Volume 1 2009 Chapter 45 Behind the TVXQ Incident
When Sun Enxi heard Yi Haoyan say that he wanted to analyze it, she also became interested. She pricked up her ears and turned her body to look at him.
"Both groups are boy bands. They had already topped the charts in Korea before the incident. Logically, they should be enjoying the benefits next. Why would they choose to split up at this time?"
"In fact, it was because the group had reached its bonus period and started to make a lot of money that the problem of distribution arose. In addition, the group became more popular and life became easier, people's minds changed , and there was no coordination, which eventually led to the split."
"There is a detail here, I don't know if you noticed it. HOT's contract renewal had problems in 2001. What happened before that?"
“They went to the Celestial Empire.”
"In 2000, HOT held a concert at the Beijing Workers' Stadium, which was also HOT's only concert in China."
"What about TVXQ? What did they do after they topped Korea? They went to RB."
"From RB's debut in 2005 to their performance at the Red and White Songs Festival in 2008, they became very popular. In 2009, they started to tour with RB and performed on the big stage of Tokyo Dome. They officially started to enjoy the benefits of RB, but in July, they split up."
"Don't you think there are some similarities? They both reached the top in Korea, succeeded in overseas markets, and then split up."
"Is it because of interests?" Bae Joo-hyun said softly.
"I think so."
"The Korean entertainment market is too small and has limited capacity, so it's hard to make money. After becoming famous, artists will go overseas, with China , RB and Southeast Asia being the main destinations."
"Southeast Asia is too fragmented, with many ethnic groups and cultures, and the music markets in various countries are unevenly developed , making it difficult to form a stable source of income. The main source of income is the occasional concerts."
"The Chinese market is huge and not very mature, so it can be said to be the best place to make money. However, the Chinese market is strictly regulated by the government and is greatly influenced by policies and politics, so it is difficult to achieve sustainable and stable development."
"RB is the world's second largest music market. It is well developed and relatively open, so it is a good place to make money. However, the RB market is mature and standardized, and requires localization. Artists need to develop for a period of time before they can be recognized."
"Basically, when Korean artists become famous, they will go to these three regions to develop their careers. Their only goal is to make money."
"To put it simply, the problems of HOT and TVXQ all occurred when the groups were able to make a lot of money. They can be considered as problems of profit distribution or status."
"As we all know, Korean artists don't earn much in the first few years after their debut. The contracts for new artists are very harsh, with long terms and low commissions. In the early days, they can tolerate such contracts if the artists are not popular. But in the later days, when the artists are already popular, the companies still treat them as newcomers and exploit them. It is impossible for them not to have complaints."
"It seems that HOT and TVXQ are typical cases where the management companies did not know how to adjust their strategies and positioning after the artists became famous, and eventually forced the artists to perish together."
Pei Zhuxuan sighed helplessly after hearing this: "Even if this is the case, what can we do? The management companies have always been the strong party, and the artists are destined to be the objects of exploitation."
"Yeah," Yi Haoyan agreed. He turned his head and looked into Bae Joo Hyun's eyes and said with a smile, "When you debut, Sister Joo Hyun, I expect the situation will be different."
"Huh?" Bae Joo-hyun opened her eyes wide in surprise. Her confused expression was so adorable that the boy secretly admired her in his heart. She was indeed a beautiful lady. One expression could be so lethal.
After collecting his inner surprise, he continued, "From a small perspective, the Korean Wave during the HOT period was in its early stages of development, and many things were not perfect, so many unreasonable things happened."
"After more than a decade of development, Hallyu has become a national cultural representative and an important business card of South Korea. It is time to adjust some of the irregularities, unfairness and opacity."
"Moreover, judging from the changes in social systems from ancient times to the present, from slave society, feudal society to capitalist society, human society as a whole is developing in the direction of liberating human rights and pursuing freedom. This is the trend of history and cannot be changed by human will. In the past few decades, with the rapid development of science and technology and economy, the development speed of this trend will become faster and faster, and the Korean entertainment industry will be no exception."
"I guess TVXQ's incident won't end in vain like HOT's, otherwise they wouldn't choose to sue." Yi Haoyan said confidently.
Sun Enxi pointed to the ceiling and said, "You mean they got instructions from above?"
"I can't be sure, but there must be forces outside the entertainment industry involved in this matter. It's not just a matter within the entertainment industry."
"Perhaps someone will use this incident as an excuse to push for reforms in the Korean entertainment industry."
"It won't be that serious? Will it really come to that?" Bae Joo-hyun couldn't believe it.
"Haha," Yi Haoyan smiled and waved his hand, indicating with his hand: "There are a few reasons, you can listen to them."
"First, times have changed," Yi Haoyan raised a finger. "This is not the era of HOT. This is the Internet era. TVXQ's influence far exceeds HOT. The attention this lawsuit will attract will far exceed people's expectations."
"In the Internet age, information spreads extremely quickly. The control of the agency over the media and public opinion will be greatly reduced. The right and wrong of a matter will not be determined solely by the company's words. Moreover, the contract itself is problematic. As the problems are exposed, SM will face increasing pressure! To sue? The artist may not lose."
"Secondly, the meaning of Hallyu has changed. In 2004, the cultural industry had already become South Korea's second largest export earner. Hallyu and related cultural industries have accounted for about 11% of GDP, which is a large proportion. Structurally, it is no longer dominated by actors and Korean dramas, and idols also occupy a very important proportion."
"Korean pop groups like TVXQ have become, to some extent, a business card for South Korea's national image. If something happens to such a group, it will attract great attention from the world media. If it is discovered that they have engaged in slavery contracts or sweatshops, it will be an indelible stain on this business card. In addition to the economic losses, it will also be a blow to South Korea's international image."
"Third, the situation of the management companies is also different. In the past ten years, most management companies have completed the brutal primitive accumulation of capital. In fact, they have enough strength to improve the treatment of artists, but there is no power to push them to do this. Capital is always greedy."
"However, as a listed company, such an incident will have a great impact on the company's stock price. In the end, they will weigh the losses and decide whether to go their separate ways or to make concessions and cooperate to make money. I believe that capital will make a rational choice."
"Based on the above three reasons, I believe that the treatment and living environment of artists will improve after this incident."
