It depends on the company/group. The groups that debut under Big 3/Hybe don't have trainee debt, so they theoretically can start earning money once they debut. Other groups aren't as lucky, especially ones from smaller companies, as they have to pay off their trainee debt first. Idols have also spoken about getting an "allowance"/living expenses after they debut, but they're expected to pay that back along with other expenses that are covered by the company (such as rent for their dorms, for example). If the groups are successful, then all those fees/expenses can be paid off and the idols get their share of the surplus as outlined by the contract that they sign. If they haven't, then the amount that they have to pay back to the company accumulates - it's why there are many idols out there that haven't earned much, or at all, even after years of working.

When like Itzy you sold over 800K copies of your albums you're already "in the money" with the company.

There was a really good comment thread on reddit about how idols that produce music make the most money, because every time the song is played or covered by someone, a portion goes back to the producing idol. The Korean Music Copyright Association is good at enforcing/tracking this. That’s where a lot of G-Dragon’s income comes from. I can’t find the post anymore, but if I do, I’ll link it here.

Update: I also remember the post explaining that every time a song plays, royalties go to the producer and the artist gets nothing. And that the person who wrote BTS’ songs is making a lot of money. Still can’t find the post….

Every time I try to think about how NCT’s payments work, I have a stroke.

I think this post belongs to r/kpophelp

Are you Blackpink, SNSD or are you a nugu group/from a small company? I read somewhere that *Wheein of Mamamoo said that she isn't rich but if she wants to buy 30 tteokbokkis she can and i think that's a good definition for lots of the groups we see on tv.

Just to add, at one point SNSD had the biggest/most earning contracts but SM is also known for being sketchy/not paying their idols. Maybe you're lucky, maybe you're not.

Exid comes from a small company (that doesn't even exist now) and had side jobs for quite a long time. Loona from another company did not get paid. It's all relative and i guess luck plays a part.

It totally depends. What company are we talking about? If it's a big4 company then there's no trainee debt, so they start earning immediately. If not then it takes a few years before they start earning significant money. Which company is it? Even in the big4 there are big differences on which percentages they earn from what and when they can renegotiate. Does the idol have a lot of lucrative gigs like cfs? Are there a lot of members in the group aka does any income have to be divided between a lot of people? All those things heavily influence if idols are making money. But overall I'd say the average trainee goes into it because they want to get famous rather than make money

just a rule of thumb that i've learnt from being a kpop fan

Music does not pay idols. The real people who is making the money from songs are those who made it; producers, songwriters, song engineers etc etc

Artists mainly make money from two things: cf deals and touring. CF deals rise from being popular = more of an audience being reached = more cf deals = more money in your individual pocket (and a cut for the agency).

Don't quote me on this but the goal of every artist, whether kpop or western, the main goal of touring is to sell the merchandise. Here is an idol talking about how they made money

Man i wish kpop contracts were public info like how sports contracts are

Idols from Big 4 are guaranteed making money. For other company, Oh My Girl's Mimi recently talked about how she made money for the first time after 8 years debut through her youtube channel.

$1 million USD is a lot of money in Korea. That's a key thing you have to remember, especially in the early 2010s.

You won't get any real answer on how much idols make because that's the same as asking how much actors make. A random extra is obviously going to make a lot less money than a lead actor. Idols from bigger companies get more exposure and more opportunities to make money in the form of acting, CFs, etc. They also sell more albums and therefore make more money overall.

If you're from a big 4 company like HYBE, YG, JYP, or SM, you're virtually guaranteed success and you will make very good money.

Most mid-tier company groups also make good money good like Cube or Starship.

Idols like BTS or Blackpink who are amongst the most well paid idols probably have a NW in the tens of millions, probably like $30-60 million territory.

Idols like SNSD, RV, NCT, etc are probably in the $5-15 million USD bracket. Idols like Twice would be in the $10-30 million USD bracket.

Most of the mid-tier company idols like G-IDLE or IVE are in the low millions like $1-5 million territory.

Don't ask me for sources, its speculation, they aren't going to openly talk about their net worth.

Popular idols will make good money, but remember that most idols have a huge support network in the form of songwriters, choreographers, company staff, makeup artists, etc. Those people need to be paid as well. Management will also want their sizable cut and so will investors. That means even if an album sells like $30 million USD worth, the idols are obviously not taking all of that for themselves.

There's really no right answer here. Some super small groups might not even make enough to pay back their training debt (which isn't a thing in the Big 4 anymore, if I remember correctly); A group like NewJeans might be raking in six-digits every month. It also really varies from company to company and contract to contract.

As a rule of thumb, if a group is active from the beginning of their contract to the end (7 years), expect them to be making at least enough to live. If a group disbands early or stops doing any work, they probably were making very little, if anything.

Also don't forget that working as an idol does come with a lot of bonuses, but in some cases those bonuses are deduced directly from the idol's paychecks -- Stuff like drivers; a dorm/house; meals; etc...

I'm not so sure about u-kiss being "pretty popular"... Weren't they kind of known for being not popular?

The other comments doesnt realise u-kiss spent most of their time in Japan and made good money there.

I'm pretty sure that U kiss were known for being underrated rather pretty popular.

I watched a youtube video once where an idol stated that their company provided them with free housing and food, but they didn't have any regular income because any money they made went directly to paying off their debt from training and etc. Idols make most of their money from festivals, CF/Advertisements, writing music, and concerts. Groups like Oh My Girl get paid 50k from festivals so imagine a company taking 70% of that and then 30% is split between 8 girls.

I mean they might not be 'rich rich' like millionaire-level (very few idols at the absolute top tier are millionaires like BigBang members, IU, BTS, possibly BP and Exo). But if you're about 4+ years into your career and you've been decently successful (mid-tier level and up) you definitely have enough money than most people do at your age that to use for luxury goods. This is also caveated by the fact that idols get sent a lot of luxury goods by sponsors because it's free promotion for the company, or it will be clothes that have been borrowed from fashion houses by their stylists which they swap around among groups and members.

Most of the time, these idols don't have to worry about basic neccessities like rent, utilities or food etc. because the company usually will cover that (as long as they're still living in their dorms). If they've already paid off their trainee debt/ didn't have any to begin with, all the money they earn is available for them to spend or save however they like without having to worry about the things that usually make the biggest dent on your savings (rent, utilities, food). Like I'd have so much more money in my pocket if I didn't have to pay for rent and food. Also some of these idols have been working and earning money since their teens, so they definitely have quite a decent amount saved up

I think it depends on how far along in their career they are, plus if they get income from royalties and CFs. If they are newer idols, they are probably still on the company card for most things when they are on schedule plus some type of allowance, as most of the income is probably being used to pay back their trainee debt (this is usually only the first couple years, depending on how well they do). As they continue on and that’s paid off, is when they’ll have more financial freedom.

Edit: Tbh if you’re seeing newer idols wearing expensive accessories and brands, it most likely comes from the company’s stash of apparel that the stylists source. Also why you’ll see members wearing the same things sometimes.

Some of them are rich rich but most aren’t

I’m not sure it depends on the group for sure like their company and how much money they bring in and royalties. But one thing that is important to note that a lot ?¿ or some idols are from well off family's!

I'm highly doubting the last half of the idols OP u/Longjumping_Rabbit30 mentioned. A lot of those are 4th gen. I don't expect them to be earning a lot yet. Was that supposed to be a joke?

EXO members have a lot of brand endorsements, acting stints (as main roles, especially D.O.). Lay Zhang has his own entertainment and production company that trains idols in China. Baekhyun is a creative director of a clothing brand. Kai, Lay, Sehun and Chanyeol have tons of endorsement deals as ambassadors, models, etc.

EXO have very active members as soloists, musical performers, endorsers. Other groups you mentioned aren't as active at all INDIVIDUALLY speaking. Nor do they have other projects aside from their being an idol.

In fact, based on this article, EXO and Big Bang are among the top groups that earn a lot.

Depends on their contract terms tbh & I don’t think that information is disclosed anywhere. Artists that have re-signed (BTS for example) would have been able to negotiate a better profit distribution split. Groups with less members will also not need to split profit among many members too. There’s too many factors to give a clear cut answer imo

This is the chart which made the rounds across social media a while ago - but who knows if it’s accurate

Something to keep in mind as well when you see any data that says "artists only gets x % of the earnings", "album sold y$ but artist only made x$" or "album brought in y$ therefore artists gets y$" is that there are people in the company who aren't bringing in money who also need to get paid. This mostly goes for album sales and streaming revenue, but also applies to any other situation in which the idol is doing whatever gig it is because of a company or management.

For example, the finance people who process the paychecks. They are not technically bringing in money. They cost money. So do managers, HR, stylists, marketing personnel, set designers, camera people, or any of the other countless "corporate" jobs that exist in creative (or non-creative) companies.

Idols definitely work hard and deserve to get paid for their work. But especially at an early stage, not only are they not as established, but the company does need to recoup at least some of the money they invested into the groups before debute. And I don't think a lot of lists take into account those costs when they look at the numbers for how much money an album brought in.

Answer: no, we don't have any idea. And everything that people post will be speculation at best.

As others have said, there not much public data, but we do know that idol-producers make bank compared to the rest of their groups.

I think someone once mentioned how it takes months for the money to appear for a television appearance

I dont even know how actors survive in korea, like some of them have maybe a show every few years.

When even Twice worries about career uncertainties and the possibility of ending up "running a Cafe in 10 years", you know it's bad for the countless others in the industry that we've probably never heard of.

Most of them already make Youtube Channel 🤣

Yes that is why entertainers talk about fixed shows. Even if you are a guest in a variety show, you make money. However you are a guest at the end of the day. I am talking about variety shows with long term guests like Boss in the mirror or I live Alone. Unless you are a fixed member, the anxiety will always be there even if you're earning more than 37k.

No, they don't have same income. Each member of a group have a different contract with their company, they also have a different amount of trainee debt. Ofc income from their group activities may share between members, but income for solo activities in general belong to that person only.

depends of company, SM and YG don't share individual profits from solo activities, JYP does

no they don’t. apart from the usual brand ambassadorships, the amount of solo music they put out, the amount of royalties they have and such would affect the amount paid. ofc we would never know the exact details, so whether it’s a huge difference or not is unknown.

I won’t pretend to know what’s inside those contracts, but I’d imagine, a big chunk of earnings for BP members comes from individual activities at this point, and having different payouts for things like concerts or albums (when no separate member versions are involved) would be more trouble than its worth. I don’t see such inequality contributing to a healthy relationship between members.

There are groups that fully depend on popularity of 1-2 members where I could see some of them getting a bigger cut. We are not discussing any specific groups here though, and a lot of them don’t even make it past a 7 year contract, so I’d say, it’s fair to assume that in an average group there are at least some activities that members are compensated for equally.

no i don't think so. Rapline from BTS may have a high net worth than the vocal line since they're more involved in the credits of BTS and outside BTS.

According to K-media, Namjoon's salary can feed 5 generations of his family.

Taking Stray Kids as an example, 3racha are probably own more money because of music credits.

who do you think got paid more in blackpink? I assume lisa got paid the less since she is a foreign

They do not have fixed salaries. They get paid % from the profits they generate. Profits for some of the group activities would be distributed equally but a lot of earning opportunities are individual (CFs, TV, acting, songwriting credits etc).

It’s not just the earnings that make the idol’s net worth but also what they do with them. Some idols spend money generously, others invest smartly. An idol that earns less may end up having bigger net worth in the long run because of that.

Very misleading title lol, the MOST she has made is 1 Billion KRW (approx. $720,000 USD).

And the lowest is "100," not sure if that's KRW or USD because the article quotes her saying "100" directly which makes me think 100 KRW but that's only like 7 US cents (????) so maybe she said it in USD herself or they converted for her, so she said 14000 KRW (approx. 100 USD) which they translated then to "100."

BUT if she can make a lot in a month due to a comeback or schedule the company may just not pay them when they don't have any schedules (e.g., on holiday/vacation) so she could have said 100 KRW (but honestly that seems more likely to be earlier in her career in this case)

I'm not gonna take the time to look up the full conversation, but I recall she said something like that was the most she'd made in a month and in other months she's made as little as "100" (won). Just in case somebody just reads the headline and thinks she's pulling in 700K every month.

It seems Chinese and Koreans are very open to money discussions. I've watched a lot of variety and they always talk about how much one is earning, how much is the house/car, etc.

If she can make the most $700,000 a month that means Cube is getting even a bigger cut. Shows how important it is for Cube to keep these girls during contract renewal.