Ask AP529 | Episode 10: BTS Artist Contract Renewals
This post was written by Leslie Day
Welcome to Ask AP529 where YOU get to utilize OUR brain wrinkles to find answers to your most burning BTS questions. This episode’s question comes from our very own Stef, from the AP529 Admin Team. She asks:
When did BTS renew their contracts and what were the circumstances?
The simple answer is: BTS renewed their contracts in 2018, and again in 2023.
But it’s more complicated than that, because both of these renewals were kind of a big deal. Like many things in life, and for good researchers, questions lead to more questions.
So, why was this a big deal?
There is something in K-Pop called the “seven year curse”. This comes from the fact that the standard industry practice is a seven year contract for K-Pop Idols. This wasn’t always the case and DKDKTV on YouTube does a wonderful job explaining why by detailing some of the abuses artists endured in the early 2000s—using SM Entertainment’s treatment of their group, TVXQ as an example. They were a wildly popular group and one of the first to have members who sued their company over the conditions in their contracts. This controversy led the Fair Trade Commission of South Korea to enact some major changes in the K-Pop industry. Most importantly, it set the standard for the seven year contract. Watch their video for more information.
Though changes were made, there are still problems inherent in the system today, as there are in any industry that makes massive amounts of money. Many groups disband at the end of their initial seven year contract and there can be several reasons for this. First, the artists could be unhappy—with their treatment, other members, their schedules, etc. and decide not to resign. Sometimes, only one or two members decide not to resign, and the group continues on without them. Another reason could be that the company decides the group is not worth the investment, and they choose not to offer a second contract. The majority of Idol groups fall prey to this “curse”. It’s a big deal when groups survive this “curse” and BTS is one of those that have.
BTS had many struggles in 2018. False allegations of plagiarism, personal issues, and rigorous schedules after finishing a world tour left our seven men exhausted both mentally and physically. They had been working non-stop for over five years and it was taking its toll. The Wings Tour ended in December of 2017. They released You Never Walk Alone, (which was a repackage of earlier songs, but contained four new tracks as well) a week before that tour began in February. They also recorded and released LOVE YOURSELF 承 'Her' while on tour. LOVE YOURSELF 轉 'Tear' was released in May of 2018 and after that the members were given a much deserved break. (Though, Yoongi still worked, because that’s his stress relief.)
They reconvened on camera for Bon Voyage Season 3 in Malta. So much happened in this season of the program. V arrived late and was grieving the loss of his grandfather, while Yoongi was called away early due to urgent family business. Members were paired up in this season to “talk” and spend the day with each other. I remember thinking they should already know some of the things they discussed, but given this context, it makes sense. They had not been very open about their fears and struggles with each other all the time.
I think my favorite part is when Yoongi taught Jung Kook how to drink “Irish Slammers” at a local pub.
No, it’s when Jimin and Namjoon see the fireworks.
No, it’s when JK busks on the street.
Focus, Leslie…
What does any of this have to do with contract signing, the “Seven Year Curse”, or BTS re-signing?
I’m trying to give you some context on how hard the industry can be and the pressure that BTS was under at the time. They were at the TOP of their game and receiving massive acclaim—going on international tours, winning awards across the globe, guesting on talk shows, etc.
And they were also seriously thinking about giving it all up and disbanding.
V revealed in The Monuments: Beyond the Stars that there were times he found himself wishing he would get hurt so that he could get a little sleep. As heartbreaking as this sounds, each of the members internalized their fears in similar ways—sometimes hiding their exhaustion and frustrations from each other.
But their break gave them the space they needed to make up their own minds about continuing on as a group. They came back together that summer and by October, all seven members had re-signed with Big Hit a year early. Billboard Magazine reported the email sent by BTS:
In a statement emailed Wednesday, BTS said, “We respect our mentor, producer [and Big Hit founder] Bang Si-Hyuk who has continued to show us a vision for our future from even before debut and has helped us form our perspective of the world and music. With Big Hit Entertainment’s support, we’ll continue to strive to give our best for fans all around the world.
It is our philosophy that we should cater the best to artists who’re achieving unprecedented global success,” Big Hit Entertainment says in a statement. “After the thorough discussion with seven members of BTS, we decided to renew the contract before the world tour to ensure more stable, long-term activities.
Below is their 2018 Daesang award speech where Jin speaks frankly about the year at the MAMA Awards held in Hong Kong. It’s nine minutes long. If you can make it through j-hope’s tearful portion of the speech (with a Jimin hug for support), around the eight minute mark, Jin explains why the members were so emotional. As he describes their discussions about disbanding, V breaks down behind him. (We cover this in our blog on Week 49.) This awards show aired in December of 2018, and it seems to be a cathartic moment for the members. And they leave ARMY with promises to “do better” in the future.
Fast forward through another tour, a global pandemic, two grammy nominations, more international acclaim and concerts, and an emotional Festa dinner where BTS stated they were going to take a break from group activities in order for the members to focus on solo content for a while. At the time, ARMY didn’t know what the mistranslated “hiatus” was going to mean or what it would look like.
As we rolled into summer, j-hope was the first member to release a solo album and he became the first Korean artist to headline at Lollapalooza. This is also where he introduced us to his alter ego, “Jay”, and ARMY renamed the festival “Hobipalooza”. Over the next few months we enjoyed random JK Weverse LIVEs, V in In the Soop: Friendcation, and the release of individual member vlogs. New episodes of Run BTS kept us entertained, but it was still unclear what the future would hold for BTS as a group and HYBE as a company. There was even economic doubt and speculation in South Korea accompanied by a small recession. Jin entered the military that December and it suddenly became a little clearer why they were taking a break from BTS.
Next, RM released Indigo followed by the rest of BTS members releasing albums one by one as we moved into 2023. SUGA went on a world tour to support D-DAY and ARMY was elated. The enlistment of j-hope was sad, but JK continued to keep us entertained during his LIVEs with long karaoke sessions and falling asleep. He also released his first solo single, “Seven”, and made all of us ask, “You’re going to WHAT now?” But we made it through another summer. Shortly after that, Yoongi enlisted in the military in September of 2023 and the world got news that the BTS’ members had re-signed their contracts. I can’t find an end date for this last sign. Rolling Stone simply states, “up to 2025 and beyond.”
This last renewal was significant for both ARMY and the K-Pop industry as a whole. The Korea Times states, “Experts point out that this feat was made possible due to the strong foundation of trust built among BTS, HYBE Chairman Bang Si-hyuk who created the group, the staff at HYBE and the BTS fandom known as ARMY.” Quoting experts, the article goes on to say, “HYBE must have given a sense of comfort to the artists, enabling them to pursue their artistic visions without constraint. I believe the singers considered the fact that they could create music in a more unrestrained setting compared to establishing an independent label or transitioning to another company."
And we’ve seen this in the solo “hiatus” ARMY has just gone through for the past three years. Many of us were there as Yoongi started and completed his D-Day Tour. And now again as we watch Hobi’s tour wind down to its conclusion, and gear up for Jin’s tour, we can notice and appreciate the differences in the performance styles of these eclectic men. They have been allowed the freedom to explore their own styles, each while maintaining a strong bond with the group. Hobi stated, quite clearly in his Apple Music interview with Zane Lowe on April 29, 2025, that he is excited to see the synergy that will occur when BTS comes back together. And he promised in a post show live from Singapore, BTS is planning “a lot of things.”
Since I’ve started this article, all SEVEN have returned from the military and in their highly-anticipated OT7 live, they reaffirmed their promise to return to us as BTS with an announcement of new music by Spring 2026 and a world tour to follow.
The last three years have been hard, but BTS is now blazing a trail into unknown territory. No group has ever before completed military service in the way they did. They have a contract for an indefinite period of time, and they’ve all intimated that they want to stay together and perform for ARMY as long as they possibly can. Yoongi has stated that he wants to be old, with white hair, performing with BTS.
So, Apobangpo, ARMY. They’re going to be around for a while.
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CREDITS
YouTube/Web: HYBE LABELS, DKDKTV, Billboard, The Korea Times, Rolling Stone, BTS The Monuments: Beyond the Stars, Hana Jeon