With the recent news of KARA’s contract negotiations, and JYJ’s “Music Essay” reaching #1, the debate between management companies and artists has once again become a hot topic, and this time both sides are speaking out.
Featured in a segment called, “JYJ and KARA, why did they do it?”, on MBC’s “News Magazine 2580” (시사매거진 2580), representatives from both sides spoke out, and Junsu and Yoochun themselves discussed their controversial decision and artists’ rights.
For one of the first times, Park Yoochun confessed that he fully knew that he “might never be able to be a star again” when he decided to leave SM Entertainment, but even with this realization, he still needed to “find happiness and leave.”
Kim Junsu, Kim Jaejoong, and Park Yoochun left their band, DBSK, and management group, SM Entertainment, in July of 2009, citing differences in regards to the length and terms of contract. The best known of these claims is SM Entertainment’s lack of transparency regarding group finances, and that the 13 year term of contract was far too long. However, the boys’ decision to leave and regroup as JYJ has not been a walk in the park, especially with them facing an unstated ban from popular music programs (SBS Inkigayo, MBC Music Core, and KBS Music Bank all declined to give statements or explanations).
Regarding this, Junsu said, “I think that it is very weird that we cannot appear on broadcast television. I learned that it truly is difficult for a Korean singer to perform on a stage, and it is what I resent most.”
Fast forward to almost a year and a half later, and three members of KARA: Jung Nicole, HanSeungyeon, and Kang Jiyoung, have moved to terminate their contract with their management group,DSP. The group also cites lack of transparency and suspected mishandling of group finances – especially regarding the money they raised and earned through overseas promotions and activities in Japan.
On the flipside, the show also did the footwork and found that a management company invests an average $1,800 per person per month during the artists’ training years. Covering everything from food and housing to lessons, promotional fees, and spending money, costs can accrue during the process that could last anywhere from six months to three years. The segment also cites that one popular seven member girl group incurred 2.9 billion won in training fees alone over the course of four years.
In defense of the industry, a representative from Core Contents Media (the management company of groups T-ara, Davichi, and 5Dolls) said, “Management companies have to blindly and continuously invest money… Most people underestimate how much money we pour into our artists, and overestimate how much they make when in the market. We do what we can, but this is the way it works.”
With netizens lining up and crying “slavery” or “betrayal”, and with passions still running high, we hope that for the sake of the fans, this battle between artists’ rights and management costs will somehow find a resolution soon.
Source: My Daily via Daum / Newsen via Daum
Credit: Allkpop
Shared by: JYJ3
JYJ3 
“overestimate how much they make when in the market”?? depend on what group you are talking about?
This is Tohoshinki/TVXQ, they are not the average group. They made 100M$ a year. concert tickets are sold out, concert, goods are sold out, album&single sell is mil, etc… and what they got in return is so little even -XXX$. um…fair? company is not their life, they have their own life, family & future to take care..to worry too. I’m really sick of this kind of statement from this representative!!
LOL…if they spend that much money… why don’t they stop using that method??? If you end up deficit for promoting your artists, then why do you still use that strategy of marketing? isn’t that a solid prove that your marketing strategy is just stupid?
And don’t make me start on how hard those idols work…
With the same amount of work, artist in America-heck, even in my country, can become a millionaire…
However… it’s 2011 now… slavery can be found in many ways… it’s not always about money…
And living expenses? LOL… Korean idols often said that they can’t even eat well during their trainee days… and the companies are now complaining about living expenses? LOL…
soooo true!!!!!!!!!!
Every time idols spoke about their trainee days they said that they didn’t have enough to even buy food
so what the hell are these people talking about???
It is just for the sake of exploration!!!!!!
really it’s not funny …… i feel very sad for the artists in korea
i mean they just want their dream to come true and then such things happen..very very sad!!:-(
(bows) EXACTLYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY.
what i learn at unnamed song,when they at payday,they got shock coz the pay dey are minus???by expense?while they made a mega big hit that time,their bloody tears and sweat mean nothing?omg?i cant believe?while the management in that company get a big bonus?our boys get nothing?im crying while see the vid of unnamed song,the truth is in that song.
and the most hurt me,when yc ask money to borrow,who’s u know?says,if u giveback interest,i’ll considered it?omg?u know what our boy go trough that time?it sooo pain in my heart..knowing this .their live must be like n hell.thanks god never sleep.they now recieve the justice from god.im glad they still strong and brave,they are the best artist i know now,survive from darktime,reborn with shining star,they now have ocean of love from fans.JYJ!!!!IM PROD OF YOU!!!!
A++++++
……..Sigh…….. 😦
Okay I heard Junsu was a trainee for 6 years?
If I do my calculations right he accumulated approx. 130k USD in training expense according to the figures they gave above.
I read TVXQ broke into the millions in profits. To me that’s a lot, THEY MADE PLENTY to cover operational costs and expenses I assume, so why these ‘deficits’. I want to see all seven years of costs and profits, and where all the money went (lol I sound like Yoochun).
Their business needs to be tweaked. They have the nerve to ‘blame’ the artists for this. Try a better method, they do NOT need to run their wells dry training kids to be idols. Like I said plenty of times the golden rule in business is to use little resources in order to MAX PROFIT. Why are they spending so much? They need to get clever with their business practices.
Like did these junior idols have to sign a contract that if they debut they MUST pay back the trainee costs? I heard that whoever debuts they get the debt of their own PLUS those who trained with them which is so wrong on many levels. Where these idols and their parents aware of such costs or did the company made them feel like they were ‘helping’ and where ‘family’ ‘oh no you just train, it’s free we have it covered’ only to find out some years later that they’ve been taking money out their checks due to these trainee costs some years ago.
Like Junsu argue, where’s the TRANSPARENCY!!! They should know what they’re getting themselves into! My college tells me all the time what they’re taking out my account and for what. I pay for services I don’t even USE lol but at least I know WHAT AND WHY it’s being taken out my account instead of them keeping me in the shadows about it.
If there’s no contract for this ‘debt’ pre-exclusive contract pre-debut I say they shouldn’t have to pay it back, that it was all the companies investment and it shouldn’t have NEVER exited their paychecks as ‘expense’ in the first place. THEY SHOULDN’T HAVE NEVER used this ‘family’ behavior in running business. Cause sometimes it’s family who you have to watch out for the most because they can take advantage of trust already there.
The problem here is that TVXQ wasn’t a ‘average’ group, they made PLENTY of back profit. This wasn’t a group that barely broke the seal, this group was big so why the financial problems?
Or maybe we ASSUME they where big, but to cover expenses they needed to be BIGGER than what they already where in order to see proper profit. HOW BIG did they needed to be? Damn.
At the end of the day, SM and all these other companies need to come with a better way to do business. If you know you can’t afford to TREAT and TRAIN your artists the way you do and pay for everything, their food, room and board, DON’T DO IT. HAVE THEM TO INVEST AND PAY SINCE THEY’RE THE ONES WANT TO BE IDOLS (didn’t Jae do this? I heard). Just like I have to pay for my higher education cause I want it, well the government does lol but I have to pay SOMEONE regardless evenually, nothing’s free so SM shouldn’t give the assumption that it is using the whole ‘family’ thing. QUIT ACTING LIKE YOU’RE PAPA BEAR, taking care of everyone SM, act like a BUSINESS, be transparent, make it clear to these artists and their parents what they’re getting themselves into. So you say it’s not your job to be proactive in that, well when the artist finally has something to say about how business is ran DON’T BE all secretive about it. LET THEM KNOW. This business is a ‘leap before look’ business. They pour and pour money into a artist and it’s a guessing game. When they don’t make enough back the profit to cover everything…oh ooo who fault is that? Not the artist, the artist DID THEIR PART, they did their WORK. It’s the companies, for over guessing in cost and having big expectations. ALWAYS for anything use the minimum cost it will take to cover something if you’re not sure about will it succeed, don’t splurge like it’s a NEED. Junsu’s Tri-angle ponytail was NOT needed lol. This is basic economics!
See what I’m saying…small resources, BIG profit. It’s elementary concept. Come on!
lol, it makes me wondering, since dbsk is soo big and they have a deficit, I wonder what other sm groups do?
what a smart point,@shhhh?where u live?im indo.have u jyj cd yet?im waiting my payday…..so loooong one week?heeheeee