Momoland. [Herald POP (now Herald Muse)]
Momoland. [Herald POP (now Herald Muse)]

Hyebin, a former member of girl group Momoland, has spoken candidly about how idol earnings are structured.

On Monday, Hyebin posted a YouTube video titled "Why idols can't make money."

"It's been more than 10 years since I became an idol," she said in the video. "You're probably curious how much idols actually earn. It seems like a lot — but it isn't."

She explained that outside of major agencies, trainees are billed after their debut for all expenses accumulated during training — lesson fees, meals, accommodation and practice room rentals. "Simply put, it's deferred payment. You debut already millions of won in debt," she said.

Hyebin said Momoland topped a music broadcast chart just two years after debuting — a feat widely described as "a miracle for a small-agency idol group" — but that the financial reality did not match public expectations. "Many people assumed we must have made a lot of money by then, but that wasn't the case," she said.

She added that all costs are split equally between the idol and the company. "Song production fees running into the tens of millions of won, music video costs, manager salaries, vehicle fuel, hair and makeup — all of it is shared with the company. Every music video costs hundreds of millions of won to shoot, and you split that with the company, then split your half again among the members," she said.

Particularly striking was her account of event earnings. "Even if the average event fee is around 50 million won ($32,600), after all the deductions, what ends up in my hands from a single event is about 2 million won," she said. "And that money has to go straight back into shooting the next album's music video. It does a U-turn out of my account before it even arrives."

She also put the industry's earning threshold in stark terms. "The top 1 percent of talented people become idol trainees. Of those, the top 1 percent debut. And of those who debut, you have to be in the top 1 percent to actually make money. I was not that 1 percent," she said.

Meanwhile, Hyebin made her debut with Momoland in 2016 and found success with hit songs including "Bboom Bboom," "BAAM" and "Thumbs Up." The group disbanded in 2023 when her exclusive contract with the agency expired.


choigo@heraldcorp.com