r 6, 2015
Idol promo teams go off the record and spill all
Article: 'Agencies have a lot to say too' off the record with the promo teams of the music industry
Source: TV Report via Naver + Naver
Candid interview with some anonymous promotional teams for music agencies. Random bits I found interesting:
Q: As a working member of this industry, don't you get tons of requests from friends and family since they assume you're close with the celebrities you work with?
A: Things like autographs don't cost anything so I can get it for them but I've never once accepted requests asking if they can grab a meal with the stars. ... Autographs for the artists I manage is alright but when I get requests for artists from SM and JYP, it's embarrassing for me. I rarely do it unless I'm super close with the person.
A: I hate requests like that. Even if I'm working with celebrities, it's still my job and they're still my co-workers. It's so immature of people when they ask me, "How's so and so? Do you have their contact?" I only know them if I've worked with them.
Q: What about autograph CDs?
A: I rarely take those requests. Especially from relatives. It's like if I asked an uncle who works at an electronics company to sneak me a TV. It's the same thing. CDs are still a product of our company, as well as concert and showcase tickets.
Q: Everyone assumes that when a scandal erupts, the employees of that agency know all about it already. Is that true?
A: Honestly, I mostly do. Even if the members don't tell me directly, I'll always keep up to date with the CEO so there's a lot more that I do know.
A: It's different according to agencies, and how many years you've been working there as well. Obviously the smaller the company, the closer you are with the celebrities, whereas the bigger the company, the less closer you are. ...
A: I used to think that I knew everything about the kids that I manage but as they grew older and broadened their promotional activities, they started getting a lot more secrets. They'll share what they want but obviously a wall will start to form eventually. I trust that they're honest with me for as much as they can but we'll never know unless they tell us.
Q: Are they usually honest with you?
A: They will tell us for important things that can lead to scandals, as well as unfounded rumors so that we can handle it immediately. There are so many malicious blind items and rumors that go around that we'll share them and have a laugh over it and even investigate into why these rumors came about.
Q: Did any of those rumors become true for you? How did they respond.
A: Some rumors were true. Most of the rumors have a bit of truth to them with some exaggeration going on. I've never seen a rumor that was just the flat out truth. The stars will usually ask us, "How'd they found out? Who told them?" Haha.
Q: Nowadays, the trend is to just confirm relationship scandals as they happen.
A: I'm against going public with relationships. It's a huge detriment for female artists. Unless it's a situation that's undeniable, we persuade them not to go public with it, and we say it as the best option for their life. Times have changed but dating scandals still negatively impact female celebrities moreso than males. For the kids that I manage, I go even harder with the denial because the response is usually like, "Why would you date someone like that?"
A: Idols dating... I allow them to date, as long as they don't go crazy and get caught. It's cruel to ask them not to date at well. Especially for freshly debuted rookies, I'm grateful if they don't get into relationships since it's important that they focus on their schedules. Most kids usually know in such situations not to date since the kids who lose themselves to relationships at a time where they should be working hard don't end up successful. But of course, I'm not working with them for 24 hours so maybe their managers know more than I do.
Q: Is it obvious when they get into relationships?
A: They'll be on their cellphones a lot more or take calls by stepping outside of the room privately. The kids that get cellphones are on Kakao Talk all day and will even reject calls if I'm in the room. They're people too so they're like anyone else when it comes to dating. It's not like we take calls going "Honey~" while we're working in the office either.
A: Once they declare that they are getting a car, we pretty much assume that they're declaring that they're in a relationship. They also start to complain more about having to live in a dorm since they obviously want to live alone so that they can date more freely.
Q: They'll deny it if they get caught, right?
A: They usually end up denying it without knowing what's going on because they're either already broken up or even they don't know if they're in an actual relationship or not. Sometimes they really are just close friends and are hanging out in groups with other friends when they have an actual boyfriend somewhere else.
Q: How fast do they break up?
A: A lot of the kids are naive when it comes to relationships. I believe that it'll help their creative process in the long run.
Q: What about dating within the company?
A: That's dangerous. Too much can happen. This is not a topic that I can touch on, actually.
Q: But isn't dating within the company better? Especially on handling it from the company's perspective.
A: There are a lot of agencies that prefer dating within the company. They feel that they can handle it better since they don't know what can happen with another kid they have no management over. Many prefer that they just another artist that the agency knows. After all, the agency is the one that chose the artist so we should know them better than anyone else.
Q: So how do idols end up getting into relationships anyway? I'm sure there's not a lot of opportunities for dating and such.
A: They're young, what more can I say. Girl groups and boy groups will always watch over each other's activities. If a girl group debuts, boy groups are already spreading rumors like "So and so is mine" and "So and so is pretty in that group". Stylists will also help out and play the middle man, saying, "She likes you. She's always watching your videos." Even the ones without cellphones will have Kakao Talk installed on their iPads and keep in contact that way.
A: On shows like 'Music Bank', there are times where they go around exchanging CDs. When their crush comes, they'll slip a special little note for them with it. One time, an idol took that note and tattled to the agency and caused a huge fuss (laughter).
Q: Are there any stars that you personally think should be more popular but people aren't aware of?
A: I find member E from girl group D great. In elementary school, she wrote that she wanted to be a celebrity as her future dream. She's a celebrity to the bone, and although she isn't that pretty, she's got great potential. She gets criticized for her visuals but she's doing alright now. She's young but talented and I wish more kids like her would end up well.
A: I think F. They're a team that loves singing and music and works together well. They're not that handsome but are great people in terms of character and effort. It's sad that not many people are interested in them. I've seen them perform three times and enjoyed myself each time. Their tickets just don't sell, unfortunately. All it takes is the audience to hear one line from them to go "whoaaaa" but anyone who hasn't heard of them don't know how talented they are.
A: Two teams for me. G are great kids and so nice. They're so nice that sometimes I wonder if that's what's holding them back considering how harsh the industry is. Unfortunately, something happened to one of the members and they ended up bawling.
Q: What is the worst sasaeng fan you've come across?
A: It depends on the agency. Some agencies go all out on cutting sasaengs off while other agencies don't really care. If you don't care, the sasaengs eventually end up causing problems, which cause the regular fans to get angry and accuse us of doing nothing about the oppa's stalkers.
A: I's ajumma fans are no joke. ... They also support the group financially as well, though. They'll call the company and ask if the kids need anything in their homes, offer to install air conditioners, etc. Ajumma fans have a lot more financial freedom so the gifts the kids get aren't things like candies and paper cranes but useful things like watches. When I was managing J, they had an ajumma fandom too and they're really powerful and important to have. They'll also gift things like ginseng and other herbal medicines and vitamins.