Idols taking ownership
Several high profile Kpop artists are forming their own labels and producing their own music for the first time - what does this mean for the Kpop industry?
In a world of exploitative contracts and minimal creative (or otherwise?) freedom, it’s no surprise that, at least at some point, many Kpop artists attempt to exert some control over their own art. Some groups build their reputations on being so-called self-producing idols, with at least one member writing and producing most of their own content (see Seventeen’s Woozi, Stray Kids 3RACHA, (G)I-DLE’s Seoyeon). Other groups start experimenting with occasional songwriting (see BTS’s V or recently IVE’s Wonyoung). And other artists exert more control over their solo work (see AgustD (aka BTS’s Suga) and NCT’s Taeyong).
Another interesting aspect in Kpop is that many labels were founded by former artists or producers. JYP entertainment was founded by Park Jin-young, who is still releasing music (and thank God for that!!). SM entertainment was founded by Lee Soo-man, who was a recording artist in the 1970s and continues to produce occasionally for SM groups (and rarely, outside of SM!). YG entertainment was founded by Yang Hyun-suk, a member of Seo Taiji and the Boys. Outside of the big three, of course we all know the story of Hitman Bang, who was a producer with JYP for years before founding his own label at Big Hit, which would eventually debut BTS and become HYBE. Kpop superstar Psy founded his own label, P NATION, in 2018, which has provided a home for unconventional Kpop stars like Jessi and Hwasa. Korean-American idol Jay Park has actually established three record labels, AOMG in 2013, H1ghr Music in 2018, and MORE VISION in 2022. Each of these labels continue to provide support for hip hop and R&B artists. Zico founded K’Oz Music in 2019, which was acquired by HYBE in 2020 and debuted BoyNextDoor in 2023.
An interesting phenomenon occurs when these two ideas combine and Kpop artists form their own record labels in order to manage themselves and exert control over their own music, with less of a focus on signing additional artists. These are usually well established artists - for example, in 2015, 10 years after their debut, SM created Label SJ for Super Junior members to manage the group, sub-units, and solo projects. Also in 2015, top idol Rain founded the RAIN Company to manage his own career, and then didn’t debut any other artists until Ciipher in 2021. GOT7 member Jackson Wang established Team Wang in 2017 to promote in China and internationally, and has signed other artists although the vast majority of the focus does seem to be on promoting Jackson’s work (admittedly, they’re bops!). Interestingly, I think RAIN Company and Team Wang have an MOU - remember this incredible Jackson Wang/Rain duet?
In recent months, it seems a rising number of established Kpop artists (particularly 3rd gen artists) have been setting up their own boutique labels. Last year, third gen girl group powerhouse Blackpink came to the end of their contracts with YG Entertainment. Contract negotiations were a hot button topic for fans and stockholders alike but eventually it emerged that three of the four members would be establishing their own labels - Jennie’s Odd Atelier, Jisoo’s Blissoo and Lisa’s Lloud. We haven’t heard yet what Rose’s new label is going to be, but it’s been confirmed that she will be leaving YG for solo activities. The foursome will continue to promote as Blackpink under YG.
The only Blackpink member we’ve heard music from under their new label so far is Jennie! But if it’s anything to go by, we should be super excited for this new era of solo Blackpink work. Jennie has been putting out the occasional collaboration - Slow Motion was one of my favorite songs of Quarter 1 2024, and this quarter she’s released Spot! with Zico (who also runs his own label, remember?). It’s really fun to watch Jennie put out music she enjoys making.
In a similar story, second gen boy group BtoB left Cube Entertainment on completion of their contracts at the end of last year, after releasing one of the best albums of 2023. Three months later, four out of five remaining group members announced that they had formed their own sub-label under Cube to promote group and solo activities, BTOB Company - a move very similar to Label SJ’s creation under SM. They’ve only put out one solo project thus far, main vocalist Lim Hyunsik’s The Young Man and the Deep Sea. The vocal talent here, sheesh. This album is theatrical and conceptual and actually pretty stunning. I missed it when it first came out in February but I’m glad writing this article gave me a reason to discover it! (Note that the fifth member, Yook Sungjae, also released new music this month under his new label that is also very good! I believe his new contract is more acting focused, you may recognize him from a little Kdrama called Goblin?)
Over at SM entertainment, there have been major shakeups in the management structure of flagship groups EXO and SHINee. As the dust settles, it appears both groups will continue to promote as groups through SM, but many individual members are leaving to form their own agencies or join boutique labels. From SHINee, both Taemin and Onew have left SM and joined smaller agencies for their solo activities. Taemin has joined Big Planet Made (BPM Entertainment), a small label founded by two other artists, and Onew has joined Griffin Entertainment, which is a new agency that has only signed him. Neither have released music under their new labels yet, so we’ll have to wait and see!
The EXO situation has been a little more dramatic. In June 2023, EXO members Chen, Baekhyun, and Xiumin announced that they were terminating their contracts and suing SM. The dispute was quickly resolved, but in January 2024, Baekhyun announced he had started his own label, INB100, and that Xiumin and Chen would be joining him at that label. Last week, Chen released the first album under INB100 and his fourth mini album, DOOR. The lead single, Empty, is very Chen - a big ballad that could be an OST with a music video that is, like, scientifically engineered to make you cry. So what has changed for Chen? Well, his first 3 mini albums all had simple illustrated covers and featured almost exclusively emotional ballads with maybe a one-off foray into jazz or soft pop. DOOR is immediately visually different. There are still a lot of ballads, but there is some sonic experimentation as well - in particular the R&B track Playlist, which is also his first collaboration is worth a listen.
In the midst of this dispute, EXO member D.O. also left SM entertainment following the expiration of his contract in November 2023, joining a company not founded by himself but by his manager, where he is the only artist. D.O. released his first album under Company Soosoo in May and…it’s amazing. It also seems that he is trying to promote under his real name now, Doh Kyung Soo. Always one of Exo’s main vocalists, D.O. seems to have been cast as the tsundere personality within Exo. But under his new label he’s able to let his true playful personality shine and his vocals have never been better! I’m so happy for him! For lead single Mars and second track Simple Joys, he’s tapped frequent BSS collaborator Peder Elias for a lighthearted and joyful sound over stripped down instrumentals. Pre-release single Popcorn (which I LOVE) debuted D.O.’s “true” personality in his music video - delightfully wacky and charming. The album finishes strongly as well, in particular with the vocal triumph that is About Time.
And finally we can see an extreme example in Samuel, the fabled 14th member of Seventeen whose mother took him out of training because he was too young! Samuel has had pretty major legal issues over the years trying to escape his contract. He finally succeeded in 2021 and this month made his first comeback since. He vowed to manage his own releases from now on, and his album is entirely self-produced and released under his own label - Samuel Management and Entertainment Music Group. Give this indie music some love and check out his comeback single YEH! YEH! - it’s good!
I, for one, think it’s really exciting to see artists taking more control over their image and music, and I’m already loving so much of what they are putting out! I think this could transform Kpop and add a lot more variety while challenging the big agency system. What do you think?
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