YG Entertainment is once again in a precarious situation as their contract with BLACKPINK will expire in August this year.
BLACKPINK, who debuted in 2016, is approaching the end of their exclusive contract with YG in August. On July 12th, YG’s stock price plummeted by over 8% after rumors emerged that BLACKPINK Lisa is unlikely to renew.
This is not the first time that speculation of a BLACKPINK member not renewing has led to a stock decline. In fact, whenever rumors about BLACKPINK’s transferring to a new agency arise, YG’s stock fluctuates. This proves the significance of BLACKPINK’s presence within YG, and how much attention is focused on BLACKPINK’s move after contract expiration.
BIGBANG, who was a pillar of YG, effectively went on hiatus after the release of “Still Life“ last year, and all members, including G-Dragon, ended their contracts with YG. As a result, BLACKPINK’s reliance on the company has become higher than ever before.
In the third quarter of 2022, BLACKPINK accounted for 90% of YG’s album sales revenue. So, if BLACKPINK opt to leave the agency, YG will face a significant revenue gap.
So far, BLACKPINK is the only Kpop girl group that embarked on a world tour with a scale of 1.5 million audiences and headlined the American music festival Coachella. However, since the end of last year, signals of the group not renewing their contracts have been raised, making them both a pillar and a risk for YG
Stay in YG Stay, join The Black Label, or focus on Individual Careers: What will BLACKPINK choose?
Currently, there are three scenarios surrounding BLACKPINK. The first scenario is that all four members, Jennie, Rosé, Lisa, and Jisoo, will renew their contracts with YG. For YG, they cannot afford to lose any of the BLACKPINK members. Therefore, there is a possibility that contract renewal will happen on more favorable terms.
The members themselves have also hinted about contract renewal during their world tour stop in Singapore. At the time, Rosé said, “Thank you for supporting our music. BLACKPINK will not go anywhere else,” receiving cheers from fans. Some speculate that Rosé’s statement was made in consideration of fans, who might be worried about BLACKPINK’s contract renewal.
However, YG has not made any official statements regarding the contract renewal status, other than mentioning that discussions are ongoing.
There are also speculations that YG decided to debut rookie girl group BABYMONSTER in September due to the possibility of BLACKPINK leaving. In fact, in the music industry, there are simply too many obstacles to overcome for a group to renew their contract with all members.
The second scenario is that BLACKPINK may join The Black Label, which is a music label led by Teddy and affiliated with YG. Since Teddy has been producing hit songs for BLACKPINK since their debut, and there are deep connections between the label’s other producers and YG artists, there is a high possibility that BLACKPINK may choose The Black Label to continue their group activities in a more comfortable and free atmosphere.
In particular, there is a precedent in which Big Bang Taeyang recently left YG and signed a contract with The Black Label. Regarding the transfer, at a press conference last April, Taeyang said, “I have been in a constant musical exchange with the producers of The Black Label, so in a way, leaving the agency was a natural thing for me.” He even said he was crazy. In addition, Lisa recently showed off her friendship by collaborating with Taeyang, who transferred to The Black Label, on his new song ‘Shoong!’.
The last is the members’ ‘individual self-reliance’. It is a way to sign a contract with the agency each wants. Some members can stay at YG, but there is a possibility that someone will leave. It is also the most realistic scenario.
The income of each member has already risen to the level of a medium-sized company. All four members fully confirmed their capabilities with solo albums, and Jisoo is expected to develop as an actor.
They are also active as public relations ambassadors for various brands, and since they earn more from individual activities than from group activities, it can be natural for them to want to do personal activities for the rest of their careers.
In particular, Lisa from Thailand, the only foreign member of the group, enjoys great popularity in Southeast Asia and is rumored to be receiving hundreds of billions of love calls from various global companies.
In addition, unlike in the past, where termination of an exclusive contract meant the dissolution of a group, recently, groups that have passed 7 years have left their agencies and focused on their second act, such as actors, entertainment, and solos while releasing albums as a group. .
Girls’ Generation, who released their 15th-anniversary album last year, is a representative example. Blackpink, on the other hand, can either sign with companies that allow them to showcase their individual abilities or become independent with their own one-person agency. However, for this to happen, a smooth discussion with YG, which owns the team trademark, is required.
Sources: Naver
