The Reality of K-Pop Contracts And Idol Debts, According To A Third Generation Idol
VICTON‘s Hanse has spoken about his experiences with K-Pop contracts and debts associated with being an idol.
Recently, Hanse became a hot topic online after making comments about the reasons some idols don’t promote on music shows, sharing the costs associated with the performances.
Yet, it wasn’t just music show appearance costs that he spoke about. In particular, Hanse also spoke about the idea of idols’ debts and contracts. In some of his messages, he explained that debt keeps piling up aside from very famous acts that everyone knows, adding his “advice” to idols who aren’t “making money” to avoid huge debt.
And it’s rare for idol groups to get paid. Unless you’re, like, one of the few festival headliner-level groups that even non-K-Pop fans know, it’s more so piling up debt for the duration of the contract.
I’d say it’s the best-case scenario for groups that aren’t making any money to disband mid-contract or survive the seven years somehow and let their contracts come to an end without trouble. Haha.
If you get through your seven-year contract, you don’t have to pay back any of the debt that you accumulate over the seven years.
— Hanse
Hanse then went on to explain the intricacies about the debt and standard K-Pop contracts. It seems that if idols aren’t paying debts, it sadly means they aren’t earning a single penny unless they have other ventures, such as songwriting or composing.
All debt gets consolidated, just like that. Gone.
That’s how the standard exclusive contracts work these days.
But I’m sure that wasn’t true for sunbae idols who came before me.
So, in exchange for not having to pay anything back, idols would not be making a single penny for the seven years that they’re signed to the management. Well, unless they write/produce songs and have copyright income, that is.
Even that isn’t a lot of money, though.
Compared to the work that goes in, I mean. It’s not as much as you think it’d bring in.
— Hanse
Hanse is speaking from his own experiences, and as explained in his Instagram post, promoting as VICTON was an amazing time for the idol.
There is no doubt that idol life doesn’t secure economic achievements, and most go into it wanting to live out their dreams and perform in front of fans. It’s a sad reality considering how tough the idol life is and how much work they do from the time before they even debut.
You can read more from Hanse’s messages below.
