This is my interpretation of various clauses of the contract.
Article 1
It's basically saying the contract is exclusive, TVXQ only works for SM.
Article 2
The infamous 13-year term.
If you haven't already, read my post regarding the 13-year term.
It also shows that the original term was 10 years.
Article 3
Clause 1~3, 8
There's not much to talk about here.
Clause 4
Explains how the profit is distributed after the contract expires.
Clause 5~7,9
This is one of the controversial sections used to bash SM.
When you glance over them, the clauses actually look pretty bad. SM owns every conceivable rights to the contents created by TVXQ, and contents created for TVXQ. SM has rights to sell, reuse, lend, rearrange, pretty much do anything with them, but SM does not have to pay TVXQ a single pen... oh wait, it doesn't say anything about the loyalty payment!!!
Let's look back at clause 4. It says that TVXQ will get paid for their work even after the contract is terminated, and it will pay according to the terms agreed in this contract. You've seen the distribution of the profits table, if you haven't yet, click HERE to read my detailed explanation. The loyalties are clearly defined there, and they are paid even after the contract is expired.
Many websites out there cleverly leave out this fact, and some of the news/articles/posts even claim that TVXQ does not get paid for their work just because SM owns the rights to the songs.
When you get a job and create a product for a company, it is the company who gets the rights to the product, and there's nothing different here. In most companies, you don't even get paid for the sales, but in TVXQ's case, more the company uses the product with the rights given by above clauses, the richer TVXQ gets. Only negative with such clauses is the restriction to the artist's artistic freedom, but I'd say you shouldn't have auditioned for an entertainment company like SM if that's what you wanted. There are other paths a musician can take.
Clause 10
Don't see any problem here since the artist has a veto power.
Article 4~9
I'll skip this part. Nothing too important here, and the profit distribution is already explained.
Article 10
There are articles that claim TVXQ pays for operating costs from their own pocket, but this section clearly shows that's not the case. I mean it's not even funny that there are people who believe such contract even exists.
The operating costs are first deducted from gross revenue to calculate the net profit, and SM and TVXQ splits their shares from that amount. Pretty much a standard way of calculating the net profit, and you don't even have to have a degree in economics to see that.
The operating cost sections are from the original contract, so it's not part of the current contract (not 100% clear. that part is fuzzy actually), but there's no reason to believe that the method of calculating the net profit is changed since that clause is mentioned in the contract.
Article 11
Breach of Contract
In my opinion, this is the one part of the contract that may be considered unfair. The damage compensation payment has too much room for manipulation because the amount is not set in stone and the calculation method is kinda vague. Also, there's no penalty clause if SM decides to break the contract, so it is one sided.
On the other hand, I do understand the need for the breach of contract terms to be this way. The way Korean entertainment companies are structured, their initial investment is much higher than American record labels, so the companies need to protect their investment by making it difficult for artists to break the contract.
Also, this clause will only matter if there is a conflict between the two sides. When everything works out well, this clause means nothing. I have signed a few contracts with damage clauses, but I usually don't even know what they are.
There are a couple SM artists who stopped working because of personal reasons.
Kang-In from Super Junior had personal problems, and couldn't continue on with his career. He had problems twice in relatively short period of time, so what SM did was to send him to serve in the military. According to the contract clauses above, he is liable for damages, but I didn't see any news about SM demanding payment. Instead, by serving in the military which he had to go through anyways, Kang-In may have another chance at his career. Two years of time can considerably tone down the negative public opinion, and in Korea, serving in the military is a big premium in the male artist's image.
Another artist is Stephanie from the Grace. She went through injuries, and rehab for about 2 years. Her dream was being a ballerina, so she auditioned and joined the Los Angeles Ballet. Obviously SM didn't object to that since the Grace is making a comeback with Stephanie as a member.
http://tszxnews.blogspot.com/2010/08/stephanie-joins-los-angeles-ballet.html
You can see that SM is not an unreasonable company. If the contract was the real problem with CJS, they should have tried to negotiate with SM and improve it instead of filing a lawsuit. According to the CJS lawyer's statement in the court, 3 of them couldn't ask SM because there were the weak. Well, I wonder how the contract was modified 5 times already then. Details of the court sessions will be covered in the future.
When I write about the Korean Fair Trade Commission, I'm going to explain why the damage clauses are written in such way.
Article 12
Nothing much here
Summary
First of all, I'd like to say there's no such thing as a contract that's 100% fair to both sides in this world. Actually, that is why you sign a contract in the first place, to avoid potential disputes by having the rules and agreements on the paper in detail.
Except for Article 11, I don't see anything on the contract that can be considered totally unfair. There are clauses that may look excessive, but anyone who ever signed a contract as an employee knows that such contracts are usually written to mostly protect the employer's interest, but we sign them anyways.
In my opinion, the contract has some clauses that can be disputed, but it is definitely not a SLAVE CONTRACT, at least not enough to break up one of the biggest band in Asia, TVXQ.
BTW, I think every one of you have signed an unfair contract at one time or another. Have you ever gone to a hospital and signed a liability waiver? Now that's a totally unfair contract. Most of them can be summarized as "The doctor is not liable even if you die during the operation."
Hi! Thanks for all the effort you're putting in translating, YOU ARE AWESOME! :-) hehehe! Anyway, I agree with you in the fact that no contract is perfect, which makes me believe that the FTC did a good thing telling SM to revise their contract thus shortening TVXQ years from 13 to 7 (I think) BUT I still believe that they could have handle this without a lawsuit and outright leaving the band...but what's done is done :-( Hey, I heard that the final court ruling is the 18th...is it true?
ReplyDelete@ Jennystar19
ReplyDeleteThanks. :)
I'm not sure if the final court date is the 19th. SM requested couple more witnesses, and they requested any one of the CJS as a witness, so I don't think all of that can be done in one court session. Last session had only 1 witness testify.
Wait for my post about FTC, you'll find some interesting facts about the whole FTC thing.
The thing about the company owning everything the artist puts forth work in. Ouch.
ReplyDeleteBut they signed it so...
I never went to the hospital so I never had one of those contracts. I do have contracts with programs on my computer and loans though lol. And I don't read none of it sadly.
That needs to stop seriously. Like I said, I wonder did they actually read this thing and understood what it meant for them for 10-13 years?
Now I have this to say: my prediction is with your explanation (and my reading of the translated contract) if it's this obvious that it's not unjust then we can say that the final court proceedings will rule in favor of SM right?
What will make them not rule in SM's favor? hypothetically.
If this happens, where they do rule in Sm's favor, what happens to JYJ? Do they go back to the group, break the contract and have to face consequences?
If the contract is blatantly fair, why did they even go through all this using a something they know wouldn't secure them a spot out under the control of SM?
Where's an example of an unfair contract, just to have an factual contrast. I wonder if I can look up American artist contracts. I always wondered what they signed themselves up for.
Also, why did they rule to temporarily cease the contract? What in the contract what made them feel like it needed to be temporarily ceased? Or is that just normal proceedings when someone sue, to cease the contract? You can tell I don't know law LOL.
Just rhetorical questions I have a feeling you'll answer them later :).
@ Nikki
ReplyDeleteI'll post about the outcome of the lawsuit too, but sadly, the contract is not totally fair. It's not a slave contract, and it's not bad enough to break TVXQ, but it's enough for them to file a lawsuit. I think it's 50/50 either side can win. Every single thing you asked will be answered in the future.
As for what will happen after the lawsuit, I have no clue. I can present different scenarios, but I'd rather post other info that's more relevant. One thing I'm fairly certain is that the days of TVXQ with 5 members are over.
@ Nikki
ReplyDeleteAs for the contract, I'm sure they had a clear idea what they were signing. Actually it was their parents who signed the original contract because they were minors.
Surprise, surprise. I agree mostly with what you say about the 13 year long contract.
ReplyDeleteAlright, we have already argued about the cost or at least partly so I'm not going to write about it again. I definitely disagree with you about the fairness of the last part. If artist don't want to be in SM anymore and SM wants to keep them that clause is very binding.
What about the clause that the members need to listen to their managers unconditionally? Because while it seems logical at first glance, if the manager and the higher ups wants them to promote much more than what the artist himself is ready to (like what happened in this case? He won't be able to say no. Skipping out projects, like if the manager had booked the artist to perform wouldn't be the answer. They are responsible for all problems that might appear and would have had to pay compensation for that.
This above, is what I believe one of the most important points and what made JYJ unhappy in SM.
The time period between the end of 2008-2009 when THSK were at the highest point of their carrier, the group flew between Korea and Japan so often that it was like they flew once a week. (If you want, I can upload their old schedule). In 2008 they took the plane between the two countries 35 times. In 2007 there was one week that they traveled 7 countries.
In 2009 they had at least two tours going on, the one in Japan and the Asian tour. At the end of 2008, they looked horrible especially Jaejoong who was filming The Heavens Postman.
@ Sakura
ReplyDeleteWell if you read my posts, I did say that part of the contract seems unfair, so I don't even know why you are arguing about it. I even said the newly modified penalty clause approved by FTC still look unfair.
Even so, I don't think if it's enough to file a lawsuit to break up TVXQ.
I think I have shown that the contract is definitely not a "slave" contract, and I also proved there are many wrong information out there. I bet if people knew the penalty clause was the only part that was wrong, they'd change their stance regarding this situation.
I have no idea why JJ looked horrible. Maybe he was sick? He ate something wrong? He was tired? Many artists including Western bands have grueling tour schedules and get worn down from the tours, but don't they do it because they love their music and stage?
I know about their tight schedule. Some go through it happily and some whine about it.
@ Sakura
ReplyDeleteTo be fair with you, I posted my opinion regarding the penalty clause in my post about FTC, so you may not have read it. So yeah, I think that part is unfair, but I don't think it's enough to file a lawsuit. You will see why I think that way after I post about the cosmetics business & lawsuits.
So in the end the contract isn't that good either,
ReplyDeleteis up to the court to say if its unfair enough for concider it unvalid or if is not as bad, and side with SM
if is unfair enough or not to break the bigest band in asia is up to the bigest ban in asia, since they are the ones under said contract
@ Puppeteer
ReplyDeleteWhat you say is basically true, and if the fans left this situation alone so only the involved parties decide on the matter, I won't be spending time to run this blog, but what's happening is that many fans made their own decision without even reading the whole contract and bashes TVXQ & SM viciously. If everyone took neutral position like you, then there wouldn't be much problem, but that's not the case right now.
However you take my posts is up to you, but at least I'm trying to present this case as objectively as possible, and with as much detailed information as possible unlike most JYJ biased sites.
@ Puppeteer
ReplyDeleteI won't claim I'm not biased at all, but at least I try to write my posts so readers can distinguish between facts and my opinions.
Wow, you are really disciplined to translate all this. I wanted to ask you (since majority of the KCassies seem to be pro JYJ) does it mean they didn't even read the contract and just assume SM is evil (due to H.O.T & Shinhwa) or is it because they all know that SM is not a evil co but they just want to support JYJ anyways. Also, why did JYJ sue? They wanted to just stop working so much and artistic freedom or b/c they just wanted more cut of their success? I'm assuming you can read their minds, of course ^^
ReplyDelete@ Sunny
ReplyDeleteAs for KCassies, they're split into roughly 4 different groups.
1. TVXQ fans
2. JYJ fans
3. JYJ fans disguised as fans of 5/old TVXQ
4. fans of 5/old TVXQ who have no clue what's going on
Some read the contract, some didn't, some read it but have no clue what it says, some read it and know what it says but still claims it's a "slave" contract etc.
Just like any society, there are all kinds of fans.
As for why JYJ sued the company, the posts are coming. I don't want to answer it here. I put up 8 posts just on the contract alone + 2 to explain false articles, so you can probably guess the number of posts on the reason for the lawsuit.
I'll just present the facts that can be verified plus my opinions, and let the readers decide if they agree with me or not.
Thanks for your reply. OK. I'll stop asking questions that you will answer later anyways. Thanks again.
ReplyDeleteI'm not even remotely close to a TVXQ fan, but I'm so grateful of you for doing this. It's high time international fans get properly informed about what's happening before they cast further irrational judgements.
ReplyDeletePlus, I also don't agree with the majority opinion that SME's an evil bloodsucking company that kills puppies and brainwashes their talents. Too black-white for my taste.
Thanks you for this! I was very tired because I did't understand clearly about the whole story: who was wrong? who was right? is SM really evil as almost of fans said? But now i think i found my own answers. All the things you analyzed are reasonable and dependable, i sure that you spent much time for this. So thank you very much again and I really admire your effort.
ReplyDeleteI'm looking forward to your next posts!
@ somebody
ReplyDelete@ thanh
Thanks for the kind words.
Yeah things like this are never black & white, and it's hard to understand why fans totally ignore Homin's side of the argument. I'm guessing it's easier for the fans to just blame the company instead of their artist.
I appreciate this even though I disagree with it :)
ReplyDeleteSomething that is legally right is not always morally/ethically right.
The break from DBSK is much more than the contract problem, JYJ has mentioned that in addition to the unfair (not slave) contract, there were various emotional abuse too.
@ nedragonst
ReplyDeleteThat's what JYJ said. HoMin said it was because of the cosmetics company, so who are you gonna believe? At least now you see that the contract is not a "slave" contract, so that's a start.
I just came across your blog today, and this is absolutely AWESOME!! Thank you so much for doing this for all the international fans. I'm sure it'll be effective even beyond just the english language since the crappy translators our fans use probably take english better than korean..
ReplyDeleteIt's great you're starting from the source of the contracts and lawsuits to better explain the big picture. Makes it so obvious jyj just used it as an excuse to hide the real reason for leaving!! I already side with TVXQ, but reading your posts gave me an opportunity to get the facts straight.
Really looking forward to your future posts!!
@ Julie
ReplyDeleteThanks,
I think just reading the whole contract would change many people's opinion regarding this situation. There are just too many twisted info, but you knew that already. :)
@OP
ReplyDeleteAll the guys looked bad at the end of 2008 and don’t try to deny that a large part of it was because they had little to no rest. That is why I mentioned Jaejoong, as he was the one who was most tired during that time.
Let’s look at they did in december 2008:
2008-12-01: Recording in Japan for NHK Music Japan
2008-12-05: They return to Korea
2008-12-06: Live performance at 6:35 PM for KBS-2TV Music Bank (KBS Shingwan Open Hall)
2008-12-07: Live performance at 3:20 PM for MBC-TV Show! Music core
2008-12-09: Recording at 8:00 PM for JBS-1TV Open Concert (KBS Hall)
2008-12-10: Receiving Golden Disk Awards at M.net’KM, 7:00 PM
2008-12-12: Receiving the 16th South Korea Culture/Entertainment Awards, 3:00 PM
2008-12-13: Live performance at 3:30 PM for the MBC 2008 One Love Concert
2008-12-13: They leave Korea, fly to Japan
2008-12-13: Recording at 00:00 PM for Fuji-TV Heyx3
2008-12-23: They return to Korea
2008-12-23: Appear in radio (2008 ByulBam End of the Year Special [MBC]) at 6:00 PM
2008-12-26: Appear in Goryeo University Hwajung Gymnasium for the a special TVXQ!Debut 5th Anniversary (insert heart here) Special Party!! – 1st round, 4:00 PM
2008-12-26: Live performance at 6:35 PM for KBS-2TV Music Bank – End of the Year Special
2008-12-26: Appear in Goryeo University Hwajung Gymnasium for the a special TVXQ!Debut 5th Anniversary (insert heart here) Special Party!! – 2st round, 4:00 PM
2008-12-27: Live performance at 3:10 PM for MBS-TV Show! Music Core – End of the Year Special
2008-12-27: They leave Korea, fly to Japan
2008-12-28: TBS-TV Santa Mama’s New Year’s Allowance, Will your Dreams Come True Special
2008-12-28: They return to Korea
2008-12-28: SBS Gayo Daejun Rehersal
2008-12-29: Leave Korea, fly to Japan
2008-12-29: Return to Korea
2008-12-29: Awards show at 0:00 PM, SBS-TV 2008 Gayo Daejun
2008-12-30: Leave Korea, fly to Japan
2008-12-30: TBS-TV 50th Japan Record Awards
2008-12-30: Japan Kohaku Uta Gassen REhersal
2008-12-31: NHK-TV Music Japan Kohaku Uta Gassen Prep
2008-12-31: NHK 59th Kohaku Uta Gassen
2008-12-31: CDTV Oremier Live 2008-2009
In between there were training, other rehersals and the Heaven Postman filming for Jaejoong.
Also, I think the members have mentioned that frequently, during promotions time four hours of sleep were the norm. I can't guarantee that what they said was a lie or not but other artist like Rain have mentioned that happening to idols before. I mean, kudos to those people that can handle 4 hours of sleep frequently but what each person can handle is different.
Why do you disagree that the killer schedule wasn’t enough reason to sue. Is it because they had a contract? If so, what are your thoughts on divorces? Because it is parallel in the way that two partners agree to be with each other but what they thought they signed under is not what they got or the two people changed with time and the change was not good for the marriage?
If not that, why don’t you think it is enough reason and in what cases do you think is right to sue?
@OP
ReplyDeleteSecond comment (of some reason it skipped your summary)
Now as everybody know there is no fair to both sides of this world (to quote your words again). And that is why there are lawsuits and rifting contracts when one side decided that the benefits do not equal to problems that it brings. Somebody very close to me involves in signing million, billion worth contracts, this person’s opinion is that you try to hold true to the contract the best you can (because lawsuits can be very time consuming and tiring) even it is unfair but if the you think it is too much you sue.
If you personally have signed a unfair contract you look at how unfair they are. If it is something you decide you can live with, you let it be. If it is not, then it is not clever to let the things go on.
About the Slave Contract name. As most would know, this name was coined by reporters that wanted sensational headliners but they weren’t totally wrong. According to Princeton dictionary
Slavery
Noun
* S: (n) bondage, slavery, thrall, thralldom, thralldom (the state of being under the control of another person)
* S: (n) slavery, slaveholding (the practice of owning slaves)
* S: (n) slavery (work done under harsh conditions for little or no pay)
The second definition has nothing to do with this situation and the third is very disputable whether it suits or not. However the first definition (bondage, slavery, thrall, thralldom, thralldom (the state of being under the control of another person). Is applicable to this case as before the change the artist couldn’t protest against their manager and thus SM without being punished for it financially or some other way. Again, I am getting off topic.
And what makes you think that it is not enough to break up TVXQ? Do you know by first hand how tired they are. If this was too much for them. No, you don’t. To be fair I don’t either but that’s why there are different opinions on this. However, a logical person can look at how many projects they had going at the same time and at least conclude that there were possibilities that they were overworked.
@ Sakura
ReplyDeleteUr post is really long hehe ...
anyway i'm not OP but this is what i think, this blog is a blog, so it's OP personal point of view of the story. He has been objective in translate every information possible. And it's his opinion that the contract is unfair and not slave. If u think slave is a rite word to use, i don't see any problem with that cause it's ur point of view. JYJ too, could see it as a slave contract so it's their point of view.
Each individual take thing difference. This blog is just one POV of the story and by now i don't see anything wrong with that. At least i appreciate the accurate of the translation (i have my Korean friend look over it and it's pretty accurate). Just because the OP doesn't think the contract or schedule is not enough for start the lawsuit doesn't mean u have to have the same opinion, same for u. U think it's enough to break DBSK but the OP doesn't.
Thing could be fair for some1 n not for another. for ex if i was paid 5000$ a month i would be happy but imagine Paris Hilton only have 5000$ a month for living, she'll be pissed.
@ Sakura
ReplyDeleteYou are so concentrated on protecting JYJ, you are missing the points of my posts. FTC ruling was used by many fans to prove the contract was unfair, and I just showed the contract followed FTC's guideline all along.
4 hrs of sleep? I don't know what that proves except they had a very busy schedule. I have personally worked with only 4 hrs of sleep or no sleep, and I never thought I was a slave, or I was unhappy. Tired? Definitely. I was tired as hell, but I worked voluntarily, and had no problems with it. Anyone who worked hard for their career will agree with me.
You know many athletes play even when they are sick, have broken bones, bruised etc., and they play through those pains voluntarily because they have goals to achieve and they are PROFESSIONALS. The public cheers for those athletes for being true professionals and for their bravery.
Unless you can prove that those schedules were set against TVXQ's will, you can't prove anything.
BTW, you have listed the schedules for one whole month, and it looks just like the schedule of other entertainers in Asia. There are 30 items listed, so that means they had average of one activity per day. Almost half of the activities are filled with flying back and forth between Japan & Korea. Also note that it's the December schedule, where it's the busiest time of the year for the entertainers.
I don't even understand why you are arguing with me, because all I've done so far was explaining about the contracts in detail, and clarifying some of the misunderstandings people had because of the twisted articles on other websites. It looks to me that you are just focused on sticking that "slave" label on the contract, because most of your arguments leads to that conclusion.
Listen to yourself. You are trying to prove I'm wrong, but even you admit you are not sure about it (last paragraph). You say there were possibilities that they were overworked, which means there were possibilities they are not overworked.
Finally, there's no point in arguing against an opinion. If you want to debate with me, just argue with the facts presented in my posts. I think the contract is not enough to break TVXQ, and that's just my opinion. Don't try to convince me otherwise. I don't think I tried to convince anyone in my posts. If presenting and analyzing facts are considered convincing, then be it since it shows that the info out there are all messed up.
i'm sorry but where is my post ... T___T
ReplyDelete@ kendalove
ReplyDeleteHey, your post went into the "Spam" folder. I may have to disable it, I don't know because it happened before.
I recovered it, so you can see it now.
@ kendalove
ReplyDeleteIt doesn't look like I can disable spam filtering. This is first time I ever ran a blog, so I'm still not used to all the features. :)
i see my post again, thanks ^^ ... waiting for ur next entry
ReplyDelete@OP
ReplyDeleteWe really are rehashing the same words again and again isn’t it. This time I am just going to copy what I said in the FTC post
“Nowhere in my post I was accusing SM for purposely having such an unequal clause but in your post you are stating that it is unfair but alright to have such a part in contracts because the old FTC rules said so.
I’ve said already that rules are not craved in stones and it is up on each of us to get fairer rights. Just because in the old guidelines, FTC said that such clauses were alright doesn’t mean that things can go on when they turn out not to be so. “
You are missing the point. FTC new ruling shows precisely that what the fan said were unfair were justified concerns. Saving face or not, if the new ruling was totally unjustified you can bet on the fact that the big corporations would have lobbied against it and won.
“4 hrs of sleep? I don't know what that proves except they had a very busy schedule. I have personally worked with only 4 hrs of sleep or no sleep, and I never thought I was a slave, or I was unhappy. Tired? Definitely. I was tired as hell, but I worked voluntarily, and had no problems with it. Anyone who worked hard for their career will agree with me.
You know many athletes play even when they are sick, have broken bones, bruised etc., and they play through those pains voluntarily because they have goals to achieve and they are PROFESSIONALS. The public cheers for those athletes for being true professionals and for their bravery.”
Congratulations for enduring so little sleep in a long time and that you were happy with your work conditions. Exactly because you were happy with your conditions and you could get away from this job any time, you were not a puppet for a big corporation. But you insulating that everybody reacts to this the same way as you (or those athletes that you mentioned) do. That the regular 4 hours of sleep are not too much for them if you could survive this.
I’ll let you in on a secret. People are different.
You bring those athelets up as an example of people working under harsh conditions because they are “professionals”. Those guys chose to push them forward and nobody was forcing them. The fact that they still push themselves forward despite being sick and having broken bones just means that they had a strong will. Is it wrong of other people not to be able to do the same. No, but it means that those who can are praiseworthy.
A normal worker can quit working at a company if he doesn’t like it (he doesn’t even have to be mistreated) why are they don’t they. Well you might know that before Micky Yoochun, Hero Jaejoong, Max Changmin, Xiah Junsu and U-know Yunho there are Park Yoochun, Kim Jaejoong, Shim Changmin, Kim Junsu and Jung Yunho. HUMAN BEINGS just like you and I. Different just like every other people. Just because they are singers does not mean that they are more indebted to their company and fans than the average worker to his workplace.
“Unless you can prove that those schedules were set against TVXQ's will, you can't prove anything.”
I remember them mentioning that they were treated like products but not like persons. That is quite telling but if you want one specific example, there would be the “last TVXQ concert” that should have happened in China but didn’t. Why, because the staff from SM organized this concert without asking those three who were suing whether they wanted to do so. From there there was this huge mess where Chinese fans found out that SM lied about something (I can’t remember what it was) And from there it was also found out that the three members never agreed the concert and because at this point there had already formed a rift between the company the concert was never held.
@Kendralove
ReplyDeleteHi there, thanks for taking the time to read over my comment. I’m not sure what you are trying to tell me? That it is alright to have an opinion? Because my comment is another opinion. Or that this is OP’s own blog and he spent time translating so I should leave agreeing comments or non?
If so, I disagree precisely because this is an open blog on the internet. Logically, by putting it on the internet for the world to see, the author’s goal would be to inform other of of his viewpoint and inform others what he or she (IDK you gender, sorry) thinks to be wrong. An open blog and a closed blog are something different. By making it open, the author is allowing others to read the posts and agree to the points that he/she is making … and getting ready to have some people to oppose them. The same is true with every article that newspapers put out. There will be people who agree and people who won’t agree.
If the OP had written in his closed blog or diary nobody would have opposed him. But is this a diary?
Don’t worry about the translations itself. All the contract has been translated before so what he has translated seems not wrong. But he hasn’t translated everything of the contract and some parts of that are very vital to this lawsuit.
“BTW, you have listed the schedules for one whole month, and it looks just like the schedule of other entertainers in Asia. There are 30 items listed, so that means they had average of one activity per day. Almost half of the activities are filled with flying back and forth between Japan & Korea. Also note that it's the December schedule, where it's the busiest time of the year for the entertainers.”
ReplyDeleteOMG, I can’t believe I have to explain why the schedule was horrible, word for a word. Just the basic outline should have been enough.
First of all, all those projects listed above are only things that the fans observed because this schedule is taken together by fans after the lawsuit happened. This has been spread widely among those Cassies that were there when the everything went south so you should have known this fact. There are meetings in between and other stuff not mentioned on this list, because the fan who took it together couldn’t have had followed them all day writing down what they did when they didn’t appear publicly.
Secondly, each performance has to prepared. You don’t get a dance totally in sync and you don’t remember lyrics, the notes and exactly how you should emote/express each part just because you could do it a few weeks ago. No, you need to rehearse everyday to not loose touch. That is how every performance is, singing, instruments or something else. Let me tell you something about me. I play on flute and have been doing it for a long time. I and every other musician that I have met can attest to the fact that if you don’t rehearse ONE day, your skill goes down. Let’s assume that it is not so with dancing (but I doubt it), you still have the singing left. You might say that they are idols and when they perform they have the have music playing in the background most of the time but even then they have not one song that they were promoting but more! They have more factors to stress and and think about but those who just play music. But even with background music, you must practice frequently.
Thirdly, the traveling around is one of the mentally hard things to do on the list (if you do it frequently). The somebody that I mentioned in my last point travels to another countries at least once every one or two month. To that person they are not so tiring physically but mentally because of the stress that traveling between countries brings. For an idol group like TVXQ they also need to think about their appearance when traveling and looking good when walking in and out of airport. Sounds simple but tiring when you have tons of fans screaming, waiting for you after a travel and flashing cameras at you.
Fourth point. There is a saying that goes somewhere along this way that for each minute behind a movie there is an hour worth of work. TV shows, radios, and performances are not the same thing as a movie but still this sentence above still fits relatively, in the way that there is a lot of work behind what we see.
At last about the business of the December schedule (30 items) is true but not here because in October the same year, the schedule that the fans know about shows 52 items, the only reason I decided not to post that is because this was during Mirotic comeback (and I chickened out writing it all)
@ Sakura
ReplyDeleteYou should really stop commenting too much because Your comments are marked as spams by the blog system, and I cannot turn it off. Now you're making me go into the folder and recover them giving me extra work, and I'm getting tired of it.
@ Sakura: what i means by this is the OP blog is that it's his blog n of cos his opinion on the story. He can't write it in ur or mine opinion so even if it's an open blog it's pretty much represent what he think. And yes ppl may agree or disagree but what's the point of proving someone wrong? honestly, even if there're he's arguing with u and prove more evidence, does that means u'll have to agree? No. And so does he.
ReplyDeleteThis case (lawsuit)is a civil case which means both party nead to prove them right. Even if the court rules toward one doesn't mean it's absolutely right because the court are ppl too. It's not a murder case where if u've got evidence about the assassin he's going to jail. Now answer me, even if the court rule in favor of SM, do u immediately change ur mind n told JYJ that they were wrong??? No u won't, JYJ won't either. It's not about right or wrong but about differences ppl take things different.
This blog said the true about DBSK doesn't mean its conclusion about the lawsuit is the fact that u have to agree, because it's one person POV and for god sake, who know the true???? What i interpret the true of this blog is the information/translation part which is more accurate than the other source. Now that's what close to the true.
Don't take every word literally
@ Sakura
ReplyDeleteLike I said, I know TVXQ is a hard working group. Those schedules may seem brutal, but I cannot possibly know if those schedules were forced onto them or not, and neither do you. CJS filed a lawsuit against SM, so whether it was true or not, they'd say they're treated badly, and I have to take their statement with a grain of salt, and you will see why I would not trust them 100% in the future.
I don't think I ever said those schedules were easy. Again, you are reading more than what I wrote. I basically agreed those schedules were tough, but you're wasting your time trying to prove the schedules were hard which I basically agreed.
I deleted one of your comment because you commented the same thing on another post. Please do not duplicate what you wrote.
@ Sakura
ReplyDeleteThis is just a suggestion, but since you are so concerned about an "open" blog spreading opinions that you don't agree with, why don't you start your own blog and just put up a link to my blog? That way, you will reach far more people, and make your points more effectively. You can title it "The truth about the truth about TVXQ blog" and I won't bother with your posts. You've already written enough comments to start your own blog. :)
@Sakura
ReplyDeletecan you ask a jobless artist? I think their dream is have a schedulle like TVXQ.
I really don't find anything unusual with the contract. The breach of contract does seem a bit excessive but we have to consider that this is an exclusive contract and that they are sort of like an intellectual propety. They have been honed from no ones to who they are now through extensive trainings, industry exposure, etc. Besides if it follows the standard then it is the norm in their industry.
ReplyDeleteYou are right when you said that whether it is ethical or not, it is still the industry norm.
There's a way out of this and I don't think it's rocket science as well: find another company that is willing to pay for it on your behalf. That happens alot in the professional world. TVXQ is TVXQ. And each member is very marketable. I don't think it's hard for them to find a company who would be more than willing to have them in their backyard. Meh.
You know, I can't help but wonder what were the reaction of other artists - outside of SME - to this lawsuit. Especially since their contract was made public and they know what happens behind the scenes, unlike the fans who make a mountain out of a molehill.
on my last sentence "they" = other arists
ReplyDelete*sucks at grammar*
oh and, thank you again ^^
@ girlpower
ReplyDeleteYup. There's really nothing unusual about the contract, and definitely not enough to file a lawsuit against the company who made TVXQ together. It's really just an excuse to get out of the company after all these years. Other artist have briefly mentioned about the "slave" contract issue, notably Big Bang who expressed their dislike towards using the word "slave contract". We all know what other SM artists think about that issue.
This is so tiring! I mean reading your post then all the comments. So that means it's more tiring for you since you own this blog. So I guess you deserve a compliment. Seriously, thanks for making the effort to make this blog. Even though it's tiring to read, I still gain a lot of knowledge. It's better to know something than know nothing at all.
ReplyDeleteFor me the "breach of contract" part seems alright because it's really what you have to face for not completing the contract. It's just like an assurance for the company that you will fulfill your promise.
As for the very busy schedule, well I think it's just normal for a very famous artist like TVXQ. And it's not like the company only benefits from it. Aren't the fans too? TVXQ are doing those performance and guestings for the sake of their fans, tomake them happy. Just my opinion :D