Anneyong (Beomgyu style)! 🧸
We are back again for another interview today! Dun dun dun…
It’s with @moachartdata! The admins are well trusted data experts in Moaville. They present numbers and insights in a clear yet quantitative manner. Even those of us who are not very well-versed in data analysis can follow along and see what is going on with things, such as chart performance, sales data, and so on.
Today, we get deep behind the scene to learn about how the admins come together, what they do, and things they want more MOAs to know! This is 4000 words, or a 10 minute read (that is definitely worth your time)!
The interview is edited lightly for clarity and reading experience. Because there are so many great insights, I cannot help but to write my responses in italics, as well as adding links and videos.
Please give @moachartdata admins a lot of love! Thank you!
Behind The Scenes
How many admins are behind @moachartdata? Do you have nicknames?
Admin M: As of right now we have 5 admins. We’re fine with people calling us @moachartdata! I don’t remember anyone calling us anything else, maybe MOA are calling us something different and we haven’t noticed yet! I think our name is cute as is (Michael: agreed!)!
Where are you based? Do you work synchronously?
Admin M: We have admins in Europe, Asia and America. When we have to talk about something that involves all the admins, we try to find a time of the day that fits everyone, even though it’s hard sometimes. We’re quite organized though!
Admin W: Since we are in different locations and time zones, some admins usually do the same tasks simply because it fits better with our schedules. But it doesn’t mean others can’t do it. For example, Spotify updates often come out at a time that suits some admins better, but if the update is late, usually the other admins can take care of it and so on. Communication is really important in our team!
When and how did you come across TXT? What made you fall in love with them?
Admin K: I guess I am a pre-debut MOA. Same as anyone else from that time, the website dropped without a hint of what it would be on the Big Hit twitter account. Then the members were revealed. I remember Soobin and Beomgyu’s intro trailers especially getting my attention at that time. I was sold the moment the album preview for The Dream Chapter: Star dropped. My friends in college definitely wondered why I kept replaying it but I was just very obsessed with Crown’s teaser, it was all I replayed until the album dropped. I thought “Yeah, I think this will be a group I’ll come to love for a long time…"
Admin R: I saw Soobin peeking out from behind the curtains in his trailer and was a goner haha. But really - I watched them perform Nap of a Star live during their debut show and just knew there was something so, so very special about them. I followed One Dream and was so struck by their teamwork, their fortitude, and close bond. I knew I would be in it with them for the long haul.
Admin M: I knew about TXT around April 2020, just before Eternity’s release. I had gotten into K-pop a couple of months before that. Since I had a lot of time being in quarantine I ended up coming across our boys! What made me fall in love with them was first and foremost their music. I spent weeks listening to their whole discography from top to bottom at least twice every single day (Michael: omg you are so dedicated!). Then I got to know them better: their personalities and their dreams, how involved they are in the whole process of creating their own art, and how much they enjoy performing (and how amazingly good they are at it!). The combination of all those aspects made me admire them deeply. I really love them and what they stand for.
Admin W: I started my journey as a YouTube MOA! The first thing i encountered about them were cute video compilations couple weeks after their Magic Hour era, at first i liked their chemistry and in no time I was watching their performances - actually their performances caught me. From that moment till the middle of Eternity i never left YouTube and Spotify. Thats how I went from funny compilations to performances to dance practice videos to To Do. I devoured their discography in no time.
Wow, your stories are all so amazing. What makes TXT different from other artists in your opinion?
Admin M: For me it feels like they are telling a real story that everyone can relate to, not just about people their own age (although that is their main audience). Their lyricism is rich and profound, but at the same time they are able to tell stories using very familiar situations, concepts, and expressions that everyone can understand. Also the way they express emotions when they are performing, not only with their faces but with their voices too, is exceptional (Michael: wow you are here to take my job away hahaha, so spot on). They are performers in the broadest sense of the word. I could go on for hours on this topic (Michael: please do!)!
Admin K: Storytelling is the core when it comes to fully understanding TXT’s music, especially when it comes to their lyrics. ‘Minisode 2’ is the best example with references of its lyricism dating back to the Star era. It allows those who get into them to dive deep into the world-building TXT do, also known as The Star Seekers Universe. You can tell with the stage sets too. I’m a big nerd for that, so I’d end up rambling on and on if you’d let me hehe…
Michael: Hearing these answers make me want to really go deep on everything with you all. There seem to be so many great insights, stories, and genuine love behind your answers. It is always a joy to read them and know there are so many of us who love TXT and how much they deserve our love.
About MOA Chart Data
You started the around Blue Hour era. How did you meet and what was the story behind?
Admin R: Just before minisode1: Blue Hour a few of us friends on Twitter had begun collecting and collating some data informally. We noticed that, when put in context, the data provided us not only trends about fandom growth, but also peace of mind. It is one thing to be simply hearing someone make a statement, and another to see real numbers lining up to support the claim. A friend who is a fan of a different artist had said to me "Men lie, women lie, but numbers don't" (Michael: wow your friend is awesome, please relay that for me). We wanted MOAs to not only see those numbers but insights on them as well.
Admin M: While it’s true that the account was created in September 2020 with the intention of starting a fanbase (funny enough I wasn’t part of the project back then), our first tweet was posted on October 14, 2021. We are a group of friends that met on Twitter and thought there could be a different way of presenting and explaining information to MOAs. We think that the basis of a fanbase is being professional, serious, and reliable about the data we offer and the conclusions we can draw from it.
Admin W: As admin R said, data does not lie. It allows you to see TXT's growth as a group and ours as a fandom quantitatively. Sometimes it's not enough just seeing numbers, you must have a bit of background knowledge to let you appreaciate our journey and maybe some MOAs don’t have that kind of information. For example, our Montlhy Listeners, those are numbers that increase and decrease daily. They went up with releases and go down after, but if you don't know how they behave you might panic a little.
Michael: I totally agree. I studied math in university and the key thing I learned was figuring out the story behind the numbers and patterns. Numbers alone can’t tell us the full picture, which you have beautifully demonstrated with your explainer threads and intuitive charts and data!
Did you have experience with data analysis? Your insights and communications are very clear. I'm super impressed.
Admin M: I’m going to be very honest, I didn't even know how to use Excel (or Google Sheets) properly before we started doing this. I started filling spreadsheets with data for a couple of months before launching the fanbase and I learned so much from that. Now I have dozens of sheets of neatly sorted information with tons of graphs. And I have continued to learn a lot during the past 8 months. I think part of the reason why I try to be so clear on how I explain things is because I do it as if I’m talking to myself. If you want everyone to understand what you’re explaining and not feel like you’re treating them like fools you have to be careful and comprehensive with how you say things while also being direct and frank.
Admin W: Actually I do, I have a ‘science oriented' education and I'm kind of used to seeing Excel sheets and other statistic programs. I like to see the numbers, find patterns and wonder what can lie behind them. I also enjoy seeing the graphs as a visual representation of such numbers, but I'm used to having this information in my head. The key to our very clear communications is our admin M, who tries their best to explain the data.
Michael: I really really appreciate what you said. You are really spot on with how to approach data, understand what it can and cannot do. Thank you for sharing the key ethos behind how you explain things, because I think many MOAs can learn from that mindset with anything they choose to do, tubatu related or not.
What types of data do you collect? How do you figure out which metrics to collect and analyze? Your ktown4u and Spotify monthly listeners are awesome because they must be manually tracked.
Admin M: Right now we track all their Spotify data, YouTube views, Gaon sales, their positions on US Billboard charts and their followers on 5 social media accounts. All of our data is tracked manually (except YouTube) so yeah, it’s quite tiring 😅 The Ktown4u tracking is as insane as you can imagine, my sleep schedule got all switched up during the pre-order period for The Chaos Chapter: Fight or Escape.
(an example of that precision below, especially with the time tracking)
Admin W: To be honest I think at the beginning more than figuring out which data to collect we kind of just chose what we were more curious about. It's not like we said, 'Okay we are gonna collect this Spotify data and do these sorts of things with it' and that's also a reason why, although we collect a bunch of information, we don't do the same thing with it on all platforms.
Michael: You folks are as crazy (in a good way) as I imagined… The amount of hard work and dedication you have is so admirable. Consistency is so hard when it comes to data collection. You apply so much rigor to this project, such efforts shine on their own.
What is the time commitment for the admins?
Admin M: It’s hard to tell. It depends on the day of the week and how busy I am with other things. For the last few months I’ve had a lot of time, so I was able to do a lot of things related to the fanbase. I make every graph and chart that we post except for the monthly Spotify report (Admin W takes care of that). I also collect the Billboard, Gaon and social media data and I’m one of the admins collecting the Spotify data too. That means that I have a lot of data in my brain, which is a bit overwhelming at times, but also gives me the ability to quickly notice if something changes. It’s nice to have an overall scope of their numbers. Even though this looks like a lot of work I think the most tiring aspect is the mental burden of wanting to be on top of everything and the feeling that I could be doing something more or something different, both in a better way. Luckily enough I’m surrounded by amazingly talented admins that make things like the guides we published recently!
Admin W: The commitment highly depends on our available time. There should be at least two or three taking care of it but sometimes it's not possible. And since we all have a sort of unspoken asigned tasks and each task requires a different level of time commitment and effort, it's not the same for everyone. For example I can take care of the Spotify and YouTube updates, do the monthly Spotify reports, keep an eye on our Twitter account... But sometimes I can't do it all, so the time i spend on it varies. Another important thing to take into account is not even the time committed but the tiredness of the task, so it depends.
Michael: I’m glad you have one another to rely on. I know how hard it feels to be on top of everything, especially when life isn’t always generous with time, energy, and peace of mind. I am happy for your progress and you working together as a team.
What are the challenges behind running @moachartdata? How do you manage personal life and your prominent role in Moaville?
Admin M: I think that you need to know how to balance your involvement with a fanbase, so it doesn’t affect your experience of being in the fandom. If you get too wrapped up in it you can end up making it personal and stop enjoying things as you used to. It’s ok to worry about tracking and explaining data in the best way possible, but you may reach a point where you feel that you are solely responsible for TXT's success, and that’s not the case at all. I was very reluctant to think that we were having a real effect on the fandom and I still struggle to do so. We’re still a fairly small account, but I'm proud to see people recommending us to other MOAs.
Michael: yes people notice your work because it’s extremely well done :)
Who built the website, how much work did it take, and why is it so awesome?
Admin M: The idea for creating the website was born from a MOA sending us a DM with the website of another group, asking if we could do something like that. At first we thought it was a lot of work and we didn't know how to do it, so we shelved the idea. But I kept thinking about it and, after a few days, I started working on it with my boyfriend. We reverse engineered the original website, added a few improvements... and that's how moachartdata.com was born!
Michael: I can see a promising web engineer/designer!
Resources
What are your favorite threads?
Admin M: Maybe my favourites are the Billboard reports. Those were the first threads I started doing for the fanbase and the ones that got people’s attention. The reason why I decided to write them was to show MOAs what was TXT’s real position in the industry. I know MOAs like to talk about them being the 4th generation leaders (and I agree on that) but I also thought that being fixated on that was making our scope too narrow when the reality is different (and sometimes better) than that. I wanted to show that TXT is not only above their peers, but also a lot of their seniors. Anyway it’s good to check how their peers are doing, but our point of reference should always be TXT’s past achievements.
(Michael: there are so many of these detailed posts on Twitter! You can find them by typing in billboard @moachartdata in the Twitter search bar. Actually, you can do a lot of things with the search button, which I will write about one day!)
What should MOAs do to learn more about TXT with data?
Admin R: I think the simplest advice we can give is to allow yourself to be curious. Wonderful things happen when you let yourself pursue the answers to even the simplest questions. Even your silliest questions are valuable!
Michael: Wow this is such a powerful insight. We should all be like Taehyun in some ways, asking many questions because being curious is fun and rewarding.
What are some surprising insights that we don't know until we have the relevant data?
Admin D: Mostly about performance. I feel like there is often this slight disappointment in Moaville when we see our performance metrics in a comeback. When we don't meet our goals, everyone thinks there has been no improvement. However, in retrospect, when we compare current data to past comebacks in which we thought we were doing great, there is actually a SIGNIFICANT improvement. The growth is constant. It's just often subtle, unless you have access to past data to compare it to.
Admin R: To add to what Admin D said, it gets difficult to see the forest for the trees for everyone, but the forest has always been growing, outwards and upwards.
Michael: I cannot say this any better, you all are so good with explaining things! I hope more MOAs get to be happy with how far we have come, even though having higher dreams is always good and encouraged.
What are your goals with this account in the next year and beyond? Do you have projects in mind that you can share with us?
Admin M: My goal is to keep giving MOAs the information and tools necessary so they become more independent. The ideal scenario would be when fanbases are not necessary at all (Michael: that is really ambitious!). We would also like to keep encouraging MOAs to focus on enjoying TXT’s music. As you already know, streaming is extremely important. It shows how much interest there is in an artist and is crucial to help them grow, but there are also as ways to do as there are people. If you’re good with heavy streaming then please go ahead, your contribution is very important and greatly appreciated. But some people get overwhelmed by it and end up getting streaming burnout quite early after the release. We’ve seen a lot of MOAs being frustrated with our streaming goals during this comeback and we understand that, but we can’t fall into despair so quickly when things don’t go our way. It’s hard to be positive all the time, but people are more productive when they’re enjoying what they do, so the fandom should avoid policing every playlist out there because maybe that’s the way that the person who made it enjoys listening to music. It’s always better to get less streams per hour than none at all. Try not to over complicate your streaming experience. It’s good to have some simple guidelines, but the moment we obsess over “efficiency” it’s easy to stop enjoying what we’re doing: listening to the music of our favourite artist.
Admin W: I might overwhelm myself thinking a year ahead, so I'll try to take one step at a time *cries*. I can't think of a project right now, because we usually discuss what we wanna do at the moment and it all depends on our available time. But as Admin M said, we'd like to keep encouraging MOAs to enjoy TXT, numbers and streaming are important but in excess it leads to burnout and backfires. We shouldn't forget that supporting is also listening, enjoying and sharing their music.
Michael: I sincerely hope more MOAs come across your message and take them to heart, because I think sustainable growth over the long term is the best. We want to be in this with TXT for a long time, so we should do what it takes to go the long way. It should be a lot of fun, not just sprinting, being out of breath, and repeat.
Who are some great MOAs to know? Your favorites?
Admin K: @txt_sarangdan2 #OurShiningStarSarangdan
Admin R: The work @txtlyricism has been doing is priceless. Also a shout out to every MOA content creator, big and small, for doing their bit in enriching our collective fan experience!
Michael: read our interview with @txtlyricism here!
Admin M: I think the work @txt_book does at updating the fandom is priceless and they are also one of the most sensible and understanding people when it comes to explaining tricky things or situations to MOAs. And of course @translatingTXT! What would we do without them? ♥️
Michael: there are so many people I want to thank for enriching my tubatu experience, but you can’t go wrong with these! I am proud to call a few of them friends, and I hope to meet more moots in the future (please notice me Translating-nim and Sarangdan-ssi…)
Your guides to US Billboard and UK Chart are really good. Can you describe each guide in one or two paragraphs?
Admin K: Chart rules in layman terms are the long and short of it. It’s simply a thread to the ins and outs of the charts and its rules, anything important MOAs need to know about the inner workings of the chart and how they can contribute. Even if they can’t contribute, it’s still something worth reading, so others can correctly contextualize the numbers. I believe everyone having at the very least a basic understanding on how charts in major markets work can go a long way.
Michael: the more educated we become, the better we can support TXT and ourselves in the long run!
Lastly, how can Moament be of help?
Admin M: I think you’re already doing great! I love that you give the content your personal touch ✨
Michael: 🥺
Alright, so there you have it! Thank you @moachartdata admins for taking your time to answer the questions. It’s been a long time in the making, so I’m sure many MOAs will be happy to read what you have to say, because they are really worth saying!
As the admins have said, it is not easy to sustain efforts. You can definitely tell with the “astronomical” drop in publication here at Moament. Like I wrote before, being in a new stage of life (working full-time and over-time to support my family) makes this difficult.
Writing things worthy of your time needs much more than time. I need energy and a lot of undisturbed time, which gets hard to find with a high-pressure work environment. This is why I want to feature MOAs making our community the best there is, perhaps working with others on resources, and sometimes write about things with my perspective. Please keep supporting this journey with Moament. It’s not going anywhere. I’m not going anywhere!
Things in the line-up for July and August:
Ask a MOA series resumes
Moaville stories with more awesome MOAs
Concert review for TXT in Los Angeles (the real goal is to publish an essay in the local newspaper because they are worth it)
Song essays (you can tell they follow a pattern haha): New Rules, Magic Island, Maze in The Mirror, Anti-Romantic, Ito, Sweet Dream
Hueningkai’s birthday essay (I need to start cooking!)
Occasional guides and resources, if I can somehow pull it off
Like always, if you have suggestions, recommendations, and feedback, please comment and message us! Your follows and subscriptions also matter greatly!
And here is the latest performance on Music Bank! Each fan-cam is worth watching, and don’t ask me why I can’t take my eyes off their uniform…
See you all next time!
Thank you! Everyone, we appreciate what you guys do, and what you are going to do in the future also💙🖤💙🖤