
Idol Earnings on Bubble: Netizens Analyze Annual Income Based on Subscriber Numbers
The ongoing buzz around Bubble, the fan communication platform, has netizens digging into how much K-pop idols actually earn from it. Bubble is designed as a private chatroom where fans pay a monthly fee to get messages from their favorite artists. It’s gotten a lot of attention, especially when idols don’t send messages frequently or don’t seem to engage much, leading to fans complaining about whether their money is well spent.
The recent rise in subscription fees reignited discussion online about how Bubble’s revenue is split—who really gets what, and how much the idols make after the cuts taken by the platform and agencies. A netizen shared a breakdown on an online forum, referencing an X thread that allegedly gave insight into the revenue structure, although the info was reportedly a couple of years old.
The posted example was based on a 5,000₩ monthly subscription price with earnings divided like this:
"Bubble Revenue Structure
(Example based on 5,000₩)
DearU (40%) – 2,000₩
Agency (30%) – 1,500₩
Platform (30%) – 1,500₩
If the agency’s 30% share is split 60:40, the artist receives 800₩ per Bubble subscriber.
If 10,000 people simply subscribe: 800 x 10,000 = 8 million won
If 10,000 people subscribe for the entire year: 8,000,000 x 12 = 96 million won
Conclusion:
Even with just 1,000 subscribers for a year, an artist can earn 9.6 million won annually—just by chatting."
Later on, the same poster updated the figures, saying that the actual payment to idols is lower than first mentioned:
"Correction: It’s actually 600₩ per Bubble subscriberㅠㅠ
→ (Monthly) 6 million won
→ (Yearly) 72 million won
(And, the contract terms keep changing T_T. Please just know they earn more than you might expect.)
Please avoid quoting anything that could hurt the artist.
Also, try not to say anything that could cause misunderstandings.
I just wanted to show how the Bubble revenue structure works.
If you have more questions, feel free to leave a comment.
Please note this was based on data from two years ago, so there may be inaccuracies."
Converted to U.S. dollars, an idol with 1,000 subscribers might earn around $5,312 a year, while 10,000 subscribers could bring in roughly $53,120 annually. Considering that 10,000 subscribers is a big number, many fans point out that even reaching 1,000 subscribers puts an idol in the top tier of Bubble earners.
Unsurprisingly, netizen reactions ranged a lot—some hoping their idols earn a nice amount from these chats, others calling it "easy money" or "a sweet deal." Many also discussed how it feels when an idol rarely sends messages or ignores fans entirely, and others criticized idols who don’t keep up with Bubble engagement despite earning from it.
Here are some reactions shared online:
"How many subscribers does my idol have, I wonder. I hope they’re earning a lot."
"My favorite comes all the time, I’m so grateful…."
"Getting Bubble messages on payday or right before payday somehow feels realㅠ"
"My favorite barely sends messages—maybe once a week if I’m lucky—so whenever I see stuff like this, I used to want to smack them. But after realizing some crazies treat them like emotional dumping grounds while paying just 4,500 won, I’ve just started thinking of it like buying a tube of Churu for a stray cat that drops by sometimes."
"Easy money."
"Seriously, easy money."
"Maybe they don’t even see that as real money?"
"My idol comes more often than I do. They come every day, even multiple times a day. I sent 10 messages to my idol today and got 1 reply… I hope my idol earns a lot of money."
"Hope they earn even more. Bubble is honestly amazing.."
"Easy money.. Please come every day… This really means you should come often, damn. If you don’t, it’s basically job neglect."
"With a lot of overseas fans, 10,000 subscribers should be easy."
"I just really hate the whole concept of paid communication…"
"My favorite has a good public image, but only comes once a month? Or once every two months? Seriously frustrating aside from their looks."
"Over a million subscribers would mean earning 6 billion won a month?"
"I’m glad I canceled Bubble first when I started losing interest."
"My idol probably doesn’t even have a thousand subscribers."
"My idol comes three times a month ㅋㅋㅋughㅠㅠ please just come a bit more often."
"It’s easy money, so please just send something… Are you going to send anything this month?"
"If you have a conscience, you should at least show up three or four times a week…"
"I signed up for a few idols I like, but I’m planning to quit after this month. Some come often and I’m thankful, but others haven’t shown up in over two weeks and I’m really not. Feels like it’s all pointless. I like celebrities, but I think I need to keep more distance. My life comes first."
"Some celebrities might not want to do Bubble, and that’s fine, but if they only show up once or twice a month, they should at least tell their company to shut down their Bubble. Taking fans’ money but not wanting to do the work?"
"People defending this are hilarious. If they don’t want to do it, then don’t. It’s not a matter of ‘how could they not,’ there are plenty of idols who don’t. If you’re getting paid, you should work hard. ‘It’s not much so I’ll just do the bare minimum’—would you be okay with that if this was your coworker? Even if they’re just saying what they ate on Bubble, fans still love it."
"No matter how busy they are, I bet they still make time to talk to their significant other or family. So why don’t they message fans? Feels like they lack professional ethics."
"But seriously, is getting 10,000 Bubble subscribers that hard? Is the trend with concert and merch sales different from Bubble?"
"If you have a conscience, please come more often."
"Getting paid millions just for chatting? That’s easy money."
"The more I think about it, the weirder to ask fans to pay for communication."
"Only top idols probably get 10,000 subscribers. And at that level, they’re already raking it in with ads and tours, so Bubble revenue is nothing. If 1,000 subscribers mean 600,000 won a month, and they have to constantly think about Bubble to make that—honestly, I’d rather not take the 600 and just rest. Bubble is just a service. And there are tons of idols who don’t even have 1,000 subscribers."
"So jealous…"
"In the end, idols do all the work and third parties take all the money. Even if the agency is considered part of them. DearU gets a bigger share? People rage over Baemin food delivery fees but not this?"
"Do you seriously think delivery workers and idols are being exploited under the same conditions?"
"Looks like they get paid less than you’d think, considering the Bubble subscription price and the risk of receiving malicious comments."
"Saying a few things and making hundreds of thousands—easy money."
"I’m honestly amazed at people who say once a week is enough…"
"People saying it’s not much money are hilarious… They’re making hundreds of thousands a month just sending a few texts. My idol comes twice a month^^ㅜ"
"100 subscribers = 60,000 won per month
1,000 subscribers = 600,000 won per month
10,000 subscribers = 6 million won per month
But realistically, only top-tier idols could reach 1,000.""I want to do Bubble too. Anyone want to subscribe to mine?"
"People defending this by saying they don’t make much—what’s wrong with you? Are you brain-dead? Fans who don’t even make 96 million a year are defending idols who ignore them. Pathetic."
Whether fans see this as a great chance for idols to make money chatting or just calling it “easy money,” discussion shows how complicated the Bubble system really is. It looks like only a handful of idols can hit the high subscriber counts that translate to significant earnings, and there’s still a lot of debate about how much effort is fair to expect from artists in return for these payments.
What’s your take on Bubble and the money idols make from it?