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If you thought that Drake’s legal action against Universal Music Group was the artist vs. label dispute of the week, think again.
Over in South Korea, the future of HYBE-owned label ADOR has been thrown into uncertainty after K-pop girl group NewJeans, the label’s primary source of income, announced Thursday (November 28) that they are terminating their contracts with ADOR.
However, ADOR says NewJeans don’t have grounds to terminate their exclusive contract, and it remains “in full effect.”
At a hastily-announced press conference on Thursday evening (November 28), group member Hanni said that ADOR “has neither the ability nor the will to protect” NewJeans.
“Staying at the agency will only prolong our psychological pain and waste our time,” she added, as quoted by Korea JoongAng Daily.
The press conference came at the end of a 14-day period that NewJeans had given ADOR to address the group’s concerns about the alleged mistreatment of group members amid an ongoing conflict between HYBE and Min Hee-jin, ADOR’s former CEO and NewJeans’ creative director.
According to JoongAng Daily, NewJeans notified the media about the press conference at 6 p.m. Seoul time, and ADOR sent its response to NewJeans’ ultimatum by email at 7 p.m., having sent a paper version earlier in the day.
“We regret that the press conference regarding the termination of the exclusive contract was planned and conducted without sufficient review, prior to receiving a response to [NewJeans’] legal notice,” HYBE’s ADOR said in a statement emailed to MBW.
“ADOR, as the contractual party, has not violated the terms of the agreement. A unilateral claim of a breach of trust does not constitute valid grounds for terminating the contract.
“The exclusive agreement between ADOR and the NewJeans members remains in full effect. Therefore, we respectfully request that the group continue its collaboration with ADOR on upcoming activities, as has been the practice to date.”
“Staying at the agency will only prolong our psychological pain and waste our time.”
Hanni, NewJeans
In a surprise livestream on YouTube in September, members of NewJeans alleged that they had been mistreated by ADOR staffers, including overhearing orders that they be ignored.
NewJeans has sided with Min in a conflict that became public this spring, when HYBE accused Min of attempting to wrest control of ADOR away from its parent company by selling company shares and leaking confidential information.
ADOR removed Min as the company’s CEO this summer, and earlier this month, Min announced that she had resigned as a director on the label’s board.
“ADOR, as the contractual party, has not violated the terms of the agreement. A unilateral claim of a breach of trust does not constitute valid grounds for terminating the contract.”
ADOR
Min owns an 18% stake in ADOR, and is widely credited with creating NewJeans, one of K-pop’s most popular acts.
At the press conference, members of the group said they wanted to continue making “new music for Bunnies,” referring to NewJeans’ fan club, but acknowledged they may not be able to continue using the NewJeans name.
“However, that doesn’t mean that we are giving up on the name at all, and we will continue to fight for NewJeans. Regardless of our name, just remember that NewJeans never dies,” group member Danielle said, as quoted by Soompi.
The group members also said they would like to work with Min Hee-jin, Reuters reported.
“We have faced mistreatment not just toward us but also toward our staff, countless preventions and contradictions, deliberate miscommunication, and manipulation regarding multiple areas,” Hanni said in a statement at the press conference.
She added that ADOR is “a company that no longer has any sincerity in the art of music that is created, is rather fixated on appearing like a well-working company despite only having thoughts about making money, and does not have any conscience about the negative effect they create through their non-authentic means.”
In its response, ADOR said that despite “multiple requests for meetings” with NewJeans members, “our efforts have not been successful. We hope the members will now be willing to engage in an open and candid discussion.”
ADOR that it is “committed to fully supporting NewJeans in their activities and will continue to make every effort to assist in their growth as global artists.”
In a sign of how impactful this news is in South Korean culture, JoongAng Daily reported that some 100 reporters attended the NewJeans press conference despite it being called only a few hours earlier.Music Business Worldwide