Popera singer Im Hyung-ju revealed the behind-the-scenes story of his contract with the global record label Sony Music.
On the 14th broadcast of MBN's 'Sokpuri Show Dongchimi', various stories were revealed under the theme 'YES man special: Why can't I say no?'.
That day Im Hyung-ju recalled the time when his recognition greatly increased after he solo-sang the national anthem at Roh Moo-hyun's 2003 presidential inauguration. He said, "I sang the national anthem as the youngest in the history of the constitution," and added, "That scene was satellite-transmitted to 150 countries around the world through Arirang International Broadcasting."
Im Hyung-ju added, "At the time, major figures such as Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi of Japan, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, and coach Guus Hiddink were shown together, and it was introduced on major overseas news outlets such as CNN and the BBC."
As a result, he said he held his debut recital at New York's Carnegie Hall in June of the same year at the age of 17, the youngest in the history of male vocalists. As the performance became a hot topic, a senior executive from Sony Music, which had its headquarters in New York at the time, personally asked to come see the performance.
Im Hyung-ju recalled the situation at the time, saying, "I thought they should be seated in the VIP section, but my mother said, 'If you want to see it, buy a ticket and come.'"
In fact, Sony Music officials bought tickets to watch the performance, and after the show talks of a contract followed. Im Hyung-ju said, "At the time Sony Music offered a five-year exclusive contract for $5 million, about 5 billion won," and added, "It's still a lot of money now, but 25 years ago it was an unimaginable amount."
But Im Hyung-ju's mother, Helen Kim, chose a different path. He said she raised issues with the terms, saying, "If you sign an exclusive contract, the company could even decide the number of performances."
She reportedly counteroffered, "We don't need $5 million. You handle distribution, and we will handle the number of performances and production. In return, take only 20% of the revenue," which surprised everyone.
Her reason was also unusual. Helen Kim said, "I am a great patriot," and added, "Im Hyung-ju is the one who sang the national anthem. I could not sell Im Hyung-ju for 5 billion won."
She added, "If he hadn't sung the national anthem, we might have wavered, but we could not think of handing over a child who sang the country's national anthem for money," bringing a solemn mood to the studio.
Meanwhile, Im Hyung-ju continued his activities on the world stage by signing a contract with Sony Music on the terms they wanted at the time.<
[Photo] MBN 'Sokpuri Show Dongchimi' broadcast screen capture
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