Fans of Grammy-nominated K-pop group BTS slammed Geffen Records’ Ray Kurzeka, senior vice president and head of streaming, for trolling and dismissing their request about Jimin’s upcoming song.
Jimin’s song “Smeraldo Garden Marching Band (feat. Loco)" will be released on June 28 ahead of his second studio album “Muse” that is set to drop on July 19.
BTS' Jimin (Big Hit Music)
On X, the Jimin fan account Jimin Data tagged Geffen Records, Universal Music and Kurzeka about the song.
“Hi @GeffenRecords @UMG @raykurzeka where are the iTunes pre-orders for Jimin's "Smeraldo Garden Marching Band" out next week June 28th? Also provide a EU version no random inclusions in order to have a bigger impact on the UK Album Chart. CC @bts_bighit @BIGHIT_MUSIC,” the account posted on X.
However, instead of answering the query, Kurzeka trolled it and replied, “song of the year…” with a Spotify link to Gracie Abrams’ song "Us" (featuring Taylor Swift).”
The reply of Geffen Records' Ray Kurzeka to a request about Jimin's upcoming song (Jimin Data on X)
This angered BTS ARMYs and slammed Kurzeka for the reply.
“@GeffenRecords @UMG please look into the unprofessional behavior exhibited by your SVP @raykurzeka when responding to fans' legitimate demands. The purpose of your company is distribute and promote your artists' music. Not purposely ignore when fans request the bare minimum. GEFFEN APOLOGIZE TO JIMIN,” Jimin Data posted.
Kurzeka has deleted his X (formerly Twitter) account) because of the controversy he created.
Geffen Records' Ray Kurzeka deleted his X account because of the controversy (Screenshot from X)
“Ray should've known better than to act this way then delete, because nothing is ever fully deleted from SNS. We have been requesting the bare minimum since SGMB was announced and here we have Ray Kurzeka, the head of Streaming in Geffen Records, unprofessionally and purposely ignoring our demand. GEFFEN APOLOGIZE TO JIMIN @GeffenRecords @BIGHIT_MUSIC,” the fan account added.
Jimin is currently serving in the military and the album was prepared in advance for fans.