Article: G-Dragon officially leaves YG and joins Warner Music..."Welcome GD"
Source: STAR News
Singer and Big Bang member G-Dragon (Kwon Ji-yong) has joined a new home.
On the afternoon of the 30th, G-Dragon posted several selcas revealing his current situation on his personal SNS without any special captions. Of the seven photos, one stood out. It was a photo of an electronic display board with 'WELCOME G-DRAGON' written on it.
This is related to rumors by foreign media on the 28th that G-Dragon joined Warner Music. At the time, local media reported G-Dragon visited Warner Music Records office in Los Angeles, California. Warner Music Group is a famous American record label and is considered one of the top 3 popular music agencies in the world.
Afterwards, a photo of an electronic display board with GD's selca hanging with phrase 'WELCOME G-DRAGON' at what was presumed to be Warner Music HQ was spread in online communities. In addition, when considering the fact that G-Dragon is included among Warner Music Group roster of artists registered on a search portal site and G-Dragon was also caught hitting "like" on an SNS post announcing the news, it was concluded that "G-Dragon is actually a Warner Music Group member" with opinions claiming "he was in the Group's arms."
Therefore, G-Dragon's SNS pictures are no different than an official statement that he and Warner Music officially joined hands. This is because the photo at Warner Music HQ leaked through online communities and G-Dragons SNS photo are identical.
G-Dragon has been teasing his solo comeback since early this year and has been steadily revealing his current state of music production. In a recent video uploaded to 'welcome the new year' in January, he stated, "I plan to visit you through various activities. I'm also preparing an album. In the new year, I will try to become someone who can come to you with good news."
Last May, G-Dragon's name disappeared from the lineup of artists in his agency YG Entertainment's quarterly report for March 2023 sparking rumors of expiration of his exclusive contract and departure from Big Bang. Until the second half of last year, G-Dragon's real name Kwon Ji-yong, was listed, but after a few months, his name was missing, leading to speculations he had left YG.
In relation to this, YG told STAR News at the time, "Currently, the exclusive contract with G-Dragon has expired, and we are cooperating through a separate contract for other activities such as CFs. We plan to negotiate additional contracts when music activities resume and YG will not spare any support."
Although October has already arrived, we have entered the second half of 2023 and barely any news about the release of G-Dragon's solo album. However, if he decides a new course, the album release plan will likely be decided soon. There is already a lot of interest in what G-Dragon will do in the future and how he will bring joy to K-pop fans globally.