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2pm, DBSK, girls generation, kara, sm, snsd, so nyuh shi dae, super junior, wonder girls
While I was on my hiatus, our Boss Lady posted >>a quote<< from a friend of ours (Tama Mama) that gained quite the response. Now, I’m sort of outdated on my SNSD and Kpop news but I tried to keep up with as much as I could. It’s hard really, considering that I don’t visit forums often and there aren’t many people I can talk to who are well versed in the Kpop industry but I wanted to share my view on this topic because I feel as though fans (SNSD and SM) and readers may have misunderstood some things. Along with my views, I’ll also post in some other information from two others.
In response to the information Tama Mama gave Cindy:
I’ve been keeping up with all these SM cases [as much as I can] lately and talking to some outside sources who know Lee Soo Man and his family personally. And honestly, I think fans are not taking some things into account. The celebrities have never themselves complained about pay or how they’re living. They all love what they do at the end of the day, as tiring as it is. And underpaid? These celebrities will never have to work another day in their life once they leave the business, as long as they don’t waste their money. They never have to spend a dime of what they’re making (unless they’re starting businesses on the side like Yoochun or think of selling some of their stocks and shares that they own. Wouldn’t surprise me if Queen B [BoA] does, she owns over 100,000 and that was said around 2007 or 2008) because the company pays for everything.
Those name brand apparels they’re wearing, the food they eat, the expensive drinks they buy, the cars they drive, the fancy housings they live in, the accessories they own/use, the vacations they go on… that’s all paid for them for as long as they work. And the money they earn piles up without being touched. If people are complaining about it not being enough, people don’t take into consideration the endorsements that they’re paid which most of the time aren’t even included in sales earnings.
And the reason for that ratio and why it doesn’t freak me out is because people don’t realize who has to be paid before the artists. Even here in America, the artists are last to be paid! It’s nothing new! Yeah, it may not be as much as what American artists look they’re making but… Korea isn’t America. It’s not that expensive of a country honestly. You go grocery shopping and only spend 50 bucks? A nice meal can be eaten under 10, sometimes 5 bucks? Yoona survived with 20 dollars a week when she was a trainee and she didn’t have a problem. Oh yeah, when i say ‘bucks/dollars’, I mean USD.
We all see SM artists, how/where they live, and what they eat and wear… Fans should know what it’s like to be an artist under these training companies, I’m sure our girls as well as the rest of their co-workers know as well and so did their PARENTS. So now, they go about busy lives because they wanted it.
Anyway, before i take up all my freetime here… It’s no surprise to me about Taeyeon, Jessica, and Yoona (though…15 years? no one’s ever stayed that long in a company before…) having such lengthy contracts. However, Tiffany has the ability to leave after SNSD disbands? I find that surprising. I understand Seobaby, she most likely wants to go to school or pursue another career, and dancers don’t really have much to do unless they can train their vocals some more (no offense on Hyoyeon).
-O_sLaVe
–Owaranai_sLaVe (Me) @JPHIP
I think there’s a new article out (or is it also a rumour?) that says that Yoona‘s contract is 13 years. I think it depends on when she signed this. Was it when SNSD debuted or when she started working, coz she did start way before the others and if you take those years in, it might just be as long as some who signed right when the group debuted.
And I agree with you, Maria. And fans also only think about their beloved artists and forget that the company has to pay for everything else too, not just artists.
–Tamatron (Tama Mama) @JPHIP
–Maki Kanatsu @JPHIP
I hope that shed some light into this much talked about issue. Input, anyone?
this article is true, in that most fans (including myself) dont always think about how much is paid for the girls, it would be like any of us working for 10 years, and never paying for anything for that 10 years. When you are finished you would have plently of money.
nvr really thought about the money, but ii guess i understand that they’re not paying a single cent yet. They’re probably not THAT well off though, are they? the pot is still being split among 9 of them, as opposed to BoA getting everything she would.
the bigger issue to me is that it just seems like SM is overworking these girls. their latest perfs have involved a lot of lip syncing, and they all felt so out of it.
very true. artists do seem to complain very little about their careers. and our girls are always saying how much they love being together as singers and dancers.
i agree with the article. Think of all the money they have to put in to prepare for music videos, albums, costumes, transportation, and even training. So i guess this is why the girls doesnt complain. =]
The problem I think is with the less popular artists.
Their contract length is similar and you’re paid what your worth.
If a group of 5 can’t even move 10,000 copies of an album then well they can live off that money later on
Then with SNSD and SJ the problem is that there’s so many members that well no matter how much they sell they still aren’t getting that much. Sure they get paid for everything for now but honestly speaking you can’t live off of just 100,000 for the rest of your life if you try to buy a house or an apartment for the 40-50 plus years ahead of you after your contract expires.
Luckily our girls aren’t in it for the money and all of them either come from a decent background or have the option to pursue their careers as singers/entertainers/etc. even after their idol age.
As for the whole DBSK fiasco they aren’t complaining about pay it’s their stupid lawyers that are -.-;;
You can’t drive an Audi and buy houses and still complain about low wage.
But I think the real question is what do they do with the outfits after they’re used? I mean think about it Genie had like around 10 outfits right? That’s 90 freaking outfits that’s a lot of money. What do they do with them afterwards though? It wouldn’t make sense to donate them and the girls will only wear them again for future concerts but even then they’d have to readjust the size and such. They could sell it to fans for like thousands of dollar you know they’d buy it 😛
when i first saw the articles about them not making enough money and what not. i said that if u look at where they live right now (one of the most expensive parts of korea), eat, drink, wear and what not is mostly all paid by S.M.
Also I’m sure they make a good amount of money for themselves and they prolly save it or share it with their families. SNSD loves what they do and even though they are tired, they do it for us fans.
I agree with what you said. I honestly think SME is not bad. Fans are trying to target the blame towards them cause they only believe their idols. I’m an SM supporter. I support all the groups from SM. I feel sympathetic for SME actually.
They provide their artists everything. From food to shelter… and I mean come on.. all the nice things they use too. Their artists don’t even need to spend a single penny ’cause their management pays their bills. All of them are entertainers, they do what they love. This is why they are in this. No matter all the hard work, the practices, the lessons, they are determined and knows it would be payed off later. I don’t blame SME or their artists but I think fans are taking it way too hard & pointing fingers at each other.
I mean why did BoA sign another contract to SME after her first one ended? It’s obvious that BoA liked SME. There’s always a reason behind it, it’s just that we don’t know it.
If money is the only concern, then SM is doing a good job. Remember the news about the actress in Boys Before Flowers who committed suicide? Her company made her sleep with people high up amongst other things. She committed suicide but before she did she explained in a letter how badly the company treated her. Nobody should have to go through that.
SM prob treats their artist better than most and being nitpicky about dollars and cents should not be that big of a deal. The girls say they do it for the joy of it and if they are truthful about that, then all the added bonuses like nice salary and all the nice things they receive should be extra. Not saying the girls should not be well compensated but they do have a good life right now.
Well, if this matter doesn’t bother them, why is it suppose to bother the fans? Personally, I’m not troubled at all by the contract years. Because…. everything I want to say is already said by Maria in the post. LOL. except that I wanna add: when the girls signed up for this, they meant “surrious bidnezz” =P
where did my comment go?? i SWORE i posted something here…
really appreciate the insight on the sm ‘slave chain’…i think its really up to the artists (or should i say pre-debut potential artists) choice to sign these contracts…yes 13-15 yrs sounds long but the upside is that if you’re signed that long, it must means you (the artist) is worth that much…and if so happens a artist who signs that long and doesn’t end up making or gaining as much…he/she is still gonna be paid either way b/c of the contract unless the company decides to drop the contract…so in that sense it’s not that bad…
and its true sm artists are living eating spending in the most expensive part of s. korea.. and sm is taking all the bills from eating to living to luxury cars (ahem dbsk)….i guess a way to say this is for sm and the 3 musketeers who are filing the lawsuit to end it promptly and get over with it…cuz it’s really taking a toll on other artists like snsd and shinee…..who are beginning to feel love from fans and they’re still young so they’ve gotta be promoted more…
So Yoona Is Really Contract Is 15 years ? I thought the longest is around 13 years “?
there are definitely good points on both sides. I mean, where does the success of a group lie? At the singers and their personalities and talents? Or at the company that manages the image and trains them? Most likely somewhere in the middle. It should be noted that entertainers are much like professional athletes. You can’t expect a singer’s career to last indefinitely, in which case people should not just be looking at how much money they have made, but how much each member will individually be able to make during their career period.
That being said, I really could care less about that kind of stuff, lawyers and law suits tend to settle that issue. What I generally find unacceptable is the lack of sleep/down time that korean entertainers seem to have to deal with? I’m guessing there aren’t any unions for that kind of stuff over there?
My question is why no one in korea is smart enough to start an actor/singer union… seriously are they stupid?
They’re being over worked like slaves yet they think it’s normal?
my guess is that it’s cultural. you know, the whole “suck it up and don’t complain…you wanted that kind of work so deal with it.”
It is indeed cultural. My unni just came back from Korea and she got offered a job at… well let’s say it’s at a company that many of us fans would die to work for… and she said that it’s not like America at all.
Yes, 8 hours is when you clock out, but they expect you to add onto that everyday so you don’t look lazy. So technically, it’s a 10 hour a day job.
But hey, pay is freaking good and the perks are like whoa.
And yes, surrious bidnezz indeed.
-sLaVe
I think that people who think that SME is blameless really does know SME at all. Most of these opinions come from fans that only know of the company through the artists they like, and it is possible that they may seem like they are not at fault at all.
SME is hardly blameless. History proves this. HOT? SES? Shinhwa? Eugene(formerly part of SES) even came out recently to express her opinions.
You guys can delude yourselves that SNSD girls are truly happy where they are, but SNSD is growing under excruciating strict laws dictated by the company.
SM pays the artists as an INVESTMENT. that is only natural. The real issue is the length of the contract and the conditions their artists must deal with EVERY single day and for 20 out of the 24 hours
*doesn’t know
i gotta agree with you there.
as i was stating in my comment that mysteriously disappeared– ALL the entertainment companies underwent serious investigations by the korean government for having slave contracts. that is FACT. so it is true, that for a while now, before these investigations, our beloved idols were in many ways treated unfairly. heck, if the korean government is saying something is unfair, it really must have been.
and the celebrities ARE complaining about their pay. the 3 boys of DBSK are in fact filing a lawsuit solely because of unfair compensation. yes, SM just issued a statement saying DBSK is being paid 6:4 but then the DBSK boys came right out and said “that statement cannot be trusted.”
Soshi and Suju all the more cannot complain because they just don’t have the financial clout that DBSK has managed to build up. you can just SEE how tired our girls are during their perfs and variety show tapings (which is why i’m kinda glad they ended ‘genie’ promos already)… and now they’re just getting shipped off overseas. speaking of overseas activities, SM’s 13-year contract justification makes NO sense– the boys have careers in korea and overseas AT THE SAME TIME. asians should be good at math 😛
i feel like in a way, successful solo artists are a tiny exception to this, since technically, they don’t have anyone else they have to share the money with. boa hit it BIG in japan so obviously, since she gets a % of the profits, she made bank. and the japanese yen is REALLY strong. and US dollars are always good too (so far)
i guess all this talk of DBSK’s case is bringing up memories of HOT, SES, Shinhwa. heck, moon hee jun himself said he nearly went bankrupt just he wanted to pay for his younger sister’s schooling. if his compensation as an SM artist wasn’t enough to cover university tuition…ahhhh my heart just goes out to our girls who have to split that check 9 ways T___T
hopefully, the DBSK case will set a better precedent for current and future SM stars.
I can’t help but feel that some fans think that companies such as SM have an endless amount of revenue. Money doesn’t grow on trees, and nothing in this world is free.
Indeed, the girls are pretty much worked to the bone (at least by modern day standards) and have to persevere under some pretty grueling conditions. However, I don’t think many take the time to consider all the work that goes into organising the girls’ day-to-day lives and general publicity.
I don’t want to sound indifferent to the members of SNSD or any other artists who do not write their own songs (the girls don’t write their own songs – right? I’m merely guessing here), but singers and dancers (actors, too) are disposable. When a company’s artist isn’t doing well in terms of sales, then they can easily move their promoting to someone else who is either known or relatively unknown. Singing and dancing is an ability that can be developed through training (Tiffany, anyone?), so we ought to be giving credit to SM for backing SNSD up to such an extent. Why would companies consider their artists as being disposable? Because they are in the business, like several people are, for profit. The higher SM’s profit, the more effective SNSD’s influence will be over audiences.
I personally like the way that the girls are treated by the company in terms of salary. They have several expenses paid for them by the company and it is up to them how they use the money that they earn. In their shoes, I wonder what they’d want to spend it on that they don’t already have.
The greater to profit made by SM, the more stable the girls’ careers will be. For anyone their age, those are some pretty attractive living conditions.
I love the girls, but I wouldn’t even know about them without SM. No fansite of theirs would be the same if they were under a different record company.
I probably didn’t make much sense – I’m still recuperating from my lack of SNSD for the past 5 days.
i know that i’m really late replying to this topic and some of you might get over it already.
but i just read isak interview on her view of dbsk case.
(for those who don’t know isak, she’s a member of duet, Isak and Jiyeon. she also a senior of Suju, DBSK, the Grace, SNSD, etc. because she is under SM Ent. too)
she admitted that the company pays every expenses they spent, but the money is not come from the company’s account. the real thing is, the company deducts their expenses from the artist’s paycheck.
so in the end it’s just the same as they pay their owns
“They [the management companies] promise before you debut, ‘we’re going to house you, we’re going to feed you, we’re going to give you all the lessons you need. Do your best’ and then we think that that’s all free,” remembered Isak. She soon learned, however, that all the expenses that went into her upkeep, including stylists, salon visits, manager fees, food, and clothing, were deducted from her pay.~Isak”
What interview was this on? I’d like to see it. Also, Isak still being under SM ent, I’m sure they censor some of the things she says… I almost doubt she’s allowed to say that and make the situation look worse for SM Ent. Then again, I heard Isak is outspoken. But if this is a written interview, I’d only believe it if it came from her twitter or something that we for sure know is Isak. Other than that, if she didn’t say it on radio, I don’t believe it.
Well yeah if u think of it they don’t get that much heck of $$
If they really are in for the green,they would be like BoA or something. SM entertainment is trying to get the best out of them and indeed has overowrked them to the extreme; you’ll always notice when people interview TVXQ ,SNSD or suju members,they would tend to space out…
No pain ,no gain i think that’s what SNSD is trying to achieve.
But now the k-pop industry is seriouly rising and snsd needs to put on a gud show. If u think about it , fans demanding for more shows and interviews would jus cost more $$.
Money doesn’t fall from trees, evrything needs a little sacrifice for a huge sucess. Look at SNSD now they are in the line or stardom
I don’t really know about Korea, but for most major labels, the money they pay for the albums, videos costumes, and other things are considered “investments” or “loans”. The artists have to make the amount the company spent on those items, back. if they don’t, the artist or group is in debt to the company and the company can choose to disband the group or “drop” the artist. For groups such as SNSD getting $1 or $3, for each ALBUM sold, not single or EP, is considered generous offer on the company’s part. The majority of the revenue generated form album sales, concerts, etc go to advertisement and distributors. It’s really pricey for the record companies to promote the album and successfully advertise their artists. Not to mention they have to spend mass amounts of money researching for what’s “in” among current teenagers. As for CFs, commercials for products such as LG phones or other electronic devices are given to the the artists, because the record company agrees to a deal with LG or other companies that produce the product. The artists don’t see much of the money made from these kind of advertisements. However, the story is different for solo, or individual advertisements. For example, Yoona’s green tea advertisement was probably given to her, because the green tea company thought she had the right attributes to give their company a positive image. In these cases, the green tea company most likely approached Yoona individually with a contract, which Yoona can choose to accept or not (depends on whether SM allows her to). To sum up, if you’re as popular as SNSD, you should be getting a substantial amount of income, but nothing can be conclusive since, SM is notorious for taking advantage of their artists (remember H.O.T?).
None of this should make you feel pity towards the artists because they are doing what they love. They made the decision to work their asses for fame and admiration. However, if you are considering to become an artist, you should really think of whether you can deal with the emotional stress and physical requirements of being an artist (especially in this day and age). Also, remember to read over your contract with a lawyer before you sign it. This way, you clearly know what the contract is requiring of you. And, if you plan on auditioning, I personally think it’s a good idea to audition for a major company, even though its challenging. This is because music industry in Korea is pretty much an oligopoly. Signing with an independent label, makes it really hard for you to make it big, especially in Korea. By singing with a major label, you have security in housing, advertising, and other expenses that go into your career.
That’s some pretty good insights there, Steven. Thanks for shedding some light on the international music industry, though some of them applies to the korean music industry as well.
I think the main problem is not their earnings, but rather the percentage of earnings SM is taking. Imagine slogging it out and receiving a measly 10%-it might be a big amount of money, especially in DBSK’s case, but when you think of the amount SM is taking away, in their shoes I myself would feel heartache.
Members like YoonA probably earn much more, since she has tons of individual work offers. But others like Hyoyeon, who only has SNSD activities, probably earns less, because even if she participates in a group CF, it has to split 9 ways first. It’s a cut-throat industry for idol groups, I must say.
Actually, I doubt SNSD earns alot individually. They may be popular but SM takes alot of their earnings, plus a huge chunk is deducted out of their paycheck to pay for their expenses (the company doesn’t pay for everything, they pay using the artiste’s earnings) The manager then takes his own percentage, before the final paycheck is divided into 9 portions. By then it should be a way smaller amount than original.
But as long as the members save well (they shouldn’t have to pay for much) they will be able to save enough money, maybe to further their education in future or simply as rainy day savings.
the chinese promotion portal says that Intel paid SM’s SNSD 7 billion won ( roughly 6,300,000 USD ) for endorsing Intel in Asia.
for everything. Snsd themselves doesnt actually pay for anything. So what if the total amt they get yearly only adds up to a few thou USD per member? They dont spend it, it stays in the bank collecting interest.
And ofc sm has to take some of the profits. Some sones seem to think that sm doesnt spend money on snsd. The expensive food, clothes, hair treatments, skin treatments, rent, etc etc all cost money. It also cost money to do things like produce albums. If my girls dont complain, im fine with it.