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Being an idol is somewhat of a gamble I feel. If you work super hard for 3-5 years and actually become big you are probably very well off. Like all the big girl groups these days are just swimming in cash I have no doubt. Wasn't it Goo Hara who bought some super fancy place in Gangnam a couple of months back?
On the other hand you can work your ass off and not get anywhere then what? Groups like Chocolate, EXID, GLAM, Hello Venus, Nine Muses, Rania, Spica etc etc hurts to say it cause I like them all but they aren't gonna get anywhere and how long have some of them been trying? Nine Muses for example debuted in 2010. That's 3 years of constant work and they can't even land on a decent chart position. Their latest single peaked at 24 and I would bet that they released it when it wasn't that much competition. I hope these people have something to land on after it's over. Or they can probably marry rich
On January 14 2014 09:43 DwD wrote: Being an idol is somewhat of a gamble I feel. If you work super hard for 3-5 years and actually become big you are probably very well off. Like all the big girl groups these days are just swimming in cash I have no doubt. Wasn't it Goo Hara who bought some super fancy place in Gangnam a couple of months back?
On the other hand you can work your ass off and not get anywhere then what? Groups like Chocolate, EXID, GLAM, Hello Venus, Nine Muses, Rania, Spica etc etc hurts to say it cause I like them all but they aren't gonna get anywhere and how long have some of them been trying? Nine Muses for example debuted in 2010. That's 3 years of constant work and they can't even land on a decent chart position. Their latest single peaked at 24 and I would bet that they released it when it wasn't that much competition. I hope these people have something to land on after it's over. Or they can probably marry rich
EXID's new aren't they? They've only had 2 releases. Chocolate is nearly brand new too. Not sure I agree with these examples. And Nicole comes from the exact same group as Goo Hara, so why is she quitting to go to college?
Also, on the top tier, second tier agencies etc, where would LOEN Entertainment fall? And then what about groups like Ladies' Code? They're brand new and were the first girl group by a new agency, yet they seem to be doing really well pretty quickly.
On January 14 2014 00:54 AsnSensation wrote: Nicole's contract is up tomorrow in 3 days and seems like she's leaving for the states to study.
I would be really interested in seeing a flow chart or timeline of what happened to a bunch of idols who left the biz. It seems like it's a really rough occupation considering so many idols quit or leave even from top tier groups.
There are a couple of "exposé" type films that document the darker side of being an idol. Lots of slave contracts and overworking in general and often shitty pay for low and mid-tier groups. Big names tend to have it better, but with how one-sided contracts are purported to be and the volume of idol activities, it seems it can still be pretty shitty even for the big names. Hard to know actual $$ figures since they're individually unreported.
SM has lost two major legal battles iirc. DBSK over grossly unfair contracts and JYJ at least for SM's obstruction (backdoor deals/threatening or whatever with music shows and venues to deny JYJ being able to perform).
There was the whole Jay Park thing (with JYP) and Kara's contracts twice (DSP). I believe something recently purported Rainbow to be pretty shittily paid (DSP).
I wouldn't want to be an idol.
Yeah, those are the examples that stand out in my mind. Work conditions seem to be really hellish for most of them. Collapsing from exhaustion is treated as a normal thing! I could understand if they were pro athletes, but they must be running pretty grueling schedules as singers/dancers if they're sticking IVs in themselves just to make it through the work week.
Damn I didn't know Ladies Code's song pretty pretty had such an addicting hook. 예뻐!예뻐! (YEPPUH YEPPUH)
Also did u guys hear about those crayon pop uncle fans. They're pretty dedicated like the agency meets with the club leaders to talk about comeback themes and shit.
Also another thing, I've noticed a lot of agency like recruiting foreign talent as in Korean-foreign(insert nation, mostly american/canadian) trainees. Any reason you guys think for this besides the english factor?
On January 14 2014 09:43 DwD wrote: Being an idol is somewhat of a gamble I feel. If you work super hard for 3-5 years and actually become big you are probably very well off. Like all the big girl groups these days are just swimming in cash I have no doubt. Wasn't it Goo Hara who bought some super fancy place in Gangnam a couple of months back?
On the other hand you can work your ass off and not get anywhere then what? Groups like Chocolate, EXID, GLAM, Hello Venus, Nine Muses, Rania, Spica etc etc hurts to say it cause I like them all but they aren't gonna get anywhere and how long have some of them been trying? Nine Muses for example debuted in 2010. That's 3 years of constant work and they can't even land on a decent chart position. Their latest single peaked at 24 and I would bet that they released it when it wasn't that much competition. I hope these people have something to land on after it's over. Or they can probably marry rich
EXID's new aren't they? They've only had 2 releases. Chocolate is nearly brand new too. Not sure I agree with these examples. And Nicole comes from the exact same group as Goo Hara, so why is she quitting to go to college?
Also, on the top tier, second tier agencies etc, where would LOEN Entertainment fall? And then what about groups like Ladies' Code? They're brand new and were the first girl group by a new agency, yet they seem to be doing really well pretty quickly.
LOEN's a tough one.. I dont really want to put them as A tier but I think they are better than B tier. I guess bottom of A tier? Not sure tbh. A few groups/singers find success despite being in a new/small company. That's how most companies become big. They find success with one group and singer and recruit more talent and so on.
Gotcha, makes sense. Yeah, I'm a huge fan of LOEN's talent lately. A lot of good stuff coming out of them, and I notice a majority of it is very R&B-ish which is my favorite kind of kpop.
To the guy above me: Yeah, Ladies' Code is a really good group for how new they are. I really like Sojung's vocals and as a whole the group has had some really good concepts/music. They don't feel like a debut group at all to me.
they're like yg but without the retarded swag. gives their artists a lot of free reign and manages them well. IU, Zia, Sunny Hill, Fiestar, Ga-In, Shinsadong Tiger, to name a couple, are all artists under Loen.
probably my second or third favorite management company in terms of their artist portfolio after CJent and Pastel.
If I'm not mistaken, Nicole is getting fucked because she was the main reason kara almost died during the lawsuit they had with dsp. Since then, dsp has been denying her from like everything besides activities exclusively associated with kara. Like when is the last time you've ever seen Nicole do anything solo? DSP has just been waiting for her contract to be up so they can kick her to the curb. You'll never know if she's actually getting blacklisted like JYJ or if she's actually quitting to go to school but I honestly doubt she has the talent to make it in another company anyways.
On January 14 2014 12:07 Sc2zero7 wrote: If I'm not mistaken, Nicole is getting fucked because she was the main reason kara almost died during the lawsuit they had with dsp. Since then, dsp has been denying her from like everything besides activities exclusively associated with kara. Like when is the last time you've ever seen Nicole do anything solo? DSP has just been waiting for her contract to be up so they can kick her to the curb. You'll never know if she's actually getting blacklisted like JYJ or if she's actually quitting to go to school but I honestly doubt she has the talent to make it in another company anyways.
What...nicole is like the most talented in Kara. What if she went in Wonder Girls to replace Sunye OMG. What if Sunmi joined too that would be awesome.
^tbf it's not hard to be the most talented in KARA though (and I'm not even sure I'd agree that she's the most talented).
On January 14 2014 11:58 andyrau wrote: Loen's S-class
they're like yg but without the retarded swag. gives their artists a lot of free reign and manages them well. IU, Zia, Sunny Hill, Fiestar, Ga-In, Shinsadong Tiger, to name a couple, are all artists under Loen.
probably my second or third favorite management company in terms of their artist portfolio after CJent and Pastel.
Loen's S-class in terms of how big they are but I feel like a lot of their artists aren't really kpop idols in the same way as SM's/JYPs, even YG's are. Like of the list you mentioned Fiestar and IU are the only real idol idols to me, idk.
On January 14 2014 12:43 DystopiaX wrote: ^tbf it's not hard to be the most talented in KARA though (and I'm not even sure I'd agree that she's the most talented).
On January 14 2014 11:58 andyrau wrote: Loen's S-class
they're like yg but without the retarded swag. gives their artists a lot of free reign and manages them well. IU, Zia, Sunny Hill, Fiestar, Ga-In, Shinsadong Tiger, to name a couple, are all artists under Loen.
probably my second or third favorite management company in terms of their artist portfolio after CJent and Pastel.
Loen's S-class in terms of how big they are but I feel like a lot of their artists aren't really kpop idols in the same way as SM's/JYPs, even YG's are. Like of the list you mentioned Fiestar and IU are the only real idol idols to me, idk.
Son Ga-In's not an idol???
Also, they recently bought Starship Entertainment so Sistar and K.will are under the LOEN corporate umbrella now too.
On January 14 2014 12:43 DystopiaX wrote: ^tbf it's not hard to be the most talented in KARA though (and I'm not even sure I'd agree that she's the most talented).
On January 14 2014 11:58 andyrau wrote: Loen's S-class
they're like yg but without the retarded swag. gives their artists a lot of free reign and manages them well. IU, Zia, Sunny Hill, Fiestar, Ga-In, Shinsadong Tiger, to name a couple, are all artists under Loen.
probably my second or third favorite management company in terms of their artist portfolio after CJent and Pastel.
Loen's S-class in terms of how big they are but I feel like a lot of their artists aren't really kpop idols in the same way as SM's/JYPs, even YG's are. Like of the list you mentioned Fiestar and IU are the only real idol idols to me, idk.
well I didn't mean it in terms of how big their artists are. I meant it as in how well they treat their artists, how well they foster the artist's creativity, and how often the artists appear on other media other than music.
tbh, most of this is educated guesswork based on how the artist appear to the public, but I consistently get the vibe that LOEN's artists have more freedom in their work compared to other companies. Maybe that's just wishful thinking on my behalf.
In that sense then yeah, but I think krndandaman was just talking about size. I mean SM and JYP certainly aren't tops in terms of giving their artists control.
On January 14 2014 15:48 DystopiaX wrote: In that sense then yeah, but I think krndandaman was just talking about size. I mean SM and JYP certainly aren't tops in terms of giving their artists control.
Haha well JYP does have Jo Kwon... I can't imagine Jinyoung being the mastermind behind "I'm Da One" or "Animal" roflmao XD
LOEN imo is S tier i think. tho not included in big 3. IU alone creates shit ton of cash for them i think. + their connections with other agencies like CCM etc( I notice LOEN uploads a lot of MV's even from other agencies). and their production for their stars are really top tier ie MV/Concerts. LOEN is more on freedom with their artist and musicality than being commercial.
EPT
