While Fifty Fifty is suffering from an internal dispute over an exclusive contract with their agency Attract, they are expected to receive a settlement of billions at the end of this month.
As a result of TenAsia coverage on the 11th, Fifty Fifty receives payment for the hit song 'Cupid' at the end of July. What is noteworthy is the amount of settlement received from Spotify, the world's largest music site. According to related industries, etc., it is at least several billion won.
A key official said to the magazine, "Interpark, a distributor, is in the process of finalizing the cleanup." "It is expected to reach at least billions of won." The industry observes that it easily exceeds 3 billion won. At one point, some in the music industry even predicted that 55th Fifty's settlement at the end of this month could exceed 10 billion won. The amount of this settlement is inevitably attracting attention from the industry as it can serve as a major source of data in ongoing trials.
Fifty Fifty's 'Cupid' entered Billboard's main single chart 'Hot 100' and climbed to 19th place. It is the fifth K-pop girl group to be named on the Billboard Hot 100, following Wonder Girls, Black Pink, and New Jeans, and it is also the record for the shortest entry after K-pop idol debut. It also ranked 8th on the UK's official single chart 'Top 100', which is called the two major charts along with Billboard.
In addition, it entered major Spotify charts and music charts in many countries, including Canada, New Zealand, Ireland, Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, and India. In particular, 'Cupid-Twin Version' surpassed 300 million streams on Spotify.
Fifty Fifty is currently in conflict with their agency. Attract is claiming that external forces are shaking the relationship between the two sides, and the members are in the position that the relationship of trust with the agency has been broken. Accordingly, on the 5th, the first trial was held at the Seoul Central District Court regarding the termination of the exclusive contract with 55 Fifty.
At the time, Fifty Fifty's side also insisted on suspicion of breach of trust by CEO Jeon Hong-joon, and showed its will to file a criminal complaint. They said, “From December of last year, when the music distributor paid the advance payment, until April, the revenue from albums and music sources was recorded as 0 won in the settlement data, so it was virtually omitted.” Considering that he committed breach of trust through this, we are considering even filing a criminal complaint."
Afterwards, news spread that Fifty Fifty registered a total of 60 trademark rights related to the group without the agency's knowledge. The registration cost alone was 15.36 million won, and it was revealed that the registration was made on June 19, when the application for injunction to suspend the validity of the exclusive contract was filed. The industry is pouring criticism on the members for the meticulous behavior they showed prior to the court battle. However, Attract CEO Jeon Hong-joon hopes for an 'amicable agreement' with the members.
On the 27th of last month, Attract filed a complaint with the Gangnam Police Station in Seoul on charges of obstruction of business, damage to electronic records, fraud, and breach of trust in business against three people, including Dugibus CEO Ahn Seong-il, who claimed to be an outside force. The court decided to receive related data from both sides by the 26th and make a decision.
Reporter Yoon Jun-ho, Ten Asia delo410@tenasia.co.kr