About JYP Entertainment And Their Unfair Treatment Of GOT7

GOT7 (Twitter @GOT7Official)

JAKARTA - K-pop fans were shocked by the news that all members of the GOT7 group would not renew their contracts with the JYP Entertainment agency. This news was first reported by South Korean media, Dispatch on Sunday, January 10.

Still from the same report, all GOT7 members already have plans regarding their lives after leaving JYP Entertainment. Jinyoung was the first member mentioned to have communicated with the actor agency BH Entertainment.

The news was followed by the news that Yugyeom was talking with Jay Park's agency, AOMG. While GOT7's main vocalist Youngjae is considering an offer to join the Sublime Artist Agency.

Then, JB - the leader - got a number of offers from hip hop labels to start his solo career. Jackson, who has a solo career under Team Wang, will expand his career while looking for agencies in South Korea.

As for BamBam, the Thai member will be looking for an agency to develop his popularity in Thailand. But he is also reportedly in discussions with MakeUs Entertainment about a career in South Korea.

Finally, there is Mark who is developing a solo career by opening a YouTube channel and returning to his home in Los Angeles, United States.

Agency Unfair Treatment

GOT7 is a group created by JYP Entertainment which debuted in 2014. This group is known for its interesting choreography and varied vocal qualities. Their album sales are large and some of their songs have topped international music charts.

GOT7 is labeled as an international group thanks to the speaking ability of its members called AmeriThaiKong line. Mark is a mix of American and Chinese, BamBam from Thailand, Jackson from Hong Kong, and JB Jinyoung Youngjae and Yugyeom from South Korea.

Due to the ability to master these many languages, GOT7 has no problems communicating with fans. However, despite the various accomplishments made, according to fans, GOT7 has experienced unfair treatment from their agency for quite some time.

The events of 2020 are the culmination of all the frustrations of GOT7 fans called Ahgase towards the idol's agency. They expressed their frustration in various ways, from starting the trending hashtag # FairTreatmentForGOT7 to sending an LED truck to be parked in front of the JYP Entertainment office.

THE TRUCK HAS ARRIVED. REPEAT: THE TRUCK HAS ARRIVED. Thank you to our Korean admin for sending video! Another is in the thread 👇 (btw, the truck video only looks wavy because it's a recording of an LED screen.) # FairTreatmentForGOT7 @ GOT7Official # GOT7 pic.twitter.com/4dGFXMsnlK

- OT7Ahga Int Fanclub ♡ ༄ (@ OT7Ahga) July 6, 2020

Fans complained about the agency's lack of protection against GOT7. For example, related to the presence of sasaeng or obsessive fans who often interfere with the activities of the members. Youngjae, one of them often warns sasaeng not to interfere when he communicates with fans.

the irony. jype saying they're protecting their artist's privacy and rights yet on the same day their artist post about being followed by a sasaeng. how much longer do you want this to go on? walk your talk this is not the first youngjae faced this. pic.twitter.com/p1prHqWQql

- ad ✨ (@yienyibo) July 2, 2020

The lack of promotion is also a problem for fans. DYE's comeback album with the song Not By the Moon which was released in April 2020 did not receive a large portion of promotion and the physical album stock was limited.

Generally, comeback promotions are conducted for at least one month, but for Not By the Moon, GOT7 only appeared on three different music shows for one week. In addition, fans also regret that GOT7 members are not involved in the song-making process.

As is known, seven members of GOT7 have talents in writing lyrics and composing songs. Outside of GOT7's career, each member participated in producing their solo songs. But when they are with a group, they have no power.

[2/4] The 1st song is called "Let Go" JYP stopped the song 10 seconds in and said "it's a musically fun song, but it's not good to listen to". How could he get that from the first 10 seconds? The song didn't even start ?? pic.twitter.com/wiTwgy8NwX

- ⧗ (@ S0SHl4EVA) July 24, 2020

GOT7 members also often expressed difficulties when composing a song. JB once mentioned that JYP Entertainment owner Park Jin Young was able to stop the song he was making within 10 seconds and said the song "doesn't fit GOT7's concept".

Many Artists Extend Contracts with JYP Entertainment

Terminating contracts and leaving the agency may be a common thing in the entertainment world. If you look back, there are many groups made by JYP Entertainment that didn't last long. Rain, a star from JYP, chose to leave after his contract was completed. Even though at that time his name was soaring as a hallyu singer.

Another soloist, G.Soul chose to leave the agency after two years of a career. Even though he has been through a training period for 15 years. She entered the 2020 The Voice Korea competition and became the winner under her real name, Kim Ji Hun.

Then there is Jeon Somi, JYP Entertainment's mainstay soloist who left before debuting. Now, he is a soloist under The Black Label, a subsidiary agency of YG Entertainment.

Duo 15 & consisting of Park Jimin and Baek Yerin also left JYP Entertainment after being ruled for 12 years. They only released one album and five singles during that time. The two left after a four year hiatus.

Meanwhile, JYP Entertainment stated that an announcement regarding the contracts of each GOT7 member would be released if they were ready. GOT7 itself just released the Breath of Love album with the main song Last Piece in November 2020.