YG likely to decide on Blackpink contract status by August

YG Entertainment will likely decide the status of Blackpink members' contracts as early as next month as its contract with the quartet expires that month, Samsung Securities report said on Monday. It is unclear whether all four members will extend...

Blackpink [YG ENTERTAINMENT]

YG Entertainment will likely decide the status of Blackpink members' contracts as early as next month as its contract with the quartet expires that month, Samsung Securities report said on Monday.

It is unclear whether all four members will extend their exclusive contracts with the agency. Previous media reports speculated that Lisa could even leave YG as both sides are having difficulties fixing a date to settle the matter.

“Details about the Blackpink contract extension will probably be officially available sometime next month as the group's world tour ends in North America on Aug. 26, and the day it debuted was Aug. 8, 2016,” Samsung Securities analyst Choi Min-ha said.

The length of exclusive contracts between an artist and an agency in Korea typically stays under seven years after the Korea Fair Trade Commission in 2009 set the recommended maximum length of these contracts at seven years in its adhesion contract format.

This August marks the girl group's seventh anniversary.

Blackpink is currently on its second world tour, "Born Pink," which is set to wrap up in the United States in August.

YG’s shares are likely to stagger if the quartet fails to stay as a whole within the agency. When the news that Lisa could leave the agency hit, YG shares slid down 5.83 percent to close at 74,300 won last Wednesday.

Blackpink remains the sole breadwinner for the agency after all members of the boy band Big Bang left YG as of June. Winner, AKMU and Treasure are some artists under YG, and the agency is actively promoting BabyMonster, a girl group that is set to debut soon and fill Blackpink's shoes.

“YG’s third quarter is expected to be filled with [boy band] Treasure’s activities and BabyMonster's debut,” Choi said. “Treasure is currently active in the music market with its subunit T5 releasing its digital single ‘Move’ last month, and the band will return as a full group at the end of July with its second full-length album ‘Reboot.’ The band is expected to be active in North America with its latest album as it recently signed a deal with U.S. label Columbia Records. BabyMonster will officially debut in September with a song that reflects YG’s distinctive hip-hop genre. BabyMonster already has 3 million subscribers on its official YouTube channel as the agency pre-promoted the group by publicly auditioning members via YouTube, and the group is likely to quickly settle in with that global traction.”

BY LEE JAE-LIM [lee.jaelim@joongang.co.kr]