By shelling out 28 yuan for group messaging with idols on QQ Music's Bubble, are fans being taken for a ride?

QQ Music has recently unveiled its fan interaction subscription service, Bubble, with a monthly fee of 28 yuan. The initial batch of artists includes top K-pop groups like aespa, Stray Kids, and EXO from prominent Korean labels such as SM, JYP, and CUBE. Initially viewed as a significant step in localizing the K-pop fan economy, this move has provoked widespread criticism from Chinese fan communities due to perceived shortcomings like reduced functionality, a disjointed experience, and excessive commercialization.

Bubble, a star interaction product developed by South Korean company DearU, boasts immense popularity and user loyalty among K-pop fans. Its main allure lies in the "one-on-one" paid chat feature between fans and artists. Upon subscription, fans can receive messages—be it text, voice, images, or videos—from their idols and have the chance to receive group replies. Despite this, it has achieved remarkable success in the South Korean market.

QQ Music's Bubble, priced at 28 yuan per month, mirrors the original cost but has sparked debates regarding functional adaptations. Fans have noted that the QQ Music version lacks live streaming, which they consider crucial for genuine interaction. Consequently, some fans have voiced their discontent on social media, complaining that for the same 28 yuan, Korean users enjoy live streams and chat history saving, whereas they are limited to images and texts, rendering Bubble a disappointment.

In response to fan inquiries about the absence of live streaming, Tencent Music customer service has confirmed that the current QQ Music version of Bubble does not support live streaming and indicated that future support will be announced separately. However, they failed to provide a direct explanation for this omission.

Furthermore, experienced users have pointed out that membership duration and chat history from the original Bubble cannot be synchronized to the QQ Music version, causing fence-sitters to hesitate even more. Some fans have bluntly expressed that it feels like they are being forced to abandon their old accounts and invest in a downgraded service.

The most scathing criticism directed at QQ Music's Bubble centers on the user experience it offers. In contrast to the Korean version's emphasis on "real interaction," QQ Music's Bubble has been accused of prioritizing commercialization over user experience. The interface is inundated with ads, including splash screen ads, renewal pop-ups, and album promotions. One fan shared their frustrating experience, stating that by the time they navigated through the ads to reach the chat page, their idol had already logged off.

Additionally, concerns have been raised regarding minor consumption supervision. Since the current Bubble function lacks parental control options or spending limits, some parents fear that their children might be influenced by the fan culture and make unauthorized purchases. However, QQ Music has yet to address these concerns.

Fans have coined the term "Tencent-style harvesting" to describe this collaboration, alleging that Tencent Music merely replicated the Bubble product without a comprehensive supporting ecosystem. They also argue that the functions were not optimized for Chinese user habits, suggesting that Tencent Music's primary motive was to capitalize on Bubble's success.