Chart rigging makes dull books bestsellers

Visitors to a bookstore in central Seoul flip through books displayed in the best-seller section in this June 21 file photo. / Korea Times file

By Kwon Ji-youn

No matter how dreary a book is, more people are bound to read it if it is on the best-seller list.

Last month, the Korea Music Content Industry Association (KMCIA) declared war on music chart rigging, pledging to ask the government and the National Assembly to establish a law to root it out. But it appears chart rigging has become a habit of sorts in several other fields, including the publishing industry.

On Oct. 19, publisher Geulgilnaru was reportedly caught bulk purchasing one writer’s books to rig best-seller charts in May and June. Duplicate orders were specified for one delivery address, mostly the publisher’s headquarters or a staffer’s home address. Both of the writer’s books made the top 10 on the best-seller lists.

“The investigation is still ongoing,” said an official at Geulgilnaru. “Nothing has been concluded as of yet.”

The practice is not new in Korea. Bulk purchasing and chart rigging have become a must for smaller publishers and entertainment agencies, especially as word of mouth carries more weight with targeted audiences. They seek organized brokers to do all the dirty work, and these organizations are of such large scale that it is almost impossible to catch them in the act.

What numbers mean

As long as a ranking system exists, bulk purchasing and chart rigging will prevail.

A writer or singer’s ranking affects their worth in the market, at times catapulting them to stardom and often leading to increased sales for their performance ticket or book. If a broker buys a book that costs 10,000 won, it is possible to get the book returned, and the expense preserved. So the cost of using a broker is economical, which is why even household names and large publishers find brokerage attractive.

“Large or small, publishers need results early in the marketing stages for them to sell big,” said one official at a local publisher, on condition of anonymity. “It’s the numbers that count, and so the temptation of using brokers is addictive. And it costs less than any other promotional strategy.”

He said the writer has likely agreed to it.

“They think chart rigging merely gives sales a little push,” he said. “Then, if the book is a good read, it takes on a life of its own. They don’t consider it illegal, just expedient.”

Unsolvable issue

In October 2013, major publishers voluntarily tabled an intensive regulation agreement to root out chart rigging, but it has done little.

The agreement said any publisher caught chart rigging would lose membership and the books would be removed from best-seller charts.

A month later, the book distribution deliberation committee concluded that chart rigging helped two of Hankyung BP’s self-help books make best-seller lists, as it did “99 Degrees Celsius” by publisher Inside Books in May 2014. Hankyung BP was the very publisher that was accused last month of having erroneously translated a book written by Nobel Prize winner and Princeton University Professor Angus Deaton.

In September that year, Tornado and Smartbooks were said to have rigged charts, and last month’s Geulgilnaru incident reportedly was very meticulously planned.

“Nothing works as well as chart rigging, especially at such low costs,” said another official at a smaller publisher, also on condition of anonymity. “The penalty is too slight to have an effect. Most such cases go unpunished or only slightly punished, but it’s unlawful, though they don’t think of it that way. Publishers and society need to speak up on chart rigging, both in the publishing and music industries.”