Ciipher producer Rain reveals how EXPENSIVE it is to form a K-pop boy group
With 100s of K-pop acts debuting every year, it is difficult to stand out and make a mark. Along with talent, the idol group needs to have contacts, luck, and financial stability. Unless the group is debuting from the Big 4 labels (HYBE, YG, SM, JYPE) like NMIXX or Enhypen, even acts that debut from mid-tier labels struggle to find success immediately. While K-pop labels like CUBE, Woollim, DSP, and DR Music have a stellar reputation and were major players in the first and second-gen eras, their current rookies are struggling, while Starship’s IVE and HighUp’s STAYC are considered monster rookies.
Similarly, Rain’s boy group Ciipher has yet to secure its place in K-pop. Rain himself is a K-pop icon and took the industry by storm in 2002. His viral singles shook South Korea and are covered even to this day and age by the likes of BTS and Ateez such as his debut song ‘Bad Guy’, and later hits like ‘Rainism’ and ‘Gang’. The 39-year-old singer has also dismantled the ageist mindset in K-pop as he is still pretty popular and loved by the general public. He is also an acclaimed actor and was the lead in the recently successful K-drama ‘Ghost Doctor’.
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Rain and Ciipher’s Tan appear on a variety show
And so with his immense solo success, fans assumed that his boy group would do well too. Rain introduced his very first boy group called Ciipher which debuted under his second K-pop label R.A.I.N Company in 2021. From forming the idol group to personally managing the production, Rain was pretty hands-on in their debut. And now, he has revealed how much exactly went into forming Ciipher. Rain and Ciipher member Tan, who had also starred in ‘Ghost Doctor’, appeared on the variety show ‘Good Luck This Week’ which is hosted by co-star Seo Dong-il.
Ciipher’s debut cost as much as a Seoul apartment
At one point, Dong-il asked Tan about his cooking skills to which the idol actor replied that he could only fry an egg. Jokingly, the host asked Rain how much he had invested in Tan and Ciipher. To which, Rain replied that the amount he had spent on the boys was enough to buy a house. The average cost of a Seoul apartment happens to be almost over $933K. However, Rain later shared that he was confident that Tan would make it big in 2 to 3 years.
Tan aka Choi Seok-won has had fans since 2014 when he made it to the finals of the K-pop survival show ‘No Mercy’ and almost debuted with Monsta X. He has also been on variety shows regularly with his group since 2020 and has also been cast in the main lead of the upcoming K-drama ‘Phantom School’ alongside actor Im Sung-kyun.