The Real Amount Idols Get Paid For Writing Lyrics Is Way Less Than Expected, According To TWICE’s Jeongyeon

One source of pride for many idol fans—and the idols themselves—is their participation in the music they release. Many groups’ songs are usually written by an outside person and given to them to perform, but this is not always the case, especially for more established idols.

It is usually assumed that with a larger stake in the song’s production, idols will be paid for their part, resulting in a larger amount of money from the song. However, it seems that this doesn’t seem to be the case all the time.

During an episode of TWICE Jeongyeon’s YouTube program, the idol interviewed Stray Kids’ Han.

While talking about music, Jeongyeon asks the male idol which of his songs is the biggest money maker, which he says is “Slump.”

“Slump” was released in 2020, and has been used as the ending song for the anime Tower Of God. It has been used for the various different language versions of the anime as well.

As a result, Han, who took part in the song’s composition along with Bang Chan, has gotten a good share of royalties from the widespread usage of the song. After jokingly asking how much he’s made, Jeongyeon discusses her own songwriting credits, stating that she receives less than expected.

She shared that she had received just ₩60 KRW (about $0.05 USD) in royalty payments at times.

This is probably much less than many K-Pop fans would expect!

You can check out the full video below.