The Financial Statement of Edam Entertainment shows $22.8 million was paid to the artists - can any other KPop singer match it?

이담엔터테인먼트/감사보고서/2025.03.28

(In Korean)

Kakao Entertainment announced its financials, and Edam Entertainment, which is mainly owned by Kakao, was considered to have done well with a net profit of 61 billion won, or $4.16 million, for the company Kakao Entertainment.

That amount would have been paid to its former owner and founder, a Lee Jieun, except she had sold her majority share to Kakao Entertainment, only retaining a smaller stake.

However, its former owner was not paid a pittance.

Fees paid $22.6 million $20.0 million with the prevailing exchange rate in 2023

In 2023 Shin Sekyung was with Edam, so she was paid some fees.

Shin Sekyung left Edam in 2024, and there were only Woodz, who enlisted on Jan 2024 and really had no activities, and the former owner of Edam Entertainment.

So it is unlikely that more than 2% of the $22.6 million paid went to Woodz, whose only income would have been whatever he might have earned from his digital release,

and the majority of the 22.6M 'fees paid' was paid to its former owner.

Total Sales of Edam Entertainment was 74.6 billion won, or about $50.8 million.

And its former owner claimed 44% of its total sales, while Kakao only took about 8.5% of its total sales.

So, the former owner of Edam Entertainment was paid $22 million from the company she used to own. That does not include her royalty income or her real estate appreciation.

New Jeans made news when the individual members were revealed to have been paid 5 billion won, or about $3.8 million by the prevailing exchange rate at that time, each in 2023.

So, collectively, if MHJ did not fight Hybe each of them could have earned more than the former owner of Edam Entertainment!

Moral:

No matter what, a domesticist' income potential is smaller than that of an international act.

Still the former owner of Edamn Entertainment is richer than any BTS or BP members, something which will hopefully be corrected this year.

Quote from BIGnorBANG

If she can afford those contracts, good luck to her

They are about $450mil, more than what the Senior Singer has

Quote from pchromo4

IU had a comeback and sold-out world tour last year (all stadiums and arenas) so of course her revenue was high.

It could have been higher but we now know her max possible income is $22 mil

Quote from bbgc

Of course she would take in more earnings,

1. Solo vs groups

2. Stake in the company and not just contractor

3. Diversified with acting, modeling in addition to singing.

This combination will be true for BP/BTS SolUnits too, but just a matter of extents.

IU has been doing this for much longer than they have been and her leverage with EDAM/Kakao much higher being the single most successful act from the stable until IVE

Also having her is prestige for Melon/Kakao in S. Korea.

But BP/BTS SolUnits can beat that by the sheer numbers they pull internationally.

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BP solunits tend to be doing not as great as expected

And about BTS, it depends how much Bang will take away from the solo activities