In a recent video, members of Epik High and INFINITE revealed that Woollim Entertainment never paid them streaming revenues.
Epik High, the iconic second-generation Hip Hop trio, was signed to Woollim Entertainment for nearly eight years, right from their debut in 2001 to early 2009. During this time, the group put out one after another hits, including albums such as Swan Songs, Remapping the Human Soul, and Pieces, Part One. Some of their cult classic singles from this era include “Fly,” “Love Love Love,” and “Umbrella.”
Despite delivering such hits, the trio never got paid anything from the streaming revenue racked up by their then-label. This revelation was made in a recent episode of Epik High’s new YouTube show, Bad Bros.
During the episode, Epik High members Tablo, Mithra Jin, and Tukutz sat down with INFINITE members Sungkyu and Woohyun, reminiscing about their time together at Woollim. As the conversation progressed, Tablo shared that they had earned zero revenue from streaming and asked if it was the same for INFINITE.
Woohyun and Sungkyu said yes in unison, prompting Tablo to express extreme frustration. He was clearly baffled, left asking rhetorically, “Really? Even with songs like ‘Be Mine?’”
Tukutz was also taken aback at this revelation, wondering why INFINITE didn’t make any money from the streams of their hit tracks even though “Melo and everything were up and running” by then. Sungkyu reiterated, “Honestly, we never got a proper payout from streaming revenue.”
Though Tablo was clearly displeased with the situation, he clarified that it wasn’t due to any malice on Wooollim CEO Lee Jung Yeop‘s part. “It’s about the music industry back then,” he explained, stating that when they signed contracts with the label, digital streaming didn’t particularly exist. He recalled reading an article that his song had made ₩3.70 billion KRW (about $ 2.56 million USD) in its first week, while he hadn’t even made a single penny from it.
While I didn’t even get a single penny from ‘Fly,’ an article came out…I was hosting a radio show. I was in the middle of a live broadcast. And the article said that ‘Fly’ made 3.7 billion KRW in its first week…I was DJing and I saw it and went, ‘3.7 billion in the first week? I haven’t even gotten 100 won?’…I just blurted it out live.
— Tablo
Though recalled with a light heart, the incident reflected the harsh reality of how easily artists can be victimized by unfair contracts and forced to endure wage disparity.
You can watch the full episode of Bad Bros here:
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