Former MOMOLAND member Hyebin recently spilled how the K-pop industry actually works financially.
On the 6th, Hyebin posted a video titled 'Why Idols Don't Make Money' on her Youtube channel and completely stripped away the glamorous illusion of idol life. She started off by saying, "It's been over 10 years since I became an idol. A lot of people wonder how much idols earn," and added:
"People think idols make a lot of money, but that's not the case."
Then, she broke down the infamous trainee debt system. A lot of people assume that trainee life is totally free, but Hyebin clarified that unless you are lucky enough to be at a Big 4 major agency, it absolutely isn't.
She explained, "While you're a trainee, the company charges you for your lessons, meals, housing, and even practice room rentals. In simple terms, it's a 'pay later' system. So when you make your debut, you already owe them hundreds of millions of KRW," and added:
"People think you'll start making money once you debut, but you only do if you become successful."
To show what it's actually like, Hyebin revealed that even though MOMOLAND won first place on a music show just two years after debuting thanks to their hit songs 'Bboom Bboom,' 'BAAM,' and 'Thumbs Up,' it didn't immediately turn into profits. She admitted:
"At the time, we were called 'the miracle of a small agency idol group,' but that didn't mean we were making money yet."
The math behind it is honestly crazy. Hyebin broke down the financial structure, explaining, "Basically, idols split all expenses with the company. That includes song production, music videos, managers' salaries, gas, hair, and makeup."
Hyebin also revealed that a single music video can easily cost hundreds of millions of KRW. She explained, "The company pays half, and the other half is divided among the members." She confessed that because of this system, she ends up being responsible for tens of millions of KRW every time she films a music video.
She even broke down how festival and event appearances work, and the math is incredibly depressing. Hyebin described how income from these shows is divided, explaining, "Even if an idol group receives around 50 million KRW (which is around $32,700) for an event, you first split that with the company, then divide the rest among the members."
After subtracting for the hidden costs behind every performance, the actual money she takes home shrinks drastically. She revealed, "After taking out hair, makeup, styling, meals, transportation, and other expenses, I end up taking home about 2 million KRW (which is around $1,308) per event."
To make matters worse, that small chunk of event money doesn't even stay in your pocket. Hyebin added, "That money gets reinvested into the next music video."
It took MOMOLAND two years to finally hit it big, and during that time, they filmed four music videos. "The company probably invested billions of KRW in us," she explained. Because of how the system works, the members don't see any of that cash upfront. She revealed:
"We don't receive settlements until the members have paid back all of that investment."
Reflecting on just how intense the industry is, Hyebin dropped some real numbers, saying:
"Among the general public, only the top 1% become trainees. Of those trainees, only the top 1% debut. And among those who debut, only the top 1% actually make money. I wasn't part of that 1%."
Sharing an update on her life today following MOMOLAND's official disbandment in 2023, Hyebin revealed, "Right now I don't have much work, so I'm doing YouTube. YouTube has become my new job."
Meanwhile, MOMOLAND actually held a fan meeting in Japan this past March while trying to balance their own solo projects and group activities.
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