"Shooting for 'Barbie' has to be done..."
On June 9th, Producer Ahn Sung-Il pressurized CEO Jeon Hong-Joon to shoot for the music video of one of the soundtracks featuring in the upcoming movie 'Barbie.'
CEO Jeon Hong-Joon remained cautious.
"It is not wrong to say that it is good for both herself and the company..."
The reason of concern to CEO Jeon was none other than a member's health issue.
"Since it is a health issue, please talk with her and her parents to avoid any misunderstandings."
Producer Ahn said that he would persuade her himself.
"Aran tends to listen to me well so I will act after checking on her condition first…"
'Fifty Fifty' filed for a provisional injunction to suspend their exclusive contract with their agency on June 19th. Reportedly, the girl group had two major issues with their agency: "not receiving pay on time" and "neglecting duties to protect the health of members."
However, the facts confirmed by 'Dispatch' were different. Yes, although the settlement had still not been paid off, there was no evidence of neglecting health conditions. Despite this fact, Fifty Fifty sent a letter of proof to their agency last month.
A midsummer night's dream for a small entertainment company disappeared with the wind.
Let's have a look at the details, starting with how Fifty Fifty was born.
◆ Who planned Fifty Fifty?
First, familiarize with these three key individuals: Jeon Hong-Joon, Ahn Sung-Il and 'Kamp.'
Jeon Hong-Joon: CEO of ATTRAKT Entertainment. He was born in 1964 and has previously managed artists such as Jo Kwan-Woo, Yang Soo-Kyung, Yoon Mi-Rae, Bobby Kim and Ha Sung-Woon.
Ahn Sung-Il: CEO and producer of creative content development group 'The Givers.' He is known for producing artists like J-Walk, Eun Ji-Won and Rumble Fish and Son Seung-Yeon.
Kamp: A performance production company headquartered in the United States, with a history of organizing numerous K-pop festivals. Mr. K is the CEO of Kamp Korea and back in 2019, Ahn Sung-Il worked as an employee of Kamp.
'Kamp Singapore 2019', a K-pop festival organized by Kamp, is when Mr. K and producer Ahn first met. It is here that ATTRAKT CEO Jeon Hong-Joon met Mr. K (CEO of Kamp) and employee Ahn Sung-Il, as well as others such as Mr. B.
At the event, CEO Jeon Hong-Joon witnessed the global influence of K-pop with a firsthand experience. He proposed to Mr. K, "Let's create a global K-pop group together", implying the synergy of Mr. K's know-how and Kamp's global marketing.
Mr. K shared his story.
"CEO Jeon Hong-Joon proposed to work on a girl group project. We (Kamp) decided to assist with the marketing on an international level. Since Ahn Sung-Il had experience as a producer before joining us, we sent him to ATTRAKT. Until then, Kamp paid him salary."
In November 2019, the 'Fifty Fifty' project was launched. CEO Jeon Hong-Joon, Kamp CEO Mr. K, Ahn Sung-il, Mr. B (Kamp employee) and Mr. L (Kamp employee) joined forces to create a global girl group.
◆ Who created Fifty Fifty?
CEO Jeon Hong-Joon began auditions for trainees from December 2019. Over time, he diminished the numbers through monthly evaluations. In 2020, from 12 trainees, he confirmed 5 trainees in 2021, finalizing 4 members in 2020.
Kamp facilitated the selection process, linking overseas partners to join the monthly evaluations on two occasions. ATTRAKT and Kamp collaborated to develop a global strategy, even reaching out overseas to collect tracks.
However, Kamp's involvement ended in January 2021. Differences arose between CEO Jeon Hong-Joon and CEO Mr. K, seemingly due to differing global strategies. Since then, Kamp completely withdrew from the project.
CEO Jeon Hong-Joon sought after a US agent to replace Kamp. At that time, Ahn Sung-Il stepped in.
"We are ready to play!"
In May 2021, Ahn Sung-Il resigned from Kamp. Kamp's employees Mr. B and Mr. L also resigned andtogether made 'The Givers.'
"We were in need of a team to fulfill Kamp's role. Ahn Sung-Il came forward and said he was 'the right person.' Considering the process, there was no reason to decline, especially as we would have a sense of continuity. We signed an outsourcing contract with Ahn Sung-Il." (Jeon Hong-Joon)
The miracle, or rather tragedy, of a small company began here.
◆ Who developed Fifty Fifty?
CEO Jeon Hong-Joon and producer Ahn Sung-Il divided their roles. CEO Jeon focused on raising funds as he considered it the CEO's duty. Producer Ahn Sung-Il took charge of training the members.
However, their bank balance dried up far too quickly. Although it has been reported that the debut of a girl group costs an average of over 2 billion KRW per year, it was a burden for a small company like ATTRAKT. Even with advanced payments from distribution companies, it was difficult to bear the expenses.
"Nevertheless, I did not want to disappoint our artists. We secured a residence in the Gangnam district with three bedrooms and two bathrooms. The monthly rent was 3.3 million KRW. We also hired tutors for various subjects…" (CEO Jeon Hong-Joon)
Fifty Fifty received lessons in vocals, music theory, rap, dance, English, acting and fitness related classes. The training expenses added up to roughly 20-30 million KRW per month for the four members of Fifty Fifty.
Additionally, ATTRAKT invested over 1 billion KRW in music video production alone. In December 2021, the girl group released four cover song music videos. The videos were sent to ICM, Sony Music, BGM and others. This cost totalled to 120 million KRW.
Not only this but in 2022, Fifty Fifty filmed music videos for all four songs from their first album, including Higher, Tell Me, Lovin' Me and Log in. The production cost alone exceeded 500 million KRW. It did not stop there. The music video for Cupid cost 250 million KRW.
Of course, producer Ahn took the lead in managing the production. CEO Jeon provided full support, even selling his luxury car, watch and funds of 90 million KRW from his very own elderly mother.
Through thick and thin, Fifty Fifty made their debut on November 2022.
◆ Who launched Fifty Fifty?
In April 2023, Fifty Fifty shook the Billboard charts. They entered US Billboard's Hot 100 chart with Cupid and stayed on the chart for 14 consecutive weeks. It was the longest record for any K-pop girl group in history.
It was a new revolution. Together with the girls' fame, Siahn gained attention as the girls publicly thanked him during a press conference. Siahn (Sung-Il Ahn) are the initials for Ahn Sung-Il.
Ahn Sung-Il revealed the direction of Cupid to Dispatch magazine:
"We had to have a K-pop vibe. However, we wanted to make it mysterious so that it could not be easily identified as K-pop by the general population."
And like that, Ahn Sung-Il's strategy worked. Coincidentally, the trend of "easy listening" emerged, with TikTok to play a significant role. An overseas user made a 'speed-up' version of the song which went viral.
So the question is, who is accountable for Fifty Fifty's success? Ahn Sung-Il fulfilled his role. He emphasized the importance of being a good producer by saying, "I compressed 2,000 songs into the music."
In fact, Cupid is a track that was created by students from a music school in Sweden (Adam Von Mentzer, Mac Felländer-Tsai, Louise Udin). Ahn Sung-Il only arranged the song into a K-pop style.
◆ Who made profit from Fifty Fifty?
It is true that Ahn Sung-Il (Siahn) fruitfully selected the hidden gems from the 2,000 songs. However, it is he that will also benefit the most from Cupid.
Dispatch managed to get hands on the list of copyright holders for Cupid. Ahn Sung-Il (Siahn) holds 28.65%, Mr. B has 4%, Song Ja-Kyung (Kina) has 0.5% and 'The Givers' holds 66.85%. The original composers of the Swedish students were not included.
Below is from a KakaoTalk conversation between CEO Jeon and producer Ahn Sung-Il on April 26th earlier this year.
Jeon Hong-Joon: Siahn, the copyright royalties look immense. Congratulations.
Ahn Sung-Il: I only have a small fraction, so it is not much.
Jeon Hong-Joon: Oh dear, from now on, do more. Write lyrics.
Is the 'small fraction' for Ahn Sung-Il 95.5%? (Siahn 28.65% + The Givers 66.85%)
According to confirmation with Dispatch's sources, Ahn Sung-Il piad $9,000 USD to the Swedish students in January this year. Commonly known as a buyout, Siahn bought the rights of the Swedish composers with money.
Indeed, a buyout is not illegal. However, the scenario would have been different if Ahn Sung-Il had received the money back. Dispatch obtained a tax invoice issued by ATTRAKT in March.
Let's also hear a little more from CEO Jeon Hong-Joon.
"At the time, our financial status was not good. I asked Ahn Sung-Il to send the production costs first. Fortunately, we received some further investments in March and immediately repaid 'The Givers.' But later, I found out that the copyright had been transferred secretly."
◆ Who shook up Fifty Fifty?
CEO Jeon Hong-Joon made a mistake by putting 110% trust in 'The Givers.' As an example, an employee of 'The Givers', Mr. B, was in charge of managing the members which also included communicating with their parents.
On May 2nd, Aran underwent surgery. Mr. B sent a KakaoTalk message to CEO Jeon Hong-Joon.
"Boss, Aran was operated on today. The doctor says the surgery went well but will need to monitor her condition. I will check up on her regularly."
"I would like to give the other members a little break during Aran's recovery period. Could you confirm that a holiday from May 10th until 28th is ok with you? Returning to the dorm on May 28th." (Mr. B)
At first, CEO Jeon Hong-Joon suggested a one-week vacation.
"That is too long. What if an accident happens? Give only a one-week vacation and have them be back. I am extremely concerned about their safety. Just give one week. After they return, they can have time for self-improvement, such as inviting speakers for talks, classes on American history and culture etc." (CEO Jeong Hong-Joon)
"Yes boss, I was also concerned regarding safety issues but there were requests from the members and their parents. CEO Ahn worried that if Aran takes more than two weeks off while others only take one week, there may be complaints." (Mr. B)
CEO Jeon Hong-Joon agreed to Mr. B's suggestion.
"Then a holiday until the 25th it is! On the 26th, there will be a special lecture about the history of the United States from 3pm to 5pm." (CEO Jeon Hong-Joon)
According to CEO Jeon Hong-Joon, he did not neglect any health concerns of the members. He entrusted the management to Mr. B, believing that Mr. B would take care of it well. He expressed his regret and said, "too much trust became a liability."
"When I wanted to go to the practice room, Mr. B would say, "the members feel uncomfortable in your presence." I did not want to disturb their practice so I held back... Can you imagine how much I would have wanted to see them?"
CEO Jeon sighed. Tears welled up in his eyes. However, he had no way to convey the situation. The only way he could communicate with the members was through 'The Givers.' He delegated everything to them, to only be able to blame himself.
CEO Jeon Hong-Joon will be going to court on July 5th. It will be a lawsuit for provisional suspension of the exclusive contract. The only place where he can speak out about all that has happened, is the courtroom.
