Is K-Pop on the Verge of Extinction?
ANOUK DYUSSEMBAYEVA A APRIL, 10 / 2019
If you don't follow the news, you might have missed one of the biggest K-Pop scandals lately.
Seungri, a member of one of the most popular K-Pop groups, is facing charges that he provided women for businessmen in one of Seoul's elite nightclubs. The singer denied all accusations.
Nonetheless, Seungri decided to retire from the industry to "protect the reputation of his band, Big Bang, and YG Entertainment, the band's record label".
As the investigation dove deeper into the singer's life, it was found that Seungri was part of a celebrity chat where another K-pop star, Jung Joon-young, shared inappropriate video footage of women without their consent.
This scandal became so huge it hit the entire $5 billion K-pop music industry, causing a nationwide uproar (also known as the MeToo movement).
What does this mean for the Korean music industry?
Nonetheless, Seungri decided to retire from the industry to "protect the reputation of his band, Big Bang, and YG Entertainment, the band's record label".
As the investigation dove deeper into the singer's life, it was found that Seungri was part of a celebrity chat where another K-pop star, Jung Joon-young, shared inappropriate video footage of women without their consent.
This scandal became so huge it hit the entire $5 billion K-pop music industry, causing a nationwide uproar (also known as the MeToo movement).
What does this mean for the Korean music industry?
Photo by Andre Benz on Unsplash
Big Bang has brought 40 to 50% of YG's total sales, and with such a large-scale scandal on its shoulders, it is unclear whether the band would be able to make a comeback at all.
Although its famous girl group, BLACKPINK, made a very successful comeback with "Kill This Love" (100 millions views in 24 hours), YG Entertainment is still on the quest of survival. To note, shares in YG, one of the "Big Three" South Korean entertainment companies, have dropped by 27% since January.
Additionally, analysts also talked about LVMH's investment in YG — around $54 million — making it the second biggest shareholder (after founder Yang Hyun Suk). If they pull their investment by October 7, the maturity date, YG would have to pay back 66.2 billion won in cash. As of the latest data available, the company only held 47 billion won in cash.
While not affected as much as YG, you can't say that the other two big companies, JYP Entertainment and SM Entertainment, weren't impacted by this. The overall stocks are plummeting.
Although its famous girl group, BLACKPINK, made a very successful comeback with "Kill This Love" (100 millions views in 24 hours), YG Entertainment is still on the quest of survival. To note, shares in YG, one of the "Big Three" South Korean entertainment companies, have dropped by 27% since January.
Additionally, analysts also talked about LVMH's investment in YG — around $54 million — making it the second biggest shareholder (after founder Yang Hyun Suk). If they pull their investment by October 7, the maturity date, YG would have to pay back 66.2 billion won in cash. As of the latest data available, the company only held 47 billion won in cash.
While not affected as much as YG, you can't say that the other two big companies, JYP Entertainment and SM Entertainment, weren't impacted by this. The overall stocks are plummeting.
