A conflict between the three members of the K-pop boy band EXO — Chen, Baekhyun, and Xiumin — and their agency, SM Entertainment, has resurfaced, with both sides accusing each other of demanding rights without fulfilling their respective duties.
During a press conference at The Shilla hotel in central Seoul, Monday, attorney Lee Jae-hak of the law firm Lin, representing the three EXO members, asserted that SM Entertainment is unfairly demanding a share of the trio’s sales without honoring its promise regarding music distribution fees.
“Our artists and SM signed an agreement on June 18, 2023, which stated that the singers should give SM 10 percent of the 카지노사이트킹 sales made from their individual activities,” he said. “However, it was only based on the condition that SM would help them pay lower-than-normal distribution fees to the local music distributor Kakao Entertainment, the largest shareholder of SM.”
Although most K-pop singers and their agencies pay 15-20 percent in distribution fees, SM’s then-CEO Lee Sung-soo made a verbal promise that the company would lower the fees to 5.5 percent, the attorney said.
“Our artists signed the agreement on the premise that SM would remain loyal to its promise,” he noted. “But SM did not. Nevertheless, it is still asking them for royalties, although it hardly contributed to the sales made from the trio’s individual activities. We sent a certification of contents addressing SM’s injustice, but it has not been responding for over two months.”
The legal representative added, “If SM was not willing to, or was not capable of lowering distribution fees but still made our artists sign an agreement and end a legal dispute, this can be seen as a case of fraud … If the label continues to demand royalties, we will pursue further legal action.”