[News] Members Of
KARA Weigh Their Options As Record Contract With DSP Media Winds Down
The members of South Korean girl group KARA are reportedly weighing their options regarding their record deal with DSP Media, in light of their contract coming up for renewal at the end of the year.
According to a representative for DSP Media, the group is not legally bound to remain on the record label.
"The KARA members' contract with the company will expire early next year," the rep told the Korea Star Daily, according to a report from the publication on Tuesday.
"We are currently in discussions with them, and there are a variety of possibilities which include contract extension, or joining other companies."
One potential problem for KARA if they should opt to switch record labels, is that while members Park Gyuri, Han Seung Yeon, Nicole and Goo Hara all have contracts with DSP Media that expire in January, the band's youngest member Kang Ji Young is signed through April.
"There is still some time until the expiry of their contracts, so the members haven't decided on whether they will [renew their contract] or move on to other companies," the rep said.
"The members are likely to discuss among themselves, but we won't be interfering with their decision making."
Once the report was published regarding KARA weighing their options, DSP Media representative executives rushed to clarify that no serious negotiations are currently underway, according to the publication Star News.
"It is still too early to negotiate on renewing contracts," DSP Media wrote in an official statement.
"Although the members have differences in the amount of time they have left, the fastest one to expire is still six months away, so it's not at a stage where anything is being decided on."
Yet the record company's statement stopped short of speculating whether KARA had brought up the matter internally.
"The members could have discussed renewing their contracts among themselves, but there hasn't been any specific talk between the agency and the members about the contract yet," the statement read.
KARA is currently preparing for their second Japanese tour entitled "KARASIA" 2013. The tour will consist of two-day stints in the Japanese cities of Yokohama, Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Fukuoka, and Kobe.
The publication Popdust recently called KARA "the most successful Korean girl group to ever hit Japan."
