"I won't talk about actors and comedy artists, because I don't mainly do that, and I don't have a very deep understanding. I'll tell you about the singer. Fang Shihe sat up straight and said a little seriously, like a university professor preparing to give a lecture.

"Actually, people who sing in the Korean entertainment industry can be roughly divided into two categories. The first category is called idol, and the representative figures are H.O.T, Mythology, Fin.k.l and Lee Hyori, who is flying solo, and now boa and others who are popular in Japan. The strength of solo people should be very strong, and singing and dancing are all basic skills. As for the group, even if you are not good at singing or dancing, you must have your own advantages and something that can attract fans. ”

"To sum up, when they release albums, regardless of the quality, their fan base will buy several copies. Therefore, these people's albums are relatively simple to make, because each album only needs to release 2 or 3 songs of good quality as the main song, and the rest can find some reasonable ones. In short, they are singers who rely on their fans to eat. ”

"Why do you say that, because these idols have to maintain high exposure, which means that they have to be on the TV or computer all the time, so that fans can see them, so that they can maintain these fan bases as much as possible. So they are frequent guests to various variety shows and song shows, and the singing period of each of their albums is only one to two months, basically singing a main hit, and then singing a sub-title hit, so they need at least two high-quality songs for them to perform on stage. As for the other songs on the album of average quality, those fans will also like Xi Shi in the eyes of lovers. That's where idols come in. Fang Shihe said a bunch of things in a hurry, then drank a cup of coffee and continued.

"However, there are many disadvantages of idol, first of all, these people are all trainees of the company, because their various skills are trained by the company, and in order to recover the cost of training from these artists, the contracts signed by the company to them are usually very harsh. Basically, release a new album, around idols, portrait rights and other benefits, they can get very little. To put it bluntly, they became the company's cash cow. Fang Shihe analyzed.

"Since the conditions are so harsh, then you can't sign it." Lee Jun Hyuk asked, the contract is signed by both parties, so in the harsh contract, you must agree to sign the contract yourself to be established.

"If you don't sign, you won't have a chance to debut, after the economic crisis, you don't see the current depression in South Korea, although being an idol will be very hard and tiring, but in any case, this is an opportunity to get rid of poverty and become rich. In addition, if you don't sign, there are many people waiting to sign later, and the trainees of large companies are not just one or two. Fang Shihe said with a smile.

"I understand that kind of mentality, although signing may not necessarily make a lot of money, but at least there is a chance, if you don't sign, then even this one chance is gone. I have to say, these companies make good use of these external things? Lee Jun Hyuk smiled slightly, unable to tell how he felt now. But psychologically I remembered Zheng Xiuyan's little girls, aren't they struggling in this direction.

"That's right, that's it, anyway, we don't lack people, everything is voluntary, if you don't want to sign, then change people, that's the kind of psychology, these companies will have the courage to sign these unequal treaties with artists. And these trainees will also sign a contract with the company desperately for this hard-won opportunity. Although Fang Shihe also felt a little disdain for this kind of company that oppresses people with power, he couldn't come up with any way to oppose it.

"However, there is another problem here," Mr. Lee seemed to think of something again. "Training in a big company, and then going to a small company to make your debut, so that the contract problem will not be much better."

Lee Jun-hyuk asked, in fact, this is why he doesn't understand the Korean music industry, because there are many independent studios in Europe and the United States, and there are also very powerful singers among these people, who record albums by themselves and then cooperate with big distribution companies to release albums. That's what Lee Jun-hyuk thought.

"I see what you mean, you mean to be like an indie studio in the United States." Fang Sihyuk understood what Lee Jun Hyuk meant.

"yes, it's like this studio of yours, Hego."

"Then you can't call it idol. Like stars, they are singers other than idol. And a person who comes out of a trainee from a large company cannot become an idol even if he signs a contract with a small company. Fang Shihe explained.

"I'll start with your hypothesis. Why do you only have big companies out of idol now, because of resources, don't look at South Korea, there are a lot of entertainment programs and song programs every weekend, and the entertainment one is because there are still funny artists in the TV circle, so I won't say more, let's just talk about song programs. I'm sure you haven't carefully watched the top three ballad shows for a weekend. Fang Shihe said very confidently.

"Yes, I rarely watch TV." Lee Jun-hyuk is telling the truth, because there is not even a TV in the coffee shop.

"In fact, there are only a limited number of people who can be on music programs, and these people are either the hottest singers at the moment, or the singers of big companies with very big energy behind them. And like you said, people who have been trained in large companies to sign contracts with small companies, they can't get the opportunity to be on these programs at all, the most basic principle of idol is exposure, and if you can't even do this, you can't be called idol. Fang Shihe explained.

"I understand that the relationship between idol and these big companies is one that is contradictory, but complementary. They

Although the surface is very beautiful, they will be very tired when they become the company's cash cow, because their company will drive them to work more for the sake of profit, but they can't make too much money. At the same time, although they are very resistant to the company because of various harsh treaties, they are inseparable from the company's strong packaging and public relations capabilities, because the essence of these idols still requires the company's planning and arrangement to shine. Lee Jun-hyuk's reaction was very quick and he immediately understood the key to his career.

"Yes, that's what it means. However, I still have to emphasize that if it really becomes a top existence like the current myth, or the past fin.k.l, H.O.T, they will still get out of poverty immediately, but if they are compared with those artists who are at the top of the country abroad, they will earn less. Fang Shihe explained.

"I understand that just as the price of beef is different depending on the country. There are too many artists in South Korea, and they are also very competitive, so the artists are relatively cheap. They will make much less money than artists of the same status in other countries. That's what it means. ”

"Yes, that's what you said."

"But, brother, since idols have signed such strict contracts with the company, where do they still have a place to make money." Lee Jun-hyuk couldn't figure it out.

"Like these non-idol singers, most of their income sources are in commercial performances, concerts, and in addition, idol also has advertising endorsements." Fang Shihe explained.

"The only thing that the high exposure rate of idol can bring huge benefits to these idols may be advertising endorsements, because they have a specific fan base and are often exposed on TV, so their opportunities to endorse advertisements will also increase, and if you become a celestial group like the current myth or a top singer like Lee Hyori, then the income from advertising will increase greatly. It's not impossible to get rich overnight. However, the odds are so low that they are no different from buying a lottery ticket and winning the jackpot. ”

"I understand, although idol looks miserable, as long as he is popular, his income is also very good, which is why so many people want to become idol one after another."

"However, the lifespan of idol is very short, and the average group almost starts to decline after 5 years, and it is even more difficult for solo singers to stay popular for a long time. As in other countries, idol is a profession with a very high elimination rate. Therefore, whether you can make money by becoming an idol actually depends on whether you have that life. Fang Shihe summed up later.