K-pop Idol Income And Rules Of The Game

4 Big Agencies (SM, YG, JYP, BigHit)

JAKARTA - The Hallyu wave that swept across the world has succeeded in placing the K-pop industry as an attraction for entertainment from South Korea. Starting from music, drama to tourism is always interesting to discuss.

As one of its most beloved aspects, the K-pop genre explores more than just music. Personal life and the way the agency manages their artists are also in the spotlight.

Big 3 in K-pop music is always filled by SM Entertainment, YG Entertainment, and JYP Entertainment. This nickname emerged because the three of them were the pioneers of the founding of K-pop groups.

In recent years, the agency Big Hit Entertainment has followed in the footsteps of Big 3. The success of BTS has been able to catapult Big Hit to the biggest profits among other big agencies.

However, these four agencies have different rules of the game when it comes to revenue sharing for their artists. Here's a comparison.

SM ENTERTAINMENT

Artist: TVXQ, Super Junior, Girls' Generation, SHINee, EXO, Red Velvet, NCT, aespa

Contract duration: 7 years

Physical Sales: Agency (95%), Artist (5%)

Recent Physical Sales: Agency (90%), Artist (10%)

Occasion: Agency (60%), Artist (40%)

Overseas Promotion: Agency (30%), Artist (70%)

#SMTOWN LIVE WORLD TOUR VI in SEOULTHANK YOU! 😀 pic.twitter.com/Qiobr6UcYS

- SMTOWN (@SMTOWNGLOBAL) July 8, 2017

YG ENTERTAINMENT

Artist: Sechs Kies, BIGBANG, AKMU, WINNER, iKON, BLACKPINK, TREASURE

Contract duration: 7 years

Physical Sales: Agency (50%), Artist (50%)

Recent Physical Sales: Agency (30%), Artist (70%)

Occasion: Agency (40%), Artist (60%)

Overseas Promotion: Agency (50%), Artist (50%)

JYP ENTERTAINMENT

Artist: JY PARK, 2PM, TWICE, DAY6, Stray Kids, ITZY

Contract duration: 7 years

Physical Sales: Agency (50%), Artist (50%)

Recent Physical Sales: Agency (30%), Artist (70%)

Occasion: Agency (60%), Artist (40%)

Overseas Promotion: Agency (50%), Artist (50%)

BIG HIT ENTERTAINMENT

Artist: Lee Hyun, BTS, TXT

Contract duration: 7 years

Physical Sales: Agency (50%), Artist (50%)

Recent Physical Sales: Agency (30%), Artist (70%)

Occasion: Agency (50%), Artist (50%)

Overseas Promotion: Agency (30%), Artist (70%)

Big Hit Entertainment 15th Anniversary! 빅 히트 엔터테인먼트 가 15 주년 을 맞이 했습니다. 2020 년 한 해도 음악 으로 위로 와 감동 을 줄 수 있는 빅 히트 엔터테인먼트 가 되겠습니다. (Https://t.co/yEwK2ielhS) # 이현 # 방탄 소년단 # 투모로우 바이 투게더 #LeeHyun #BTS #TOMORROW_X_TOGETHER #BH_AM pic.twitter .com / zS3hNfEEEO

- BigHit Entertainment (@BigHitEnt) February 1, 2020

Judging from the list above, agencies provide more benefits for their artists when promoting abroad either in the form of concerts or appearing at overseas events. Because of this, promotions are always needed to attract fans to buy the latest K-pop idol releases.