The Ningin Round Table is a feature in which we pose an Asian entertainment news-related question to Ningin writers and they give us their colorful opinions and thoughts on the matter. In light of the release of Big Bang’s Alive album (and its many different covers), we asked our writers, “If your favorite KPOP group made different covers of the same album, are you more inclined to buy more than 1 copy of that album?” Here’s what some of them had to say:

Lisa Nguyen: If it’s my favorite idol group then of course I would buy multiple copies of an album even if the only difference is the cover but it would have to have amazing covers. As a fan, I would love to help my favorite group in album sales and the way to do that is purchase multiple copies of the same album. This would be advantageous to me because the album covers are different instead of just wasting away money on the same album with the same cover over and over again.

Jessie Zhao: As much as I would love to have more pictures of my favorite group, I would have to say no. The album itself is still the same, with the same exact songs. Only the cover would be different. I’m not the person who would pay another $20 or so for virtually the same album. Fans of KPOP already know that the role of a fangirl/fanboy is quite expensive: albums, concerts, fan merchandise, etc. Plus, there’s also that big chance of the different member covers of the album being made into posters for fans to buy. If it were up to me, I would stick to buying the cover that has everybody on it. That way you can enjoy all the eye candy from the group equally!

Sandy Lee: If my favourite group did make different covers of the same album, I actually would be more inclined to buy more than 1 copy of the album. Often times, I don’t have only one favourite (as seen in mostly larger groups such as Super Junior), so getting only 1 copy of one member would seem like I like one of the members more, but in reality I like my top two members equally as much. Also, some kpoppers tend to want to buy eg. 9 copies for all of SNSD to support the group more, and have a copy of the number of members in each group. Having different covers of each member would look better in your collection rather than having just one cover and nine copies. Yes, if the group does release member posters, you could get those, but I find that albums are more valuable in your collection because if your poster is in direct sunlight, it will slowly drain the colour out of your poster and it wouldn’t look the same anymore. Posters also take up way more room than albums do, so I could always get more albums, with each member, and still have plenty of space to further expand my collection.

Emily Wu: Lately, it seems that entertainment agencies have been trying to milk fans dry by releasing different versions of CDs and different covers with individual members (or different covers to begin with) on said CDs (Super Junior and BIG BANG come to mind). However, I am quite thankful that my favorite group SHINee has yet to make different covers of the same album, different versions of the album notwithstanding. Even though I consider myself to be a loyal Shawol, I am not inclined to buy more than 1 copy of that album. To me, there is no sense in buying albums with different covers if the album contains the same content inside. I would just select the album that I love the most and save the other album covers on my computer. That said, it would be a different story if the albums had different content inside, like BIG BANG’s Alive mini-album, where each copy had a different photobook inside, depending on which cover you selected. With SHINee making a comeback, I really hope they just stick to one cover with the same content - I don’t have enough money for all their different versions!

Lisa Lui: I would have to say no to purchasing multiple copies of an album just because they have a different cover. As much as I love all of the groups and each of their members, I really can’t justify purchasing the exact same album multiple times. I mean I don’t even purchase fan merchandise because I cannot justify the purchase. I love KPOP and the groups, but money doesn’t grow on trees. I need to use my money for other things…like living expenses and paying back student loans.

And now you have the floor - If your favorite KPOP group made different covers of the same album, are you more inclined to buy more than 1 copy of that album?