JYP Entertainment, the agency behind K-pop acts TWICE, ITZY, Stray Kids and more, plans to begin releasing digital-only albums in an effort to reduce its environmental impact.
This is according to the agency’s 2021 ESG (environmental, social, and governance) Report, released earlier this month. In it, JYP Entertainment says that the company is currently looking into reducing waste associated with physical album purchases by digitally distributing songs, behind-the-scenes content, lyric and photo books instead.
Fans purchasing albums from the agency in the future will only receive physical photo cards while being granted access to all other included material through QR codes and NFCs. The report added that the agency is also considering eco-friendlier production options for photo cards and minimising packaging materials for albums and artist merchandise.
JYP Ent announces that they will no longer release physical albums.
This change is part of a project to be a more sustainable company, reducing the amount of material used in album packaging. pic.twitter.com/8jU4agCfgT
— GLOBAL면 (@globalmyeon) August 9, 2022
“We’re currently doing our best, brainstorming, to find the most environmentally friendly way to replace and reform the CDs of our artists,” founder and chairman Park Jin-young said in a video presentation on the agency’s ESG report.
JYP Entertainment has yet to confirm when the agency will be making the shift from physical releases to digital-only releases. TWICE’s upcoming album, ‘Between 1&2’, looks like it will not be affected by this move as a physical version of the record has been announced.
JYP isn’t the only agency making the move to release digitally-based albums. HYBE recently began releasing digital-only albums alongside physical album versions for SEVENTEEN’s ‘Sector 17’ and ‘Face the Sun’ and NewJeans’ eponymous debut EP.
The label’s digital albums, dubbed the Weverse album versions, include a random photo card, a QR card and a user guide that details how fans can access the album’s contents, all packaged in a small ‘outbox’, or envelope.
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