Why YG locks artists in the dungeon

[mycology]

First off, YG Ent is a business. The goal isn't to create as much great content as possible, the goal is to make tons of money. This holds true for every entertainment company, including your faves, but YG in particular is ruthlessly efficient at it.

 

Fact: musicians in this age do not earn most of their profit from releasing music. Piracy and streaming are just too widespread. The big bucks come mostly from tours and merch, along with endorsement deals. Releasing new music is just what keeps you relevant and stops fans from getting tired of you.

 

With this in mind, the ideal scenario for a music company is to squeeze as much touring and merch sales as possible out of a minimal quantity of releases. After all, it costs money to hire top notch writers, composers, and producers to create an album. If you can just put out a new album once every few years and the fans will still fill up concerts and buy every piece of merch, you're making as much money as possible with as little cost as possible.

 

This is what YG does, and why its artists are stuck in the dungeon for ages before releasing new music. Promote once, milk the fans' wallets as much as they'll tolerate, then promote again. YG successfully utilizes this business tactic because the company is especially good at convincing the fans to buy in and adore their artists, regardless of how little content they receive in return. I'm not insulting fans of YG groups, just saying the company and artists combined have a knack for inspiring great loyalty.

 

You can actually see the results of this business model in the public data for 2015 company sales. SM brought in the most revenue, but YG had the greatest overall profit. They accomplished this by spending a hell of a lot less than SM did (again: creating an album is reallllly expensive), but still managing to squeeze a comparable about of money out of their fans.

 

Tldr: YG doesn't mismanage its talent, they're just really damn good at running a business

[Eppo]

I thought this was going to be yet another ill-informed post about why YG sucks. Was pleasantly surprised it isn't.

 

However I disagree on one point; which is that YG definitely does mismanage (some) talent. What about 2NE1's lack of touring or any activities really? Or Lee Hayi for example. 

 

If YGE managed to find a way to expand their line-up they would definitely give SM a run for their money. However to me that's looking impossible now unless they overhaul the whole structure of the company. Too much is centered around one person (YG) for it to expand much more beyond this point. 

[puellarum generatio]

and this is why he can't earn even more money

[~K.i.t.s.u.n.e~]

YG had the greatest overall profit because of bigbang not because of those delays

[RETIRED WAIFU]

.. and all this at the price of what? The majority of his artists being unable to promote for years, many of them basically having no employment? Yep, nice one YG! (:

But, I do agree with you, he doesn't keep them in the dungeon for no reason. It's smart but cruel.

[baetics]

YG had the greatest overall profit because of bigbang not because of those delays

[blank_stare]

I thought this was going to be yet another ill-informed post about why YG sucks. Was pleasantly surprised it isn't.

 

However I disagree on one point; which is that YG definitely does mismanage (some) talent. What about 2NE1's lack of touring or any activities really? Or Lee Hayi for example. 

 

If YGE managed to find a way to expand their line-up they would definitely give SM a run for their money. However to me that's looking impossible now unless they overhaul the whole structure of the company. Too much is centered around one person (YG) for it to expand much more beyond this point. 

 

^This.

[noon]

why can't lee hi/akmu/2ne1 tour more then

[̶p̶̶m̶̶o̶]

I thought this was going to be yet another ill-informed post about why YG sucks. Was pleasantly surprised it isn't.

 

However I disagree on one point; which is that YG definitely does mismanage (some) talent. What about 2NE1's lack of touring or any activities really? Or Lee Hayi for example. 

 

If YGE managed to find a way to expand their line-up they would definitely give SM a run for their money. However to me that's looking impossible now unless they overhaul the whole structure of the company. Too much is centered around one person (YG) for it to expand much more beyond this point. 

 

lee hi had a cb and what happend ? she doesnt have a big fanbase and even though the general public likes her its not enough to tour or sell merch

 

and 21 couldnt promote because of park boms scandal , dara and cl did their own thing but even if it might sound mean minzy is not the time of idol for cfs or shows ....i think op is right

[crush2NE1]

lee hi had a cb and what happend ? she doesnt have a big fanbase and even though the general public likes her its not enough to tour or sell merch

 

and 21 couldnt promote because of park boms scandal , dara and cl did their own thing but even if it might sound mean minzy is not the time of idol for cfs or shows ....i think op is right

They could have at least let Minzy have a solo debut especially with how well rounded she is. It's like YG's purposely trying to find new ways to piss fans off every year..

[Spero]

Agree. You have a lot of valid points. Music piracy takes so much away from a company's sales that it's quite wise to invest in a lot of merch. 

 

But even if they're good with business management, they're not good with PR and communications. I find the company really unprofessional especially with the way they release dates for a comeback which the public is inclined to believe but only to have the comeback delayed. 

[_mirai]

He does not want to invest in his female artists

2NE1 has produced 35 songs in 7 years. Just for comparison's sake, BTS has produced 60 songs in 2.5 years and that doesn't even include covers and a member's mixtape. I love 2NE1 but that has to be so frustrating for long time fans, especially when this is supposed to be one of the most popular girl groups in Korea

[̶p̶̶m̶̶o̶]

They could have at least let Minzy have a solo debut especially with how well rounded she is. It's like YG's purposely trying to find new ways to piss fans off every year..

if he wouldnt be a greedy dick and would think about the fans ofc but from ygs business point of view it wouldnt be a smart move because hed waste money and wouldnt get a lot back

[Eppo]

lee hi had a cb and what happend ? she doesnt have a big fanbase and even though the general public likes her its not enough to tour or sell merch

 

and 21 couldnt promote because of park boms scandal , dara and cl did their own thing but even if it might sound mean minzy is not the time of idol for cfs or shows ....i think op is right

I know the likes of Hayi are not very profitable artists, but there are ways to make them at least a little profitable. Minor tours for example.

[fairweathermoviefan]

He does not want to invest in his female artists

2NE1 has produced 35 songs in 7 years. Just for comparison's sake, BTS has produced 60 songs in 2.5 years and that doesn't even include covers and a member's mixtape. I love 2NE1 but that has to be so frustrating for long time fans, especially when this is supposed to be one of the most popular girl groups in Korea

what do you mean by produced? Released? Or actually produced their own music? BTS has the ability to write their own songs. 2ne1 doesn't. They have to wait for Teddy and he's overstretched too.

[indigo]

Touring and merch is where the money is at but, releasing music is critical to being a touring act. So the dungeon is counter productive in that aspect.

[̶p̶̶m̶̶o̶]

I know the likes of Hayi are not very profitable artists, but there are ways to make them at least a little profitable. Minor tours for example.

"at least a little profitable" is not ygs style lol, hes used to instant or huge success because of 21 and BB thats why he seems so unsatisfied with winners and ikons positions and puts his artists who didnt reach his expectations in the "dungeon" but this is extremely dumb cause IF big bang or gd fails to maintain their popularity yg will be done 

[vader]

yg is a completely dumbass and they need to hire someone who will actually promote the artists, give the more comebacks etc etc

[fairweathermoviefan]

I know the likes of Hayi are not very profitable artists, but there are ways to make them at least a little profitable. Minor tours for example.

They need to attach her and Akmu to BB'S China fan meets. They can do minor tours there.

[indigo]

They need to attach her and Akmu to BB'S China fan meets. They can do minor tours there.

 

Right, artist have done co-headlining tours in the west for years if they're not popular enough to sell out on their own. 

 

With a little promoting, Lee Hi, AKMU, and IF they was still there artist like Minzy and Gummy could have done smaller tours together overseas. And they require minimal staging so the tour wouldn't be terribly expensive to produce. YG could set up a House Of Blues type venue for his acts. They could produce OST. There is so much they could do to utilize their roster.

 

SM Station, while not that interesting musically, is a way to give out more work, make wider industry connections, and secue their digital share. All while having EXO, SHINee and SNSD touring. YG as a company is very diverse, but the music wing is 100% dependent on Big Bang. And with the amount of talent they have that's crazy. 

[Treadstone Operative]

You can actually see the results of this business model in the public data for 2015 company sales. SM brought in the most revenue, but YG had the greatest overall profit. They accomplished this by spending a hell of a lot less than SM did (again: creating an album is reallllly expensive), but still managing to squeeze a comparable about of money out of their fans.

 

Tldr: YG doesn't mismanage its talent, they're just really damn good at running a business

I agree that YG minimizes spending in order to maximize profits. There is just one big flaw in such a business model:

 

Artistes don't grow well in dungeons.

 

They need room, space and exposure to improve themselves. While dungeons are free from open criticisms, they are also places where abilities stagnant or even wither over time if not tested on the stage or in the field.

 

The longer the artistes stay in dungeons, the more likely they will rust without active competition or even live interaction with other artistes from other agencies or fields of expertise. No one in the world can improve by staying in a cocoon or a bunker - they need to go out there and get the experience to do so.

 

I genuinely mourn artistes who have rotted away or are rotting away in dungeons. They don't grow healthily as they don't get chances to polish their skills in real contexts - practices and rehearsals in dungeons don't count.

[Chali]

I do agree to a point... With Bigbang... I know they've done tours since 2012 WITHOUT any new album and there's that YG Family tour that he does every year and also With WINNER, doing concerts in Japan when they hadn't even released a cb album yet... It make sense what you're saying. 

 

However, Bigbang is gonna enlist soon and that means No more concerts for them... so now he tries to concentrate on his other artists, but it's too late since he didn't promote them at all. Business or no, the mismanagement of his artists is clear and One of the results is MINZY now leaving... if this happens to 2NE1... who's to say it's not gonna happen to other YG artists? I'm worried but at the same time thankful that fans will keep on supporting the artists no matter where they go...

 

 

Thank you for this insightful thread. 

[fairweathermoviefan]

I see YG having difficulties with Winner's next contract. That's losing more skills and talent.

[YesIKnowRelax]

I thought this was going to be yet another ill-informed post about why YG sucks. Was pleasantly surprised it isn't.

 

However I disagree on one point; which is that YG definitely does mismanage (some) talent. What about 2NE1's lack of touring or any activities really? Or Lee Hayi for example. 

 

If YGE managed to find a way to expand their line-up they would definitely give SM a run for their money. However to me that's looking impossible now unless they overhaul the whole structure of the company. Too much is centered around one person (YG) for it to expand much more beyond this point. 

 

2NE1 did tour before the scandal

Lee Hi's fanbase wasn't big enough for a large scale tour

she could have done some small shows in Korea but YG didn't really do that

so few female solos get their own concerts and YG tried to have a mini one with Lee Hi

Truth is YG pushes events hard for their teams

even AKMU did tons of college and live events

[Eppo]

2NE1 did tour before the scandal

Lee Hi's fanbase wasn't big enough for a large scale tour

she could have done some small shows in Korea but YG didn't really do that

so few female solos get their own concerts and YG tried to have a mini one with Lee Hi

Truth is YG pushes events hard for their teams

even AKMU did tons of college and live events

I know 2NE1 toured, but that after Crush they did what, 1 tour? Not even up to their full potential. What stopped them from doing a 2nd, or 3rd tour like BB does?