ADOR Urges NewJeans MV Director to Honor Agreement and Alleviate Stress

ADOR, the management agency of NewJeans, has reiterated its stance on the contract violations by Shin Woo-seok, the director of Dolphin Kidnappers. The agency urged the parties involved, saying, “Do not further unsettle the artists and fandom.”

On September 9, ADOR issued an official statement through social media, declaring, “The music video production service contract between ADOR and Dolphin Kidnappers clearly stipulates that all rights to the music video and any derivative works are owned by ADOR. Uploading a video featuring NewJeans’ intellectual property on Dolphin Kidnappers’ channel without ADOR’s consent constitutes a clear breach of contract.”

ADOR further elaborated, “We requested Dolphin Kidnappers to either provide evidence (such as emails or KakaoTalk messages) confirming an agreement and approval for the usage of copyright and the artist’s likeness, or to remove the ‘Director’s Cut.’ Protecting the artist’s work is the agency’s fundamental obligation.”

Additionally, ADOR presented an internal Slack message where they had asked Dolphin Kidnappers to “delete or remove the brand-specific elements from the ‘ETA Music Video Director’s Cut’ as per the advertiser’s request.” ADOR emphasized, “We never instructed Dolphin Kidnappers to remove the video from the Ban Hee-soo channel. Our intention was solely to conduct a fact-check on the ‘ETA Music Video Director’s Cut’ to safeguard the artist’s copyright, and we do not wish for the Ban Hee-soo channel to be taken down.”

ADOR expressed, “Deleting all content in response to the claim of contract violation stems from the creator’s personal distress, and we hope this does not further amplify the anxiety of the artists and their fanbase while leveraging the YouTube channel.”

Prior to this, Shin Woo-seok, CEO of Dolphin Kidnappers, contended that he had to remove NewJeans’ music videos and related content from his channel due to ADOR’s demands. However, ADOR countered these claims, asserting that they only requested the suspension of the unauthorized ‘ETA Director’s Cut’ video.

Full statement from ADOR:

“Hello, this is ADOR.

The music video production service contract between ADOR and Dolphin Kidnappers clearly maintains that the rights to both the music video and any derivative works belong to ADOR. Consequently, uploading a video featuring NewJeans’ intellectual property on Dolphin Kidnappers’ channel without ADOR’s approval is a breach of contract.

Therefore, we requested Dolphin Kidnappers to either provide proof (such as emails or KakaoTalk messages) of an agreement for using copyright and the artist’s likeness or remove the ‘Director’s Cut.’ Protecting the artist’s work is the agency’s rightful duty. If Dolphin Kidnappers has a legitimate agreement with ADOR, they should present it. Since we have yet to receive any proof, ADOR must uphold the rules to protect the artist’s work.

It is also verified that ADOR received a request from the advertiser to “delete or remove the brand-specific elements from the ‘ETA Music Video Director’s Cut.’”

We did not request Dolphin Kidnappers to erase any content from the Ban Hee-soo channel. Ban Hee-soo’s channel was established following ADOR’s ‘Online Channel Creation Guidelines.’ ADOR merely aimed to validate facts regarding the ‘ETA Music Video Director’s Cut’ to protect the artist’s copyright and did not address the Ban Hee-soo channel specifically. ADOR has no interest in seeing the Ban Hee-soo channel removed. Dolphin Kidnappers is welcome to maintain the channel as long as they comply with the contractual obligations about the artist’s work.

The excessive response of deleting all content due to the claim of contract violation, rooted in the creator’s distress, seems counterproductive for both NewJeans and their fanbase. We hope this situation does not further aggravate the anxiety of the artists and fandom by using the YouTube channel as leverage.

We sincerely apologize to the NewJeans members and their dedicated fans for causing concern regarding this unnecessary controversy. ADOR is committed to resolving this issue quickly and based on accurate information.

Thank you.”

Source: Daum