Not everything is as pretty in the Korean music industry as we might be led to believe. As K-Pop continues to grow in the United States it's easy to forget that the consumer trends in South Korea are similar to those in the United States: record sales have started to dwindle. As entertainment promoters and labels try to find the next way to draw profit, relationships between those organizations and the artists representing them have started to fray, according to a new report from The Wall Street Journal. The story focuses on Jessica Jung's departure from Girls Generation during September but also examines a litany of other established K-Pop acts.
The biggest issue, based on the report, is the tendency of labels to focus on short-range goals. Bands are pushed to find success as soon as possible, due to the target audience-teenagers-quickly growing into new music. That approach leads to high turnaround for what acts are possible and wise group-members realize they need to establish themselves as an act that appeals to other demographics, often by taking more artistic control of their music or by entering other markets, such as fashion. Two great examples are G-Dragon and Taeyang of Big Bang, who've established themselves in recent years as more progressive solo pop stars, both in terms of music and style (although contractual issues have not been cited). Jung reportedly dropped out of Girls Generation over disagreements with SM Entertainment Co. over her new fashion line.
More and more, acts are looking for more control over their tours, development and other management issues. U.S. acts are no strangers to complaining about labels and management but Korean talent agencies are notorious for having cake and eating it too.
Some big examples of contract clashes in the last two years listed by the Journal: The band Block B and members of EXO have both alleged payment irregularities (the former case involves withheld payments), and in November BAP accused TS Entertainment of operating under an unfair contract.
Of course, fans don't always support performers rebranding themselves.
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