The exclusive contract between AOMG and singer-songwriter Meenoi is in talks of facing termination. The contract signed in November last year is expected to be terminated due to breach of trust between the artist and management.
Prior to signing the contract, Meenoi and AOMG had a close relationship due to formally being signed under 8BallTown whose parent-company is her current agency. Here is a short breakdown of the current riff between the artist and the label.
TIMELINE OF EVENTS
Meenoi began a live stream during the night of February 5, where she appeared to be distressed, making several cryptic messages and apologising to her fans. Many fans expressed their confusion and worry about the artist due to the sudden situation.
Following the live, Meenoi took to Instagram and shared that she was fighting with herself, apologising for not maintaining humility, and admitted to “committing a sin”– insinuating that news about her will come out.
During this time, and due to the state of the artist during the live, AOMG were said to be checking in with the artist and her wellbeing before verifying claims made in her live. This led to many fans wishing her well despite being concerned on the issue that was only spoken about loosely.
It was reported later through a news outlet that the artist had failed to attend a commercial shoot, leading to a possible legal battle between AOMG, the brand, and herself.
MEENOI'S STANCE
On March 3, Meenoi shared a lengthy post on her Instagram detailing her stance and explaining her reasoning for not attending the schedule.
Some of the reasons stated were that: she was not informed about the content of the contract; after requesting to see the contract, it wasn’t immediately shown to her; the stamp used to sign the contract looked different to her own.
Amidst the claims, Meenoi remained firm on her stance that it was due to the lack of revision of the contract and having no prior knowledge.
AOMG'S STANCE
However, following this post, AOMG also issued a statement to clear the situation. In a statement that was later shared with press articles, a series of screenshots between the artist and label staff was also included. Here is what to take away from AOMG’s side.
Meenoi had stated to have not seen the contracts for the commercial shoot, however, from the screenshot she had allegedly been aware of them since August 2023. The label stated that they had requested feedback from the artist and had shared the process with her prior to the incident. Meeonoi had asked to review the contract however, due to the business hours, AOMG staff had told her that viewing it would not be possible which the artist acknowledged. This indicates that the contract had not been given to her, but that both parties had agreed to meet on the following weekday to overview it.
The signature on the statement was not fake. The contract was signed as an electronic contract, which AOMG stated may have caused a confusion to the artist. Despite this, AOMG shared that they have conducted contracts this way over 40 times and have not encountered problems prior to this one.
In South Korea it is legal for a company to sign as a third party on behalf of their artists, with the artist’s awareness of the contract and knowledge of the contents within the contract in mind. As a reminder, AOMG shared that Meenoi had been aware for months prior.
Following this series of events, it is to be expected that the artist and agency will be parting ways.