Pop stars live a glamorous life, or so we thought. Some of them are tied to slave contracts that take away their youth, freedom and hard-earned money
Yasmin Lee Arpon in Bangkok
Asia News Network
Publication Date : 15-10-2010
Former members of South Korean pop group TVXQ (L-R) Hero Jae-Joong, Micky Yoo-Chun and Xiah Jun-Su. (Photo by AFP)
Pop stars live a glamorous life, or so we thought. Some of them are tied to slave contracts that take away their youth, freedom and hard-earned money
Imagine a 12-year-old girl who could barely read English—much more, understand it—presented with a contract that offers her a chance at stardom. Images of a glamorous life—with designer clothes, cars, trips abroad and most importantly, never having to worry about food on the table ever again—must have flashed before the young girl’s eyes. That moment, it was all that mattered and her mother, who neither read nor understood English, signed the contract, nevermind if by the time her daughter finishes it, she would have been 22 years old.
This was the story of Hong Kong star Isabella Leong, who extended her contract with Emperor Entertainment Group (EEG) to 15 years when she turned 14, and to 20 years when she turned 17. This would have tied her to EEG until she was 32 years old.
In 2008, or when Leong was 20, EEG hauled her to court for breach of contract. She countersued accusing EEG of unfair contract terms, among them, that she had to inform her manager of her whereabouts at all times and that she did not have ownership nor copyright and control of any of her works. EEG controlled Leong’s finances, receiving all her income and deducting its expenses and commissions before she gets anything. She was paid a “salary” of HK$5,000 (about US$644 in current terms) per month, but the royalties she was entitled to ranged from only below 1 per cent to 2 per cent of the net sales of her work, depending on the medium.
Leong’s contract with EEG also stated that in case she severs the agreement, she was barred from working in the entertainment business for up to seven years.
Such terms in what is dubbed as ‘slave contracts’ particularly in South Korea, is common in the entertainment world.
Last year, three members of the Korean boy group TVXQ filed a case against SM Entertainment, claiming that their 13-year contract was too long and that the group’s earnings have been unfairly distributed among the members.
Other stars under SM Entertainment were also found to have similar slave contracts. Girls’ Generation’s Yoona was tied to a 13-year contract, that of members of Super Junior ranged from between five and 13 years, while members of SHINee from six to 13 years.
In August this year, South Korea’s Supreme Court invalidated long-term contracts between entertainers and their agencies saying they were “unfair”. The court’s decision stemmed from a case filed by U-Kiss member Woo Sung-hyun against Ssing Entertainment over his 10-year contract stipulating that inactive periods caused by health reasons or the mandatory military service would be added to the term. The agency also required him to pay three times its investment should he violate the terms and conditions.
The court’s ruling that contracts longer than seven years are unfair, in effect, put a stop to entertainment agencies’ practice of tying their stars under slave-like contracts.
“The first 10 years after his debut album constitute virtually his entire life as a singer. Given the nature of the industry, the contract term is unfair and excessively infringes upon his rights,” the court said in its ruling favouring Woo.
Entertainment agencies, however, reason that a 10-year contract is par for the course since it takes as much time to train, launch and turn these wannabes into stars. In Korea for example, it takes two to three years of tough training—in dancing, singing, hosting, acting etc.—before anyone could debut. These trainees start when they are teens and by the time they reach the peak of their success, if they do, they would be in their 20s.
Agencies protested that they could not possibly allow their talents to change their contracts halfway when they have become famous, considering the huge amount of money they have invested in them.
In the second quarter of this year, Korea’s Fair Trade Committee investigated 20 entertainment companies and found that 230 celebrities under 19 agencies had unlawful clauses in their contracts.
Some contracts even have a clause requiring talents to fulfil “other services” imposed by the agency. There have been rumours that these include sex or escort services.
These stories only show that behind all that glamour are sordid tales of some stars paying the price for fame and success. But is it worth it?
Some like Leong, Woo and the three TVXQ members have taken steps to contest the terms of their contracts, but others have not been as brave, scared that they won’t be able to fight the system.
On one hand, a netizen on the PopSeoul website (www.popseoul.com) named Joe called slave contracts as a “prison sentence with a lot of cash, clothes and coke”.
Of course this depends on the amount of success the talent achieves, and it further differs when you have to share the earnings with others like in the case of Super Junior that has 13 members. This means the net profit of the group would have to be split into 13 and in the end, they don’t really get as much as what the public thinks.
Some netizens are less than sympathetic though. “Not getting paid and working on a whim of a master is slavery,” another netizen posted on PopSeoul. “TVXQ signed a contract, knew where they were headed, get over (US$200,000 or about 228 million won) a year and live like princes… Working nonstop? They definitely have time off. Yeah, they work more than the 9-5 business people. So? It’s all spelled out in their contract.”
Another said that it should be the parents who are to blame since these stars were too young at the time they signed the contract.
Woo’s case has been resolved while that of the three members of TVXQ is still under way. Leong has settled out of court with EEG through the help of Richard Li, son of Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing. The younger Li, the father of Leong’s three sons, reportedly paid US$6.2 million to bail Leong out from her contract with EEG. She lives a cushy life without having to slave as a singer or actress. And after lessons in the US, she can now read and speak English
Who knows, with her newfound wealth, Leong can start her own agency and given her experience, offer more humane conditions to aspiring stars.
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