THE BOYZ may soon promote under a new name after the group’s contract negotiations with their former company, IST Entertainment, fell through.
The group’s new agency, One Hundred, announced in a statement that negotiations between the two agencies had collapsed after their contract expired on December 5, potentially preventing the band from using the pseudonym they have used for the past seven years.
“This is ONE HUNDRED, the new agency for the members of THE BOYZ.
During the process of negotiating with IST Entertainment over the trademark rights to THE BOYZ – a name the members have supported for seven years – ONE HUNDRED found IST Entertainment’s terms to be unreasonable and could not accept them.
ONE HUNDRED tried its best to negotiate with IST Entertainment regarding the rights to the brand. Even the members themselves have worked tirelessly until the end, to this day, to preserve the rights to the brand for the sake of their fans. However, it is deeply regrettable that a positive result could not be achieved with IST Entertainment.
Our priority has always been THE BOYZ and their fans, and we were hoping for an amicable and smooth resolution to the agency transition.
Until the contract expires on December 5th, ONE HUNDRED remains open to further discussions and will continue to negotiate seriously regarding the trademark rights. However, should negotiations ultimately fail, we are fully prepared to support members as they push forward with a new and improved brand.
Ultimately, ONE HUNDRED promises to always act in the best interests of artists and their fans,” the statement read.
IST Entertainment, however, was quick to respond to the agency’s allegations with a statement of its own, claiming it had offered the group the right to use the name “free of charge” despite One Hundred’s claims that their terms were “unreasonable ” towards them. request for billions of won in trademark rights, according to Ten Asia.
“HI.
This is IST Entertainment.
We find the recent clear misinformation that is spreading on the matter [THE BOYZ’s] deplorable mark and we would like to correct it.
Contrary to what has been reported, we have decided to grant all 11 members of THE BOYZ the right to use their brand free of charge, and we have already communicated this intention to the members.
We also intended to make it possible to use the brand free of charge in any activity (including unit and group activities) to which the 11 members agreed.
Furthermore, with respect to a member who still has six months of exclusivity remaining, we have decided to allow him to terminate his exclusivity contract early despite the remaining contract period, in order to support his activities with his new agency, and we have already communicated this intention to the member in question.
Our decision to grant the right to use the brand free of charge to the members of the group themselves, and not to their new agency, was made based on our desire for an even deeper and smoother meeting between members and fans in the future, as well as active promotions.
Out of the desire to support the permanence of THE BOYZ, a group that is receiving so much love from the public, and their ability to meet their fans without barriers, we thought it was more correct to give the members themselves the right to use their brand for free.
The claims that “we overcharged the brand” and “we made demands on the new agency that went beyond the norm” are completely false. Rather we waited with an open mind for various proposals regarding the brand and only had some basic and theoretical discussions for a smooth handover.
Although our relationship with THE BOYZ is sadly ending, we promise to support THE BOYZ so that they do not suffer any inconvenience in their future endeavors, and we will sincerely encourage them in their future endeavors as well.”
Although IST Entertainment claims to have offered free use of the name, the record agency has not clarified whether or not they have offered free transfer of the band’s alias. With the name change issue still up in the air, One Hundred revealed that they have already taken steps to register alternative names for the group, including The Boys, The New Boyz and TNBZ, in anticipation of failed negotiations with IST Entertainment.
