KMCA announces new guidelines to amplify transparency in K-pop award ceremonies and protect artists' rights

On July 4, 2024, the Korea Music Content Association (KMCA) introduced new rules to enhance the fairness and transparency of K-pop award shows. Maeil Business News reported that the standard contract aims to encourage management companies and artists to agree to fair terms for participating in award shows.

The Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA) stated these guidelines were created to address issues from the recent surge in K-pop award shows and to support the industry's growth.

The new guidelines brought forward by KMCA and KOCCA include strengthening award ceremonies' legitimacy, defending the rights of performers and spectators, and fostering a better award ceremony culture.

---

KMCA and KOCCA set new rules to support artists during K-pop award ceremonies

KOCCA intends to announce a standard award ceremony appearance contract by July 2024 that encourages adherence to the rules, after the release of these guidelines.

KMCA mentioned that the new guidelines were structured to address various issues that arose in the recent K-pop award ceremonies. The organization believes that this could significantly lessen management businesses' legal risks while also defending artists' rights.

According to the official website of the Korea Music Contents Association, here is a brief of the guidelines' primary contents:

1. To host respectable and legitimate award ceremonies, careful planning and administration are needed.
2. To foster an award ceremony culture that will support the growth of the sector, fair and open award criteria have to be provided.
3. Award shows should be hosted domestically (preferably), performers' rights must be upheld, and management firms' and artists' decisions must be accepted.
4. To appropriately conduct award ceremonies, there has to be increased coordination with the Korean government.

According to KMA Secretary General Choi Kwang-ho, the new guidelines will foster a healthy and transparent relationship between all parties involved in Korean award shows.

"We expect this guideline to contribute to creating an award ceremony that is trusted by both the industry, artists, and audiences. We hope that awards organizers, artists, management companies, and fans will work together for the continuous development of the music industry."

---

A fan defecated at the 2024 Hanteo Music Awards causing panic and disorder

In February 2024, the Hanteo Music Awards faced severe disturbance after a fan allegedly defecated in the middle of the show. The ruckus was incensed and K-pop groups such as ATEEZ and aespa reportedly tried to calm the agitated fans from their seating zones.

When they witnessed the fight, many K-pop artists were shocked. Song Min-gi and Kim Hong-joong of ATEEZ were the first to realize the critical situation. Several clips of Kim Hong-joong went viral online as he was spotted alerting the security guards and asking them to intervene in the chaos.

Following the event, pictures and videos of K-pop idols attending the performance looking scared and seeming to be gagged went viral. Many fans claimed that the foul odor spread throughout the whole arena as the show degenerated into total mayhem.

The award show organizers of the Hanteo Music Awards failed to handle the enormous numbers of fans. Fans shoved and pushed one other as a result of poor crowd control and space allocation.

---

In other news, the 21st Korean Music Awards (KMA) was held on February 29, 2024. BTS' Jungkook took the Song of the Year for Seven, Best K-pop Album for GOLDEN, and the Musician of the Year.