Giant Robot Store and GR2 News
There is much to say about the phenomenon of K-Pop. In a female band, the performers appear to be more R and B, American style, and yes, they do stand a chance of breaking the US Market. Their counterparts, J-Pop resides in it’s own world and has so far failed any English speaking entry. K-Pop, they’ll do it as well as anyone in the world and in that style. (Reuters – K Pop)
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“Two years ago, one of its most successful groups, Dong Bang Shin Ki, took its management company to court, on the grounds that their 13-year-contract was too long, too restrictive.” The music is really fun, very danceable, and the young boy or girl singers are really cut, have great moves, and some have amazing voices. Yup, Korean pop, or K-Pop, is fun to hear, fun to watch, and is really starting to find a fan base outside of South Korea and Japan. But behind those happy singing young faces apparently lurks a music management machine that does not have a track record for always treating the talent very well. Seems that many K-Pop acts are subjected to very restrictive contracts which are not very financially rewarding for the performers and instead focus on ensuring singing coaches, choreographers, wardrobe specialists and other management expenses are paid before band members ever see a check. Sure, this overall scenario sounds similar to stories we’ve all heard about exploitative music managers in Motown and Hollywood. But in Korea it seems to be aggravated by the youth of the performers and a general cultural distaste for aggressive and fair negotiations. K-Pop is sure fun and definitely growing in “pop”-ularity, so here’s hoping this young industry can get past these unpleasant internal growing pains. (JYJ3 Official Website – K-Pop Industry Woes)
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“Fans will also be able to view video clips of their idols’ departure and arrival at airports, as well as behind-the-scenes and rehearsal footage.” South Korean pop music continues to grow in global popularity and exposure. The French in particular seem to love the stuff. In May, hundreds of fans rallied in front of the Louvre in Paris to demand an extra show for the upcoming K-pop SM Town Live World Tour presented by SM Entertainment of Seoul. This same tour has visited Los Angeles, Tokyo, and Shanghai. In fact, the tour returns to Tokyo this September. In the meantime, K-pop fans will be able to view concert highlights from the June 10th and 11th Paris shows on the SM Entertainment YouTube channel and Facebook page. Apparently, K-pop fans from the U.S., Mexico, Australia and Italy are using the Facebook page to lobby for SM Town Live shows in their countries. Hey, it’s only K-pop, but we like it! (Korea Herald – K-pop Paris Tour)
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