Volume 5 2013 Chapter 971: T-ara’s Way Out
"What are you going to do now? The situation is so bad now, what arrangements does the company have?"
Some people are more worried about Park Ji-yeon's situation than she is.
IU never forgets to worry about her bestie even in between her own schedule.
The two girls who used to have a good relationship are now in very different circumstances, but it does not affect their relationship.
Back then, T-ara was more popular than IU, and Park Ji-yeon took care of Lee Ji-eun. Now that IU is at the peak of her career and T-ara is on the verge of failure, Lee Ji-eun will not sit idly by.
"What else can I do? I'll just try my best. But, Jieun, I'm really tired. My legs feel like they're filled with lead, and I can't muster up any energy either."
Unlike Lee Ji-eun, who is a clever girl with a lot of clever ideas, Park Ji-yeon, who is a hard worker, is always full of energy. Even she started to complain of being tired, which means she really couldn't hold on any longer.
It is indeed easy to be frustrated if you keep working hard but see no results. Even the most motivated little dinosaur will inevitably become discouraged.
Since the incident, CCM has tried many ways to reverse the group's decline, but the results have not been very good. South Korean public opinion has been keeping a close eye on Liu Huaying's affairs, forcing them to turn to Japan for development.
But who could have imagined that just after the adjustment plan was completed, the relationship between the two countries began to become tense again. After the Japanese brokerage company was acquired, its attitude towards Korean groups also changed. T-ara, who had put all their eggs in one basket, was hit with a series of setbacks.
After experiencing this series of setbacks, the group’s comeback performance has been getting worse and worse. Although their songs are all of high quality, they are getting further and further away from the first place.
Since the "exclusion incident", T-ara has never won first place in a music show again.
"SEXY LOVE" was their first comeback after the incident. In fact, the quality was quite high, but they only got a first-place finish in "M! Countdown" and only third place in "Music Bank".
The following "Pastoral Diary" was even worse, "Inkigayo" ranked ninth, "Music Bank" ranked thirteenth, "Music Core" ranked tenth, and "M! Countdown" and "Show Champion" both only got fourth, without any of them being in the top three.
The latest release, "No.9", is of very high quality, but it did not get first place.
"Inkigayo" ranked second, "Music Bank" and "Music Core" ranked fourth, " M! Countdown" ranked sixth, and "Show Champion" also ranked fourth.
The lyrics of this sad song are as if begging fans not to leave. The choreography even includes a kneeling action, but it still fails to reverse the situation.
Although their promotion results seem to be pretty good, better than many girl groups that didn't even get first place, they were originally a top-tier girl group with plenty of schedules and endorsements. In comparison, their current situation is really bleak.
Being scolded online is one thing, cyber violence is also a major feature of South Korea. What’s even worse is that the group can’t get any variety show or commercial performance schedules.
Bad word of mouth and reputation are fatal to idol groups. Perhaps the support of hardcore fans can last for a while, but without word of mouth, commercial performances and other schedule exposure, the attention will drop quickly. Moreover, new South Korean groups are coming in with great momentum, and the continued loss of fans is also a huge loss.
Today's T-ara has gradually reached the point where they are running out of money.
On the one hand, with the withdrawal of CJ, the group lost its biggest backer and financial sponsor, and resources and funds became very tight. Members like Park Ji-yeon and Ham Eun-jung, who used to act frequently, now have no TV drama and movie schedules.
On the other hand , peers and senior executives in the industry have jointly suppressed the company, and the public opinion has continued, which has had a great impact on the original fan base. The reduction in itineraries and the investment in returning have also caused CCM to start losing money.
Although their performance every time they return can still barely support themselves as a first-tier girl group, they are already unable to make ends meet.
Without commercial performances and other schedules, promoting songs is the only way to gain exposure and the only source of income. Without promoting songs or if the performance is not good, there will be no exposure and income.
However, the cost of promoting songs is very high, and with T-ara's declining fan base, promoting songs is not profitable at all.
The more you promote a song, the more money you lose. If you don’t promote a song, you lose even more.
This creates a vicious cycle.
If this logic continues, T-ara has no choice but to disband.
Kim Kwang-soo seems to have no idea. Apart from getting a few good songs as usual and finding ways to improve the quality of his comeback, he is now isolated and helpless, and even his Japan plan has come to nothing. Is there any other way out?
Seeing her good friend in such a desperate situation, Lee Ji-eun certainly would not sit idly by. In fact, the smart girl had already made arrangements, but the guy she trusted had not shown any response, which made her anxious.
"Haoyanxi, T-ara is in this state now, where do you think they should be arranged?"
Because both parties are smart people and Yi Haoyan had made a promise before, Li Zhien came straight to the point on the phone and her tone was very direct.
Judging from past experience, this chaebol young master has plans for T-ara and will definitely not ignore it. However, Lee Ji-eun doesn't know what she will do specifically, so she can only wait.
But at this point, she couldn't wait any longer.
"Don't worry, let's talk about this matter after I meet Jiyeonnu."
Yi Haoyan had already made plans and arrangements for T-ara's affairs. He had made plans since Liu Huaying's incident broke out.
There is no secret about this arrangement. It is nothing more than going to China to develop. In recent years, many South Korean idols have gone to China.
SM has always attached great importance to the Chinese market. SJ, F(X) and EXO all have Chinese members, some of whom are core members, which is a reflection of this strategy.
J YP's Miss A also reflects this idea.
However, although the Chinese market is profitable, it has always been the Achilles' heel of Korean entertainment companies.
All companies want to enter this market, but in China, Korean Wave has always been a niche, and girl groups are even a niche within the niche.
All groups that come to China to develop their careers must have been very popular in South Korea, otherwise they will not be accepted in China at all. This is fundamentally different from the Japanese market.
South Korean idols can only make money in China, but there is absolutely no growth or development, because the so-called music promotion model of Japan and South Korea does not exist in China.
The market here is very unique.
In China, selling records and music sources is just a drop in the ocean and can be almost ignored. The real big income comes from endorsements and commercial performances.
Not to mention corporate commercial performances, just counting the TV programs alone is completely not on the same level.
Unlike South Korea, which has only three small TV stations, China has a total of more than 2,000 TV programs, which is 30 times that of South Korea.
There are far more corporate endorsements than in South Korea.
Therefore, popular South Korean idols can easily earn much more money in China than in South Korea.
But all this comes at a price.
The Chinese market can only make money, but it is impossible to allow idols to develop further.
Cash money can be exchanged here, but there is no way there will be no soil for the further development of the group.
Therefore, the idols who come here can basically only make money and will not become better.
To some extent, for South Korean idols who decide to develop in China, it actually means the end of their career.
The young man knew very well that if he talked to Kim Kwang-soo about the development of China at this time, he would be more than happy to do so.
For businessmen, making money is everything at this time, so they don't care about T-ara's development. Besides, from the essence of commercial idols, isn't making money the ultimate goal? T-ara has reached this point now, and it is impossible to surpass Girls' Generation. There is no need to hesitate.
But for a girl like Park Ji-yeon who has been working hard for her dreams, is this really a good thing?
