Photo Credit: en.Wikipedia.org
KPop Female Sensation: EXID
If they are lucky enough to debut in a Kpop group, the work doesn’t stop
there. In fact, many debuting Kpop groups are in debt to the company that
helped create them. It all starts with the contract that they sign upon recruitment
that often locks them into 5 to 7-year contracts to the label.
These contracts give the label the right to control everything from their
dating lives, weight, when they are allowed to go out, and even when they
are allowed to see family. They are also required to pay back all money
that the company invests in their training and debuts. On top of that, the
company takes the bigger cut of the money before it is being split between
5+ members of the group.
Normally, the company takes about 60-70% of the profit, singers take 30-
40% and they split expenses 50/50. Sometimes, when they debut a song
or album they will owe more money to the company than they make in
profit. It is not unheard of for debuting groups to take almost 2 years before
they earn money for themselves. During these times, groups often
don’t make a single penny. Since many girls come from poor families,
some groups have even reported taking out bank loans in order to live until
they earned enough money to support themselves.
Outraged? I know it is shocking to hear. Being a Kpop fan myself, when I
heard this is how their music industry was run, I was simply in shock.
However, South Korea doesn’t hide these facts from their fans and this
seems to make fans even more dedicated to their favorite groups. A big
part of Kpop is an online presence with fans on social media and youtube.
Kpop fans are the most fanatic fandom and don’t see themselves as consumers
but as producers who can make or break a group’s success. They
are major players in creating the culture, movement, and are social justice
ambassadors. In short, the more fans you have, the more you can get
sponsors, paid endorsements, and merchandise sales; which ultimately
means more money to help pay off debts and turn a profit.
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