Momoland's Hyebin Reveals Harsh Reality of Idol Profits: 'Splitting 2 Million Won per Event'

Hyebin, a former member of the group Momoland, is drawing attention by candidly revealing the reality of the profit structure and settlement systems in the idol industry. She shed light on the realities of the entertainment industry that are difficult for the public to access, specifically explaining the structural cost burdens existing behind glamorous stages, the investment recovery methods of entertainment agencies, and the overall profit distribution mechanisms of the idol industry.

On the 6th, while communicating with fans through her personal channel, Hyebin shared her honest views on the settlement structure and profit distribution methods she experienced during her idol activities. Contrary to the common public perception that 'idols earn high profits immediately upon debut,' she explained that the actual industry field operates within a structure of significant initial investment and cost settlement, sharing her realistic experiences.

Hyebin particularly began by addressing the trainee system, stating, "Many people think the costs the company invests in trainees are provided for free, but most of the time, that is not the case." She continued, "Various costs incurred during trainee days, such as lesson fees, food expenses, dormitory operating costs, and practice room rental fees, are often deducted during the settlement process after debut. Ultimately, many idols start their debut in a structure where they are burdened with investment costs amounting to hundreds of millions of won."

She added that this method of recovering investment is one of the common business models that has long continued in the domestic idol industry, emphasizing that significant financial burdens exist behind the glamorous debut stages.

She also specifically mentioned that profits do not occur immediately after debut. Hyebin recalled, "Momoland secured public recognition by taking first place on music shows only two years after debut, but even then, we were not in a situation where we could receive settlements immediately." She explained that while they were perceived as a successful group from the outside, the actual profit structure was vastly different from expectations.

Furthermore, she revealed that various production costs incurred during the album production process also affected the members' settlement amounts. Hyebin said, "The cost of purchasing songs from composers alone reaches tens of millions of won, and music video production also involves production costs on the scale of hundreds of millions of won per episode. At that time, the structure was such that the members bore about half of the music video production costs."

She explained in detail, "Every time a music video was produced, costs amounting to tens of millions of won were personally reflected in the settlement items. Not only the album jacket photoshoot costs, but also manager labor costs, vehicle maintenance and fuel costs, hair and makeup costs required for broadcast appearances, styling costs, and almost all operating costs incurred during activities were distributed as settlement items for each member." This is interpreted as an example showing that the idol industry does not operate simply through album sales and performance profits, but functions as a complex investment recovery system that includes various production and operating costs.

She continued with a detailed explanation regarding the distribution structure of event appearance fees. Hyebin stated, "While it is known that the average appearance fee for an idol group is around 50 million won, the amount that actually goes to an individual member is much less."

She explained, "After first distributing the appearance fee to the company at a certain ratio, the remaining amount is divided again by the number of members. If it is a 9-member group like Momoland, it is divided by 9 again, and after deducting various activity expenses such as hair, makeup, stylist fees, food, vehicle operation, and fuel, the actual amount returning to the individual was around 2 million won."

Additionally, she confessed that even the hard-earned event profits were reinvested as production costs for the next activity. Hyebin said, "Since the profits earned from working hard at events are used again as investment funds during the next album and music video production process, there were many cases where a negative balance in settlements was repeated."

She continued, "Ultimately, in the idol market, you can finally generate stable profits only if you rise to the level of the top 1% among the debuted teams. I did not belong to that 1%," she confessed calmly, drawing empathy from many. Her remarks are being accepted as vivid testimony showing the structural reality of the idol industry that exists behind the glamorous stages and high recognition.

Hyebin debuted as a member of Momoland in 2016 and carried out active musical activities, and along with group activities, she has expanded her field of activity into acting by appearing in various video contents such as web dramas. Recently, she has been steadily communicating with fans by sincerely sharing her experiences and behind-the-scenes stories from her time in the entertainment industry through her personal channel.