BigHit, Source Music, And Pledis Entertainment Reveal Their Artist Contract Durations And Trainees’ Statuses

On an online community, Idol Issue, some documentations from BigHit Entertainment, Source Music Entertainment and Pledis Entertainment were recently revealed. The documents depicted the current status of the remaining contracts of the artists currently signed under each agency, as well as their trainee statuses and future plans.

According to the document, BTS contract expires in 2024, TXT‘s contract ends in 2026, SEVENTEEN‘s contract ends in 2022, NU’EST‘s contract ends in 2022 and GFRIEND‘s ends in 2021. Of course, contract expirations date don’t necessarily mean a disbandment. Many artists, like BTS, have all renewed with the same company to stay together!

The documents further revealed the number of trainees that are exclusively signed to each agency. There could be more trainees that are not yet exclusively contracted, but the documents only note down those that have already signed contracts. Do note that signing the contract does not guarantee a debut.

BigHit Entertainment has 31 trainees under them currently. BELIFT.lab, a company that is a subsidiary under CJ&M and BigHit Entertainment, has 24 trainees including those under I-LAND. Source Music Entertainment has 28, and Pledis Entertainment has signed on a whopping 72 trainees.

Lastly, it was revealed the tentative plans for new group debuts under each company. BigHit Entertainment evidently has no plans for a new group until 2022, probably as TXT is still considered a rookie. Source Music Entertainment may debut a new group next year, similar to Pledis Entertainment and BELIFT.lab, who probably will debut the trainees under I-LAND.

It is important to take tentative plans of debut with a pinch of salt as ongoings behind the scenes may push forward or delay debuts. We can’t wait to see what is in store for the K-Pop industry soon, as BigHit Entertainment takes helm of these 4 companies!