Troubling Details About NewJeans’ Exploitative Contracts Come To Light

South Korean pop music is a global commercial force with a factory-style star system, and the K-pop industry's big record labels have come under increasing scrutiny for their insanely exploitative business practices. K-pop labels find talented kids, put them through intense rehearsals, arrange them into groups, and work them hard without giving them much money or artistic freedom. Some have died by suicide. The story of the K-pop girl group NewJeans is some of the most downright evil shit I have encountered in all my years covering this stuff. Now that a New York Times piece has revealed some of the terms of the group's contract, that story has become even more nightmarish. When NewJeans debuted in 2022, they were the most exciting thing to happen to K-pop in a long time. The group arrived with a fully formed aesthetic, a take on the fizzily twee but futuristic dance-pop sound of artists like PinkPantheress. Singles like "Super Shy" and "OMG" were major international hits. Great songs, too. NewJeans were signed and assembled by Min Hee-jin, CEO of Ador, a subsidiary of Hybe, the gigantic label behind acts like BTS and KATSEYE. Min was pushed out of Ador after an internal label struggle, and NewJeans tried to leave the label with her. Last year, NewJeans announced that they were leaving Ador and changing their name to NJZ — an extremely rare case of a K-pop act pushing back against its label. It blew up in their faces.NewJeans claimed that Ador voided their contract by mistreating and harassing them. The label sued, and a Korean court sided with Ador, ruling that the group could not quit. NewJeans promptly announced a hiatus, and the label fired one member, 20-year-old Danielle Marsh, and sued her for $22 million in what's known as "exit fees" — the penalties that Korean labels are contractually allowed to charge their artists if either side ends the contract. According to the Times, Marsh's exit fees were based on average monthly earnings, with the calculations only taking into account the months in which the group was making money.The members of NewJeans were all children when Ador put them under contract; their parents had to sign for them. They lived in company dorms and trained around the clock, and four of the six members dropped out of school. A South Korean government contract template guarantees rights to physical and mental health, education, and sleep, but the Times reports that NewJeans contracts' eliminated those stipulations. When one NewJeans member's mother asked for changes in the contract, Ador's vice president reportedly replied, "If you do not agree to the current contract draft, including the points above, it may be best to reconsider the contract itself." The mother gave in and signed.Apparently, K-pop labels frequently suggest plastic surgery procedures for young artists. (Plastic surgery is extremely popular in South Korea.) Per the Times, "The NewJeans contract required members to repay a significant share of what the label spent on plastic surgery and other beauty treatments while they were trainees." Hybe's representatives tell the Times, "We do not even recommend cosmetic surgery or procedures against an individual’s wishes."NewJeans' contracts prohibited the singers from stating "true or false facts" that could damage the label's reputation, as well as things like underage drinking, drug use, "insincere attitude,” “neglect of self-management,” and “inappropriate romantic relationships." These are all apparently standard in K-pop. Other stipulations are much less common. NewJeans' contract runs out in 2029, but the label has allowed itself to keep using and licensing their identities for things like voice clones and AI chatbots. The label is also allowed to continue to sell and repackage their music after the contract ends while paying them a smaller share of royalties, another unusual twist.The entire situation is bleak and nightmarish, and you can read the full exposé here. Free NewJeans.