As fans protested the reset of singer Imu-jin's YouTube music view count, the agency issued an apology.
On the afternoon of the 16th, the agency Big Planet Made Entertainment stated, “Due to the signing of a content (album/music) distribution contract partnership with YG Plus, as of January 1, 2025, the existing Kubo content (a total of 31 albums and 109 tracks) that was distributed through another company will be transferred to YG Plus.”
They continued, “During the transfer process of Kubo content, according to YouTube's art track service policy, the art tracks registered by the previous distributor were terminated, and a situation arose where they were replaced with new art tracks registered by YG Plus. As a result, the art track view count was reset (set to ‘0’), which was an unavoidable situation. This is an action taken in accordance with YouTube's service policy, according to YG Plus's official explanation.”
The agency explained, “After confirming this matter, we discussed the issue of the art track view count reset with YGP and consulted with the YouTube channel manager about the possibility of restoring the view count, but we regret to inform you that the final response was that restoration of the view count is not possible due to YouTube's internal policies.”
Finally, Big Planet Made stated, “We deeply apologize for the situation arising from not sufficiently confirming this issue in advance. This problem stems from the lack of preparation procedures on both our side and YGP. We will do our best to continuously check and restore any remaining errors and potential future issues.”
Earlier that day, Imu-jin's fandom held a truck protest in front of the agency's office. Fans expressed their anger, stating that the agency's change of music distribution company resulted in the loss of the singer's YouTube music view count. They strongly criticized, “We are not beggars, and the agency that reset the music performance just to avoid paying fees is real.”
Meanwhile, Big Planet Made reported to the Fair Trade Commission last year, asking for an investigation into “the circumstances under which Kakao Entertainment imposes discriminatory distribution fees on planning companies belonging to its affiliates and subsidiaries and other planning companies.”
In response, Kakao Entertainment stated, “We enter into contracts with our partners based on strict and objective criteria, and we have not provided any unfair benefits to any specific partner. The distribution fee rate is determined through discussions with the counterpart, considering various conditions such as whether an advance investment is provided, contract duration, offset rate, and the valuation of the distribution target title, based on our strict criteria.”
[Ji Seung-hoon, Star Today Reporter]
