FTC: SM Ordered to Revise Unfair Contracts with Artists

articlesSM Entertainment received a firm order from the Fair Trade Commission to revise the unfair contracts which bind SNSD, Super Junior, SHINee, and many others to them.

On December 23rd, the Fair Trade Commission stated, “We gave them a warning to voluntarily correct the unfair exclusive contracts that their celebrities and trainees have signed. [SME] is to reduce all contract lengths by three years.”

This decision by the FTC was based off of a complaint made by TVXQ’s fanclub, Cassiopeia. The group alleged that SM Entertainment was using their status to pressure a disadvantaged (’slave’) contract onto TVXQ.

SM Entertainment’s violation, as disclosed by the FTC, lies in the unfair contract conditions. These conditions included forcing artists to sign on for a long period of time, an excessive penalty provision for breach of contract, and a one-sided scheduling of activities. There’s also a clause that allows SME to extend contracts for overseas activities without first consulting the artist in question.

JYJ: We’re going to support the two members’ comeback

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101220 [Star OX] JYJ, “TVXQ, A Reunion Is Possible”

Due to their legal dispute with their former agency SM Entertainment, Junsu, Jaejoong and Yoochun are currently active as JYJ, not TVXQ. Each are trying new things such as dramas and musicals and showing off their hidden potentials, but recommenced activities as singers when they released their album ‘The Beginning’ on October 14th. The album has been successful with pre-orders for ‘The Beginning’ hitting over 520,000 copies and ranking 5th on the This Year’s Songs chart chosen by US Billboard readers.

Though they’ve been going non-stop, they are now stuck in a situation where the members of TVXQ are being pitted against each other with U-Know Yunho and Choikang Changmin announcing their comeback as a two-member TVXQ in January of 2011. Though it is a sensitive topic, we could not help but ask about TVXQ. Though the three people expressed their unwillingness as they said, “Though it isn’t something we can’t talk about…” they answered our OX questions in a candid manner.