Fans 'worried' as they feel even Drippin and Golden Child can't save Woollim Entertainment
As K-pop goes global, fans are quickly made aware of the labels big K-pop groups come from as the popularity of a company is directly related to the popularity of a group. BTS made its debut under BigHit Entertainment (now HYBE), which was not a well-known company in the past but the growth of BTS has led HYBE to be one of the biggest labels in the world. Now as the Big 3 labels of K-pop namely, YG Entertainment, SM Entertainment, and JYP Entertainment struggle to stay on the top with HYBE being number 1, many other K-pop labels struggle to survive.
Woollim Entertainment was one of the many famous labels from South Korea that saw the potential to rise to the top and did not grab the opportunity for the same. With famous groups like Infinite, Lovelyz as well as talented rookies, Golden Child, and Drippin, Woollim Entertainment is still finding a hard time trying to stay afloat in terms of popularity in the K-pop industry. Fans of groups under the label believe that it is Woollim Entertainment’s mismanagement of artists that is causing talented groups like Golden Child and Drippin to not taste the success that they deserve.
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Why is Woollim Entertainment being attacked?
On February 7, an article from a Korean news agency about Woollim Entertainment went viral as international media started covering it. This article talked about what is in store with Woollim Entertainment as it was being discussed that the label is currently at the point where their choices could make or break the future of Woollim Entertainment. This report suggested that since the hiatus of Lovelyz and the enlistments of Infinite members, Woollim Entertainment no longer has a big face that will represent the group like HYBE has BTS, SM Entertainment has EXO and aespa, JYP Entertaiment has Stray Kids, and Twice while YG Entertainment has Blackpink.
The article stated that groups like Infinite and Lovelyz were the two names that helped the label taste success but since then, the newer groups that debuted under the label like Golden Child, Drippin, and Rocket Punch was not helped reach the same heights as that of Infinite and Lovelyz due to mismanagement from Woollim Entertainment’s end.
Is this the end of Woollim Entertainment?
With Kwon Eunbi, a former member of IZ*ONE and a popular name signing with Woollim as a solo artist, the label would have gotten the boost it deserves but Infinite and Lovelyz members choosing not to renew their contracts with the label becomes on of the bigger reasons why Korean media believes that Woollim Entertainment may be on the brink of crisis. It is reported that the current artist lineup under Woollim Entertainment, namely of Infinite’s Nam Woo-hyun, Lovelyz’s Lee Su-jeong (Baby Soul), Golden Child, Rocket Punch, Drippin, and Kwon Eun-bi is inferior to that of any other well-renowned label in the K-pop industry.
The report then goes on to say how Woollim does not have an artist that will represent the face of the label internationally. With artists like Nam Woo-hyun and Golden Child that are doing well in comparison to other artists under the label, they still do not have enough recognition globally to represent the label on an international level. The report also suggests that the debut of a star power group would do the trick for Woollim and potentially save the label from going into crisis in the months to come.
'This makes me really sad'
Fans are talking about the article on Reddit and discussing how they feel about the future of artists they love under the label, Woollim Entertainment. One fan said, "Damn they don't even have faith in Golden Child? LOL." One more fan said, "I'm pretty worried for Rocket Punch. They have resorted to posting TikTok dances. They rent out those decorated rooms and the members will film like 10 different TikTok dances and slowly release them for the next week. It's sad that's the only thing they're doing. They're so talented and it's being wasted with Woolim." One more fan said, "This makes me really sad as a Eunbi fan... And Lovelyz totally deserved better."
Another fan pointed, "Eunbi said (in her behind the scenes) she even funded and managed her own comeback in order to solo debut, so there must be an issue in the company." One fan explained, "It's because Lovelyz would make bank from concerts and fansigns and in-person events and with covid...well you can't do that. Woollim was always a mid-tier company and loosing that steady revenue stream really hurt them pretty badly, probably moreso than anyone expected. It doesn't help that their existing groups aren't doing well domestically as hoped."