My hope and wish for NJZ now

At this point tokki's should open a copium distribution business, because they sure have an insane high amount of it

See, I think that could be backfire.

Theres ALWAYS a lot of bad blood between Korea, China and Japan and they all go through spells of hating anything from the other places.

Singing under a Chinese label would probably be it for them in Korea, with Knets possibly seeing that as a betrayal. But it might also put them on shakey ground in Japan as well, which is going through it own right-wing, anti-immigrant, nationalist phase, with particular ire being directed at Chinese things.

Even the US, given it's current political climate, might start treating Chinese owned brands like political footballs.

I'm all for the idea of NewJeans getting a foreign investor, but I think China (and Saudi Arabia for other reasons) shouldn't be where the money should be from honestly. It's too fraught.

The rumored contract fee is about $100M. That means anyone who want to buy their contract from Ador must predict at least $100M profit (not revenue) to break even. Will NewJeans profit that much? Probably no, kpop is not known to be a profitable business, $100M is equivalent to total yearly profit of big 4 combined, one group especially girlgroup can't make that much.

So the only ones willing to spend that kind of money are the ones don't care about profit to begin with, like Saudi and Qatari government funds. I can't think of any Chinese company like that currently, Tencent is diversifying their investment by buying shares of many companies (including kpop company like SM), but buying a kpop group is a different business.

Quote from vinslow4

The rumored contract fee is about $100M. That means anyone who want to buy their contract from Ador must predict at least $100M profit (not revenue) to break even. Will NewJeans profit that much? Probably no, kpop is not known to be a profitable business, $100M is equivalent to total yearly profit of big 4 combined, one group especially girlgroup can't make that much.

So the only ones willing to spend that kind of money are the ones doesn't care about profit to begin with, like the Saudi and Qatari government funds. I can't think of any Chinese company like that.

Also, I would not be surprised in the least if any would be big saviour that pays out the contract fee then turns that fee into the equivalent of a "trainee debt" to the girls.

The problem with this is that I doubt they would be able to sign a better contract than the original. Geopolitical tension aside, If its true that the penalty is the average amount of money they made at Hybe x the numer of years left in their contract, then that means the debt to their new company would be the amount they made through their rookies years x 4.

Realistically then they would have to work for that new company at least 4 years with the same sucess they had at their peak, and that's just to cover their debt, not to make profit for themselves or the company.

For any company to even be interested in this deal, they would have to make at least the same amount of money Ador is making off of them, which means either NJs works MORE years for this new company or they reduce their own share of the profits by half (one to pay their debt to Ador and one to make profit for the new company).

On top of that, Ador might actually seek damages and whatnot, which would mean aditional debt than just that of the termination fee. Just from a monetary point fo view, it would be much cheaper for them to go back to Ador.

Not to mention this new company might include even harsher penalties if they try to break away from them and who knows what other things they could ask from them, given the whole situation.

They have to come to a settlement in the high court anyway, because I don't see Sejeong winning

Then that agency will use NZ to benefit their country.

It may be seen as a betrayal from the Korean side

I can already imagine the headlines : “ 5 Korean girls decided to sign with a Chinese label “

Quote from Uni909

Then what options do they really have?

Ador claim they have an album ready for them, just needing vocals, so they can take them up on the offer.

Quote from ThePhantomThief

See, I think that could be a backfire.

There's ALWAYS a lot of bad blood between Korea, China and Japan and they all go through spells of hating anything from the other places.

Singing under a Chinese label would probably be it for them in Korea, with Knets possibly seeing that as a betrayal. But it might also put them on shaky ground in Japan as well, which is going through its own right-wing, anti-immigrant, nationalist phase, with particular ire being directed at Chinese things.

Even the US, given its current political climate, might start treating Chinese-owned brands like political footballs.

I'm all for the idea of NewJeans getting a foreign investor, but I think China (and Saudi Arabia for other reasons) shouldn't be where the money should be from honestly. It's too fraught.

You'd be surprised, but Takaichi isn't exactly how she is as a politician as she is as PM...

Quote from Bottles

Ador claim they have an album ready for them, just needing vocals, so they can take them up on the offer.

Have a CB THEN terminate? Possible...

Quote from vinslow4

The rumored contract fee is about $100M. That means anyone who want to buy their contract from Ador must predict at least $100M profit (not revenue) to break even. Will NewJeans profit that much? Probably no, kpop is not known to be a profitable business, $100M is equivalent to total yearly profit of big 4 combined, one group especially girlgroup can't make that much.

So the only ones willing to spend that kind of money are the ones don't care about profit to begin with, like Saudi and Qatari government funds. I can't think of any Chinese company like that currently, Tencent is diversifying their investment by buying shares of many companies (including kpop company like SM), but buying a kpop group is a different business.

Buy Ador... No point buying a GG, as that would be stupid.

Quote from JesseAlex

TenCent.

The obvious choice... and just stick Ador under Kakao. Done deal.

(If any of that happens)

Quote from SooYoung

Lmaooo Newjeans signing with a chinese company would just be the final nail in the coffin of their career

Koreans are xenophobic especially towards Chinese

And there's lot of tension between China and Korea about their culture, criticizing each other of appropriating the culture of the other country

I don't think it would be a great strategy

To have Newjeans leave a korean company for a chinese company

In the general public opinion they would be seen like the SK sweetheart that betray their country to side with the enemy

And once you're seen like this , there's no turning back

They would have to focus only on the Global market

But even this would be hard considering the growing tension between China and the US for example

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Lmaooo that’s a spicy take, but it's missing some context. China’s already in the bloodstream of K-pop's "Big 4", like it or not.

HYBE literally launched a China subsidiary this year to tap the reopening market. SM Entertainment has been part-owned and strategically partnered with Tencent Music, which helps distribute K-pop in China. Even back in the mid-2010s, Chinese investment money was flowing into Korean entertainment through film, distribution, and idol training partnerships.

So pretending a China connection would "end" a career ignores the fact that the industry's major players already have one foot in that door. Sure, tensions exist, both countries have accused each other of cultural appropriation, and Korean public opinion toward China isn't exactly warm. But financially and strategically, K-pop has never been purely Korean.

If NewJeans ever signed with a Chinese-backed company, it wouldn't be "betrayal"; it'd be an extension of what's already happening behind the scenes. The move would come with PR risks, absolutely, but calling it the "final nail in the coffin" is exaggerating the funeral.

Quote from SooYoung

Lmaooo make the difference

You're talking about kpop companies making investment in china to push their groups in the chinese market

And comparing it to a Chinese company buying a korean group to make them perform in korea

That's two different case

In the first one it's the korean economy that is gaining

Cuz by helping their group promote and launch on the chinese market it's a korean company that take advantage of the chinese market

And the profit that they gain will directly go between the hands of korea

In the other hand, it's a chinese company taking advantage of koreans

Do you really think koreans will be as supportive of a group knowing that the money they pour into this group is going directly in the chinese economy

Also there's enough example in history showing South korean nationalistic preference

SKN tend to prefer national product

And let's not even talk about all the criticism that NJ will face if they end up doing this on a cultural point of view

Chinese company work a lot in very close relationship with Chinese governement

Pretty much ever artist under chinese company were forced to publicly show their support to the "One china" policy

If Newjeans ends up under a chinese company they'll probably have to do the same thing

Problem is that Korea is pro-taiwan and have been very harsh with idol showing their support the one china policy

It's not just on a financial point of view but even on a culture pov NJ will have to face a lot of challenge being under a chinese company promoting in korea

Where the koreans don't share the same political and culture opinion than the one their company have and could probably forced NJ members to show their support for

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Alright, let’s get real for a second, and maybe clean up your sentences while we’re at it.

First off, it’s "know the difference," not "make the difference." And it’s "those are two different cases," not "that’s two different case." Also, "on the other hand," not "in the other hand," unless you’re literally holding your argument like spare change.

Now, back to the point. You’re acting like Korean investment in China and Chinese ownership in K-pop are night and day, when in reality, it’s all part of the same financial ecosystem. Chinese money has been sitting at the Big 4 table for years. Tencent owns a chunk of SM. HYBE just launched a China branch. The idea that "Korean money good, Chinese money bad" might sound patriotic, but business doesn’t run on nationalism, it runs on profit.

And the "Koreans will never support a group owned by a Chinese company" thing? That’s shaky. Fans stream music on Spotify (American), buy albums printed in Japan, and donate through apps run out of Singapore. Global K-pop is built on cross-border money flow, not hometown pride.

As for the "One China" talk, sure, Chinese companies play politics, but no one’s about to make NewJeans stand onstage waving policy banners between verses of "ETA." Let’s not get dramatic.

So yeah, I get your point about nationalism, but it’s not the slam dunk you think it is. You’re arguing like it’s 2005, not 2025. The K-pop industry’s already far too globalized for those clean "us vs. them" lines to mean much anymore.

Quote from DaisyTheGenuine

It wasn't a problem for Everglow or any K-pop idol signed to Chinese companies promoting in China

IIRC, most Chinese idols supported initiatives by the CCP, including Taiwanese and Hong Kongers, like the Xinjiang cotton criticism and boycott. A large number of idols came out in support of it.

However, if NewJeans were to be bought by a Chinese company, it would be interesting to see if they come out in support of China, or better, remain neutral.

The T-ara strategy.

Quote from BEG4DAWIN

The T-ara strategy.

Go on...?

Quote from DaisyTheGenuine

Probably no opinion whatsoever

Best thing, as if they do have a Chinese investor, they wouldn't want to risk having a boycott overseas of an asset 🫤🫤

Quote from BIGnorBANG

Best thing, as if they do have a Chinese investor, they wouldn't want to risk having a boycott overseas of an asset 🫤🫤

Nobody is boycotting a group because their investors are Chinese. We have a big 4 company being backed by a zionist, and that didn't stop people from consuming their music. I don't think fans care about any of that as long as music and group is good. An idol eating a strawberry will cause more noise than a group being backed by certain individuals.

Quote from StanGIDLE

Nobody is boycotting a group because their investors are Chinese. We have a big 4 company being backed by a zionist, and that didn't stop people from consuming their music. I don't think fans care about any of that as long as music and group is good. An idol eating a strawberry will cause more noise than a group being backed by certain individuals.

I'm talking about if they started parroting CCP mantra 😒😒

Quote from Varenka

I don't see the point in dropping 100 million to 225 million or whatever for NewJeans as opposed to just starting your own company and debuting a "global" group at a cheaper cost since we see these groups doing relatively well (e.g., XG, Katseye).

I think the argument is NewJeans instantly gives you top group status. The failure rate for groups is high, and there's no method to guarantee success. You can spend a lot of money on YouTube ads like Badvillain, but that doesn't guarantee you that people are actually checking out content. NewJeans will provide security and it's why companies spend a lot of money to acquire talent.

Not comparing NewJeans to the artist, but there's a reason why Sony gave Adele $120million to change labels. Why spend money on development, marketing, and other areas to hope you have an artist that's as big as Adele? A lot of the times you're better off in spending money on the known commodity and build from that big name. Of course record deals can backfire but in the kpop industry, NewJeans is easily a guarantee to be very successful.

Quote from BIGnorBANG

I'm talking about if they started parroting CCP mantra 😒😒

That doesn't really happen. Chinese investors invested heavily in entertainment, and rarely interfere. If you look at the video game industry, they invested in Epic and Riot games, and rarely interfered. Business comes first and they know not to overstep and let their teams cook. I can't recall any controversies where Tencent interfered with League of Legends and Fortnite. The same thing will most likely happen if a Chinese investor invest in NewJeans. Money comes first and they know not to interfere with cash cow.

Quote from vinslow4

So the only ones willing to spend that kind of money are the ones don't care about profit to begin with, like Saudi and Qatari government funds.

How good are NewJeans members at soccer?

Quote from StanGIDLE

That doesn't really happen. Chinese investors invested heavily in entertainment, and rarely interfere. If you look at the video game industry, they invested in Epic and Riot Games, and rarely interfered. Business comes first and they know not to overstep and let their teams cook. I can't recall any controversies where Tencent interfered with League of Legends and Fortnite. The same thing will most likely happen if a Chinese investor invests in NewJeans. Money comes first and they know not to interfere with the cash cow.

Don't conflate idols and games, however. We saw a ton of Chinese idols, and a couple of Taiwanese idols who work in China, back Xinjiang cotton trading whilst people were calling for a boycott of it internationally.

Also, there was this...

Blitzchung controversy - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Quote from Varenka

Well, Adele has a much longer shelf life than NewJeans. Adele has been doing this for 20 years, and NewJeans has been doing it for 2. You can probably milk Adele and future releases for years since she's a musician. That's her lane. Can we say for sure than all NewJeans members will want to stay as singers 5 years from now? Some may want to move onto other pursuits and choose to step away from group activities. Compared to NewJeans, it's also easier to negotiate with one person than trying to get all five re-signed when contract negotiations come up. So not withstanding the quality of Adele vs NewJeans or how much bigger Adele is, it makes more sense why one would risk $120 million on Adele vs $100 million on NewJeans.

Don't disagree with that because I'm unsure how valuable the catalogue is for a kpop group. At least with western music they make a ton with the commercial use of songs and replayability. The penalty fee for NewJeans is indeed not worth it, but I see the value in a severely reduced penalty fee. I assume the value in NewJeans would be touring and brand. If an investor feels that NewJeans can reach the levels of Twice and Blackpink, then I can see why an investor will act on a reduced penalty fee.

Quote from Varenka

I don't see the point in dropping 100 million to 225 million or whatever for NewJeans as opposed to just starting your own company and debuting a "global" group at a cheaper cost since we see these groups doing relatively well (e.g., XG, Katseye).

Yeah, all to double the investment at most, if recovering it at all...

Sejeong has a very difficult case

Quote from Yama-Chan