The main audience of variety shows tends to be younger or even older, while the audience of Idol is younger, mainly 10 generation. Although they are keen on the consumption of idol culture, they have no real economic strength.
In Idol, there are actually classes and grades. The first category is also the darling of advertisers, and its position in variety shows is not low. For example, the girlhood of the younger generation, exo, BTS, twice, CONDANIEL, etc. He is also a popular guest of variety shows.
So for idols, when there are no songs published, most of them rely on TV programs to maintain exposure and earn a small amount of income. A typical example, Yin Ji won. After Crystal Boy was dissolved, he directly switched to be a TV artist and made a living by variety shows.
Gao Yaotai, a member of Jin Zhongmin Band, has also transformed into a TV artist. Many people forget that Jin Zhongmin was born a singer. Although invited to participate in business activities, in the eyes of the audience, he is more like a funny artist.
Nearly 100 groups of idols are born in Korea every year, but only 10 or less can really become famous, and only the senior first echelon can guarantee a good income. Even if a person's group is popular, there is no guarantee that a person will be popular and often appear. Some people in the same group are very popular, but others are unknown. For example, Xiuzhi misses A and Kim Hyun A for 4 minutes, such as shinee of sm, although it's not the same.
On the other hand, as long as you work hard, you may become Xiuzhi, Kim Hyun A, Yuner, Xuexuan and iu. Their status and income are comparable to those of first-line TV actors, so there are so many idols moving forward wave after wave and embarking on this road.