate in your success, is all a part of the organic success of BTS.