The future of idol group DBSK is uncertain. DBSK's 3 members (Micky YooChun, Xiah Junsu, Youngwoong Jaejoong) and SM's trouble is too deep. Although they state that there will be no disbandment, in reality, disbandment is more than likely. Even if they avoid the worst case scenario, disbandment, it feels like their departure of SM is set. On the third, a acquaintance of the 3 members said, "settlement with SM has been tried multiple times. But their differences couldn't be settled. The reason this went to court is because they couldn't find a point to settle." Thus, they concluded that more attempts for negotiations was useless. The acquaintance that the reporter met is someone who has watched over DBSK very closely. He has experienced all ups and downs since debut until now. According to him, DBSK advocated for only one thing. They wanted conditions of the contract to be eased. However, it has gotten to a point where the conversations between the two parties have gone nowhere. He stated, "they asked for the contract term and earnings distribution to be revised because everyone could tell it was irrational. They attempted to negotiate until the end but they felt that SM was avoiding them. Therefore, things got emotional for both parties and the 3 members are even more angry with SM's response." "The truth about the 3 things that SM distorted." After the initial reports about this incident, SM sent documents on the 1st and the 3rd. On the first, they reported that this problem was due to the makeup company investment and they will work it out. After the contract conditions were reported, they responded that members were paid 11 billion Won and were given foreign cars as presents. In response to this, he stated, "the nature of this instance is the unfair contract, not the make up company. However, SM has not mentioned the contract conditions and have continued to use make up company issues to play with the media." Additionally, he discussed about the 11 billion Won. He said, "let's say SM is right and that they were paid 11 billion won for the 6 years of work. This is the pre-tax profit. After taxes were paid, and this amount is divided by 6 years, and 5 members, this is less than 200 million won per member. For the first half of this year, the profits from album sales in Japan is 2.5 billion Yen (33 billion won). However, DBSK doesn't even receive 200 million won per year." The total number of albums released in and outside of Korea is 48. Out of these, including singles and full albums, 1.96 million copies were sold in Korea. In Japan for 4 full albums and 27 singles, 8 of those sold over 100,000 copies, and one sold over 250,000 copies. Including south-east Asia, at least 4 million albums were sold. He also criticized abnormal methods of calculating methods. According to him, "SM requested money for back dancers and food. Basically, almost all of the expenses were paid for by DBSK." He added, "besides this, SM created a local subsidiary and divided the earnings of DBSK into pieces. For example, SM Japan and Avex divided earnings, and this was also divided with Korean SM. With complex divisions, the money for the members were reduced. Also, he stated that the foreign cars were given to them under the company's name. "They received cars from SM after an award ceremony. However, the cars were registered in SM's name and is not owned by DBSK." "The three members are as tired as they can get." According to this acquaintance, the three members of DBSK are tired of SM's play with the press. They have no intention to solve this with mere words, and are extremely upset that SM is exaggerating only one side of the story, distorting the truth. He said, "they expected SM to twist words with the press but didn't realize it would be to this extent. If SM continues this method, I think it would be nearly impossible to work together with SM again. I suspect that they will part with SM and try to find a different solution to settle this. Their departure from SM does not mean the disbandment of DBSK. He asserts that there is no problems in relationships between all the members. They are still like family and agree that in any situations, they must work together. He said, "Truthfully, all five had the same intentions. But in the process of negotiations, there was differences between the members. That is why only 3 members decided to fight with their company. They all agree that the contract conditions are irrational, it is just that their way of handling it is different." "DBSK will continue even after departure with SM" Micky YooChun, Xiah Junsu, Youngwoong Jaejoong's will is stronger than ever. The acquittance reported that, "the 3 members are showing stronger wills than before debut. The three members are determined to stick together no matter what hardships come their way." They are also determined to get back together as 5 members under the name DBSK. He revealed, "even if the 3 members leave SM through lawsuit, this only means departure from SM. This does NOT mean the disbandment of DBSK. It may be after the 2 remaining members leave, or if they perform from 2 different companies; the 5 want to continue with DBSK." Well then, if 3 members leave SM, would they still be able to use the name 'DBSK.' Upon researching in the Industrial Property Office, the group name 'DBSK' is not registered. SM registered for DBSK trademark in 2004 but was denied. In other words, SM does NOT have the right to the name 'DBSK.' According to a 'Mansung' Patent Law Firm Office, the patent attorney Hwang Sung Pil said, "Dong Bang means East and one cannot assert exclusive right to use it. Most likely, this was probably the reason why the application was denied 2004. SM cannot assert any trademark rights to the name. If the 5 members are together even away from SM, they will have no problems using the name." More than anything, DBSK feels extremely sorry to their fans. This is why they want to go through with performances that were already scheduled. The acquaintance reported, "if they lose the lawsuit, they may have to pay an extreme amount of money for penalty. More than that, they are going through hard times thinking that they will have to be away from their fans while the lawsuit is in process." Source: Song Eun Ju, Na Ji Yeon @ Sports Seoul Translation Credits: j.adore @ soompi.com ================================================== TVXQ's Fanclub Speaks up! "Show us the exact amount of TVXQ's income" Amidst the chaos that has ensued after TVXQ members YoungWoong Jaejoong, Micky Yoochun and Xiah Junsu filed a lawsuit against their agency, the rift between the two sides is getting deeper as SM Entertainment revealed it's rebuttal. There is a lot of talk about SM's official statement and many are skeptical about SM's statement that the amount given to TVXQ was 'a substantial income division.' On the 3rd, SM released that, "TVXQ, till now (July 2009), have received 11 billion Won (9.2 billion Won given during the activities+1.77 billion Won given beforehand) and have also been given luxury foreign cars (bonuses that don't have any connection to the contract)." SM also said that, "The other side has focused solely on album sales even though TVXQ receive their fair share through events, CFs and other performances." However, since the exact amount of TVXQ's income till now has not been revealed by SME, SME's statement has been met with skepticism and doubt. Fans stated, "Even if SM did give TVXQ 11 billion Won, that is still less than 400 million Won per person each year," and "It is not plausible to say that this is enough when the group's immense popularity or influence is calculated," to show their reluctance to accept SM's statement. In fact,TVXQ's album sales started off with their debut single 'HUG' selling around 195K copies and after eight singles and four albums, they have sold a total of 2,68 million copies in Korea alone. In Japan, they have released 27 singles and four albums and sold a total of 2.34 million copies. According to the Japanese Record Committee, eight albums, 'Summer Dream', 'T', 'Beautiful You/Thousand Year Love Song', 'Why Did I come to like you? (Doush*te)', 'Spell-MIROTIC-', 'Survivor', 'Bolero', and 'Share the World' have received the Gold Ranking (100K or more) and 'The Secret Code' has received the Platinum Ranking (250K or more). Even when China, Thailand and Hong Kong is not considered, TVXQ has sold more than 5 million copies in Korea and Japan alone. Oricon Magazine, the official album chart for Japan, stated that in the first half of this year, TVXQ took eighth place in total album sales that earned them a total of 2.5 billion Yen (approximately 33 billion Won). TVXQ's concerts also boast the best ticketing power and the income their live concerts bring in is probably a massive amount. Around 390K people attended TVXQ's Asia Tours, 530K attended their Japanese Tours and 120K attended their showcases. In their concerts alone, they attracted over 1 million fans around the world. One fan wrote on their blog, "The most recent concert was their Japan Tour that ended at the Tokyo Dome which attracted 300K people. Even when using the average seat cost of 8000 yen (1 yen=1300 Won), that is still 2.4 billion Yen, in Won that would be 31.2 billion Won." They also stated, "This is only taking the ticket fee into consideration. When you add up all the souvenirs sold during the concert and add this to the ticket cost, they must have earned at least 50 billion won." After the Tokyo Dome concert, many Japanese news agencies estimated that, "If you add up all the money TVXQ earns in China, Southern Eastern countries, Korea, etc, TVXQ must earn around 100 billion Won every year." There are other sources of income such as musical income sources of streaming, background music for homepages, downloads and ringtones, and commercials, performances, DVDs and photobooks, as well as a cartoon character venture, the amount that TVXQ has earned till now is almost out of this world. That is why SM's statement regarding money has become an issue. In reference to SM's statement that "From their debut till now, we have paid TVXQ 11 billion Won," many fans are saying that, "It's not about the actual amount of money given to them, but the percentage of total income given to them," and "SM is putting forth a large number of 11 billion Won to make it look like they have been giving the members proper treatment pay-wise." Fans also stated, "If the agency is so convinced that they are being fair and just, why is it that they aren't revealing the exact income of TVXQ? There are too many unclear parts in this contract that even the members did not know the contents of." They also criticized SM Entertainment by stating, "Because of SM's poor attempts at making TVXQ the scapegoat, more questions are arising and they are causing confusion." NOTE: 11 billion WON is approximately 9 million US dollars. A quick calculation, the members each made approximately USD 360,000 since their debut according to SM Entertainment. For comparison, the annual income for top Hollywood stars range from everything between USD 10 million to USD 200 million. Credits: oh my news + DNBN | Translation credits: jeeelim5@iscreamshinki.net ================================================== = TVXQ, The International Fans' Worried Hearts [video=youtube;0hmpAY1R1eU]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hmpAY1R1eU"[/video] Fans from all over the world are showing their worry and support for TVXQ. They are sending letters that all say one thing: regardless of the current dispute between SM and the three members, the fans will support TVXQ no matter what and a disbandment is not something they want. On the international UCC site 'Youtube', the video that lasts around 5 minutes showing hundreds and hundreds of letters addressed to TVXQ was uploaded on the 4th. They expressd their feelings with shaky Korean penmanship, but also confessed their thoughts through their native tongues or English. They all had the same message of 'Forever as 5' and 'Always keep the faith.' TVXQ's influence in the world could be seen from the people's names and the stated countries. Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines, India, Spain, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Germany, Australia, Finland, Japan, UK, USA, Peru, Brunei, France, Sri Lanka... The multicultural fans called TVXQ various names such as 'DBSK', 'TVXQ', 'TBXQ' Janice, a Mexican fan stated, "Whatever happens, we will always be by your side. We pray for you." Tiffany, a Peruvian fan said, "We have always been proud of you," to express the pain she was feeling over this situation. Other than this, Dara, an Indonesian fan, hoped for a always-together TVXQ by writing "5-1=0 and 5-2=0" Liana of Germany said, "Don't give up." On Korean internet sites as well, voices of encouragement and support have been pouring out like a flood. On Agora, a "Against TVXQ's Disbandment" petition has gained around 21,700 signatures. Fan sites are filled with posts about the fans' feelings of worry. There have been a couple of extreme cases though. One of which read, "Maybe if we all just committ suicide, they won't disband." It seems that it is up to the courts to decide the fate of TVXQ, no matter what the fans say. On the 4th, the three members' representative, Sejong, stated a rebuttal that attacked SM's previous statements and that said that the truth would be revealed in court and they were willing to fight for that truth. SM Entertainment has begun silencing the people in their agency from answering questions from reporters and they seem to be busy preparing their side for the case. Source: [kyung hyang + DNBN] | Translation credits: jeeelim5@iscreamshinki.net
What support? They are just like all other stars, their companies just treat them like cash cow, milking them over and over. it is the game they played, so they must endure. They need to get the fuck out and start their own company. That way they can start earning money for themselves, or milking newly signed artist in their own company.. LOL
360k for 6 years is like 60k a year from the total earnings of 9 million, SM is def ripping them off if not they should be millionaires already its 6 years since their debut and 4+ million albums sold and concerts, sm is probably giving them $5 for every 100 they make while pocketing the rest for themselves. I don't know how much crew gets paid but i would never picture a group such as dbsk to be paid this little unless they were being ripped off.
omgosh DBSk should of definitely made more money than 360k...that is so unfair!! i cheer for Xiah, Hero and Micky! althoough i dont want DBSK to disband but i know the 5 of them will stand together as one and fight against SM!! <3
