Dispatch reveals Lee Seung Gi did not receive a cent for his digital music in 18 years

Article: 18 years of dispute with agency... "singer Lee Seung Gi received 0 won in digital music income"

Source: Han via Naver

1. [+781, -34] Hul. Lee Seung Gi must be really kind to put up with this... He really believed it when people were joking that he was a 'minus singer'. I remember hearing his music all over the streets back then!!!

2. [+420, -8] Lee Seung Gi in the reds as a singer... If Hook is standing by their claims, then they need to back it up. I can't believe the entertainment industry is full of these scammers.

3. [+370, -5] He's so famous and still has to deal with crap like this, I can't imagine how much worse it is for no-name singers. So many problems with these entertainment companies.

4. [+260, -5] Dispatch's article has the numbers in full detail... Seung Gi-ya, you need to look for a new agency... and perhaps learn how to read people better 🥲😭 I don't know how he put up with not getting paid for his digital sales all this time.. ㅠㅠ a minus singer.. especially when his songs have always been at the top of karaoke charts since his debut..

5. [+137, -7] Lee Seung Gi, a minus singer? Karaoke owners would laugh in your face.

6. [+110, -0] He debuted #1 on the charts... which was especially difficult back then as a male solo balladist. He stayed at the top and continued to have hit songs on the popular charts year after year... how does it make sense that he wasn't paid a cent for it?

7. [+80, -4] You know what the facts are??? Hook Entertainment's CEO is Lee Sun Hee's former manager... and Lee Sun Hee is the one who debuted Lee Seung Gi... I have my doubts that Lee Sun Hee was not aware that this was all going on... and suddenly she seems so scary to me.

8. [+47, -1] Shake Hook for all that they're worth and get Lee Seung Gi what he's owed. Companies that operate by thugs need to be taken down for good.

9. [+44, -2] He has so many great songs.. I always wondered why he doesn't promote more as a singer. I guess I wouldn't want to work either if I was told that I'm a 'minus singer'. Sigh, how do you undo the damage that has been done to his identity as a singer for 18 years.

10. [+34, -1] The CEO needs to cough up the money and go to jail

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Article: Despite not being paid, Lee Seung Gi cried tears of gratitude for his CEO at award speeches

Source: Insight via Instagram

1. [+354] I remember on an old episode of 'Knowing Bros', Lee Seung Gi said that he didn't know how much he was paid for his work and Lee Sang Min blew up at him for lying but.. that was true in the end;; I don't know how he held back for 18 years, he must be really kind..

2. [+172] If it was this bad for Lee Seung Gi.. how much worse for other singers? I remember when I joined my first company, I truly believed that what they were saying was the law of the land... but when I left and saw the real world, they were scummy liars..

3. [+159] Lee Seung Gi hyung's true image has been revealed. 18 years of trust. Gratitude towards those who raised him. His belief in them. He did nothing wrong. There's nothing wrong with a high schooler trusting the people who are debuting him.

4. [+120] The payment and all that is an issue but I don't think you can quantify the amount of emotional suffering he's gone through all these years. Companies who don't pay you on time are so terrible.

5. [+70] So much controversy with this company ㅡㅡ Lee Seung Gi, how did you hold it in this whole time?

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Article: Lee Seung Gi has released 137 songs in 18 years but was paid '0 cents' for it

Source: Insight via Instagram

1. [+323] 0 cents? "Because You're My Woman" could've bought him a whole house with how popular it was

2. [+327] Amazing how he held it in for 18 years at all...

3. [+118] His song 'Delete' is still in the top 100 at karaoke rooms... If you're going to use someone's labor, you better pay them for it

4. [+143] This company needs to be thoroughly investigated. I bet you that Lee Seung Gi isn't their only victim.

5. [+30] The audacity of them to claim that he's a 'minus singer'

6. [+71] This agency is insane

7. [+38] I can't believe companies like this exist in this age... Lee Seung Gi has been a top performer from acting to singing to varieties, top after top after top. If they had to accurately pay him for all of his work, I suppose the company would have to go bankrupt.

8. [+24] This is so bad, I don't get how they can claim he made 0 cents

source: http://netizenbuzz.blogspot.co…lee-seung-gi-did-not.html

Quote from Pinky_Peachy

WTF that's horrible

Indeed, all these years they kept telling him he was a minus singer.

Dispatch Reveals Lee Seung Gi Has Been Paid A Grand Total Of 0 Won For His Music Over The Past 18 Years

He should have made billions of KRW.
NEWS

Ron Kim
13 hours ago

Dispatch has revealed that Lee Seung Gi has never been paid for his music over the past 18 years despite releasing numerous hits.

Since Lee Seung Gi debuted in 2004 with his first full album The Dream Of A Moth, it has been 6,743 days as of the writing of this article and he has not been paid even a single won for his music. This does not take into account any of his acting or variety show appearances, only music. Lee Seung Gi has been working for the past 18 years on a slave contract for Hook Entertainment and has been a victim of gaslighting by his own agency.

Because You’re My Slave (A pun on his hit song “Because You’re My Girl”)

Lee Seung Gi rose to stardom through his song “Because You’re My Girl”. As Lee Seung Gi started to hit it big, his agency began to realize he was a money printer for them. He has been deceived by his agency’s lies, and some of the revenue documents from earlier in his career have already been deleted and destroyed, making it impossible to verify how much he should have received.

On November 17, Lee Seung Gi formally requested a report on his revenue for his musical activities over the past 18 years and Hook Entertainment noted that they are in fact attempting to work on the accounting side.

The musical “slave” of Cheongdam

Lee Seung Gi captured the hearts of Koreans through “Because You’re My Girl” in 2004. He then solidified his position as a top soloist with his song “Delete”, winning Rookie of the Year awards at the Seoul Music Awards, SBS Gayo Daejeon, and MBC Gayo Daejejeon. At the time, the SBS and MBC music festivals gave out awards.

Lee Seung Gi sold at least 100,000 copies of his first three full albums, released in 2004, 2006, and 2007. He also was experiencing unrivaled popularity in the download market, with users using his music for their ringtone and Cyworld page background music.

While Hook Entertainment collected the revenue from Lee Seung Gi’s music, Lee Seung Gi did not receive any money. Over the past 18 years, he has released a total of 137 songs, but his music related revenue remained 0 won.

Dispatch was able to obtain the documents where Lee Seung Gi requested his settlement, which requested details for the album profits and Lee Seung Gi’s profits he was supposed to receive.

There should be 10 billion KRW in my bank account

From 2004 to 2002, Lee Seung Gi released a total of 27 albums (full, mini, and single). There were 137 songs released in total. He earned a total of 0 won, but how much was he supposed to earn? PSY hinted that he should be earning a lot based on his comment on Radio Star.

Quote

The song that has been one of the best for me is Lee Seung Gi’s “Because You’re My Girl”. Even today, some young man is singing it.
— PSY

PSY was the producer for “Because You’re My Girl” and also receives royalties from sales and streams of the song. If PSY receives plenty of royalties from the song, Lee Seung Gi should too.

Dispatch obtained a statement of settlements from the distribution channels that distributed Lee Seung Gi’s music. Between 2006 and 2022, Lee Seung Gi’s musical activities earned over ₩9.60 billion KRW (about $7.16 million USD) in revenue. In other words, that same amount was recorded as sales in his Hook Entertainment corporate account. The documents for 2004-2009 were lost, so not all of the information was able to be retrieved.

As the information was lost, the accounting books from June 2004 to August 2009 were unable to be fully verified, meaning that both the revenue and expenses report are no longer in existence. There is no way to confirm how much was spent compared to how much he earned for his hit songs during that time, although some estimates were made for 2006-2009. However, it is safe to assume that Lee Seung Gi’s music sales would easily surpass ₩10.0 billion KRW (about $7.46 million USD), should the missing years be factored in.

It all started with a mistakenly sent message

On January 29, 2021, Lee Seung Gi received the following text message:

Quote

“The Ordinary Man” digital sales: ₩63.8 million KRW (about $47,600 USD)
The Project – Lee Seung Gi’s 7th album: ₩170 million KRW (about $127,000 USD)
Total: ₩234 million KRW (about $174,000 USD)
Production Fees: ₩200 million KRW (about $149,000 USD)
Difference: ₩33.6 million KRW (about $25,100 USD). The tax invoice will be issued this month and will be deposited the following month.

Based on this message, Lee Seung Gi was internally pleased, having the thoughts of “I’m not a minus singer” (which means he loses money on music releases) and “I’m, making a profit from this song.” Lee Seung Gi also shared this message to a senior musician. However, it did not take long until his moment of realization. A conversation between Lee Seung Gi and a senior in the music industry went as follows:

Quote

Lee Seung Gi: Hyung. I guess I make money from digital sales too. Even after the ₩200 million KRW (about $149,000 USD) production fees, I made ₩33.6 million KRW (about $25,100 USD).
Senior: What are you talking about? How much do you think the royalty fees that I get are? For you, you make a lot of money. You haven’t been paid yet?
Lee Seung Gi: That’s right. I always hear that I am a minus singer.
Senior: What are the terms and conditions of your contract with Hook? Why haven’t you been paid yet?

Lee Seung Gi’s contract

In 2004, when Lee Seung Gi first signed his contract, the profit split was 4:6 — Lee Seung Gi would receive 40% of the profits and Hook Entertainment would receive 60%. In 2009, the split was adjusted to 60% to Lee Seung Gi, 40% to Hook Entertainment and adjusted again in 2017 so that 70% would go to Lee Seung Gi and 30% to Hook Entertainment.

However, the way that Hook Entertainment handles the costs and production fees is what made it so Lee Seung Gi did not receive any payments. They had Lee Seung Gi responsible for his agent fees and other expenses that the agency should be handling. Normally, artists of Lee Seung Gi’s caliber receive 80/20 splits and the costs are also split 80/20. Hook decided to offer a 70/30 split on the condition that they would cover the costs. This did not end up coming to fruition.

Lee Seung Gi — The example of modern day “slave labor”

According to the terms of Lee Seung Gi’s contract with Hook Entertainment, 60% of the sales from 2009-2016 and 70% of the sales from 2017 to 2022 should go to Lee Seung Gi. This totals ₩5.80 billion KRW (about $4.33 million USD). Dispatch was able to obtain the production costs associated with Lee Seung Gi’s 6th full album And… and they are as follows:

Song arrangement cost: ₩8.90 million KRW (about $6,640 USD)

Production costs: ₩32.0 million KRW (about $23,900 USD)

Session fees: ₩14.6 million KRW (about $10,900 USD)

Recording studio: ₩12.1 million KRW (about $9,000 USD)

Mixing fees: ₩9.89 million KRW (about $7,380 USD)

Mastering fees: ₩1.76 million KRW (about $1,310 USD)

VJ: ₩3.00 million KRW (about $2,240 USD)

Album Jacket filming: ₩22.4 million KRW (about $16,700 USD)

Album production: ₩39.7 million KRW (about $29,600 USD)

Album promotion: ₩3.00 million KRW (about $2,240 USD)

KOMCA certification: ₩23.4 million KRW (about $17,500 USD)

Total: ₩171 million KRW (about $127,000 USD)

Hook Entertainment spent ₩171 million KRW (about $127,000 USD) on Lee Seung Gi’s 6th album. But how much was earned? The amount that was deposited from digital sales into his settlement account with Hook Entertainment was ₩210 million KRW (about $157,000 USD). Another ₩131 million KRW (about $97,800 USD) was recorded from album sales and a further ₩13.0 million KRW (about $9,700 USD) as made from direct distribution sales. On top of that, the amount received from Kakao for the album was ₩700 million KRW (about $522,000 USD).

In summary, ₩1.05 billion KRW (about $787,000 USD) in revenue was recorded for Lee Seung Gi’s 6th album. Subtracting the production costs, ₩884 million KRW (about $660,000 USD) would remain as profit. It is clear that Lee Seung Gi should have received a large amount of money for his 6th album. But all of the money went into Hook Entertainment’s pockets.

Lee Seung Gi, You’re A Minus Singer

Did Lee Seung Gi ever ask for a proper settlement of his account? Yes, he did. An individual identifying themselves as a close friend of Lee Seung Gi’s told Dispatch that he asked several executives in Hook Entertainment and also tried to find out what his rights were, but the answers that were provided made him doubt himself even more.

1) June 2021: Seung Gi! I don’t want to say this to a singer from our agency… You’re a minus singer, how are we supposed to calculate things?

2) August 2022: Do you know how much it costs to promote an album? I had to give a gift to media director A and bought another gift for media director B…

3) November 2022: You’re so annoying! We asked accounting team member Park to prepare the settlement data, but the f***er didn’t do it because he didn’t want to work.

The June 2021 instance was when both Lee Seung Gi and his mother were at dinner with the executive. The August 2022 instance had a director blurt out his answer due to the sudden question. The November 2022 remarks were made in a meeting following Lee Seung Gi’s request to prove his account statements.

After 18 years, A Counterattack Has Finally Begun

Lee Seung Gi was a victim of gaslighting. It was gaslighting by Hook Entertainment that took over Lee Seung Gi for 18 years. It was psychological abuse by those in higher positions, telling him statements that forced him to think this way.

“Seung Gi! Your fans dont buy albums. They don’t have money but have a lot of things they want.”

“Manager Kim. Lee Seung Gi is done for. Take the right path. Save on expenses.”

Hook Entertainment CEO Kwon Jin Young even ordered Lee Seung Gi’s manager to make sure he doesn’t use the company card for food while he is out on a schedule.

Lee Seung Gi’s Manager: Reporting to work. Once I disable the security on the fourth floow, we will proceed with his schedules.

Lee Seung Gi’s Manager: We have arrived at Seung Gi’s filming location near Samsung Station. He will start filming after getting ready.

Lee Seung Gi’s Manager: 24,000 won has been spent on breakfast for Seung Gi’s team.

Lee Seung Gi’s Manager: 52,000 won has been spent on Seung Gi and his staff’s lunch.

Kwon Jin Young CEO: The car was washed yesterday, we cannot do anything anymore.

Kwon Jin Young CEO: There are too many expenditures, Lee Seung Gi needs to also use his own money for a meal.

Kwon Jin Young CEO: Lee Seung Gi should use his own money for one meal a day.

Kwon Jin Young CEO: If the card limit is exceeded, you can’t use it anymore.

Kwon Jin Young CEO: You better do this right.

Kwon Jin Young CEO: This is your last warning.

Lee Seung Gi’s Manager: Understood, CEO.