Source: Sports Chosun
The 'YG dance' has been going on for a month. When will 'Blackpink contract' issue be decided?
On the 25th, rumors were raised members Jisoo and Jennie would establish 'one-man' agencies to carry out their solo schedules and only Blackpink activities as a whole will be conducted through YG. In response, YG stated, "Nothing has been confirmed regarding contract renewal or future schedules."
Blackpink's exclusive contract with YG ended in August. As Blackpink is a group with the most presence in the K-pop scene and carried out the largest K-pop girl group idol tour, many rumors have been pouring out regarding renewals of their exclusive contract. Lisa is rumored to have received a contract offer worth tens of billions of won from overseas agencies such as China and Thailand. Jisoo held a meeting with an actor management agency to begin full-fledged acting activities. Jennie has been looking for a company to support her solo career "fully" more than YG.
Rumors coming out claim only Rose signed a contract renewal with YG while Lisa and Jisoo received tens of billions of won in down payments and moved to overseas companies. However, each time, YG only repeats the position "nothing has been confirmed." Even for fans who wish to maintain Blackpink as a complete group, fatigue is bound to increase.
Of course it's difficult for YG to clearly state its position. Currently, YG's flagship idol group Big Bang and 'waist line' group iKON have left. WINNER is gone to military service. Although Treasure is on the rise every year, they're still rookies and Baby Monster's debut has also been postponed so the company is in a precarious position. In the end, the one responsible for YG right now is Blackpink who earned over 350 million won in profits from their world tour. If failure to renew contracts with Blackpink members is official, the company will inevitably suffer a major blow. In fact, when it became unclear whether Blackpink members would renew contracts, YG stock prices fell from 15th-22nd except for the 19th.
While there are opinions "members want to maintain the team," their level of affection for Blackpink isn't proportional to their willingness to want to renew contracts with YG. So realistically, it's still unknown whether they'll want to maintain the group with YG while signed to other agencies. There have been cases in the past like Girls' Generation and Mamamoo where idol group members still maintained group activities even after they dispersed to other companies, but this was only possible because more than half of the members remained with the original agency. The reality is the group's activities as a whole also dwindled and gradually decreased.
Interest and fatigue is rising as we await the decision Blackpink will make.