THE BOYZ may soon be promoting under a new name after the group's contract negotiations fell through with their former company, IST Entertainment.
The group's new agency, One Hundred, announced in a statement the failed negotiations between the two agencies after their contract expired on December 5, potentially preventing the band from using the alias they've gone by for the last seven years.
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"This is ONE HUNDRED, the new agency for THE BOYZ members.
During the negotiation process with IST Entertainment over the trademark rights for THE BOYZ—a name the members have upheld for seven years—ONE HUNDRED found IST Entertainment's conditions to be unreasonable and could not accept them.
ONE HUNDRED has done its utmost to negotiate with IST Entertainment regarding the trademark rights. The members themselves also worked tirelessly until the very end, even until today, to retain the trademark rights for the sake of their fans. However, it is deeply regrettable that a positive outcome could not be reached with IST Entertainment.
Our priority has always been THE BOYZ and their fans, and we had hoped for an amicable and seamless resolution to the agency transition.
Until the contract expiration date on December 5, ONE HUNDRED remains open to further discussions and will continue to negotiate earnestly regarding the trademark rights. However, should the negotiations ultimately fail, we are fully prepared to support the members as they promote under a new and better brand name.
Lastly, ONE HUNDRED promises to always act in the best interest of the artists and their fans," the statement read.
IST Entertainment, however, was quick to respond to the agency's accusations with a statement of their own, claiming that they offered the group the right to use the name "free of charge" despite One Hundred's claims that their conditions were "unreasonable" in their demand for billions of won in trademark rights, as per Ten Asia.
"Hello.
This is IST Entertainment.
We find the recent clear misinformation that is spreading regarding [THE BOYZ's] trademark regrettable, and we would like to correct it.
Contrary to what has been reported, we have decided to provide all 11 members of THE BOYZ with the right to use their trademark free of charge, and we have already conveyed this intention to the members.
We also intended to make it possible to use the trademark free of charge in any activity (including unit and group activities) to which the 11 members agreed.
Furthermore, regarding one member who still has six months remaining in his exclusive contract, we decided to allow him to end his exclusive contract early in spite of the remaining contract period in order to support his activities under his new agency, and we have already conveyed this intention to the member in question.
Our decision to provide the right to use the trademark free of charge to the members of the group themselves, and not their new agency, was made based on our desire for an even deeper and smoother meeting between the members and the 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 lots of love from the public, and their ability to meet their fans without any barriers, we thought it was more correct to give the members themselves the right to use their trademark free of charge.
The statements that "we requested an excessive price for the trademark" and "we made demands to the new agency that went beyond the norm" are completely untrue. Rather, we were waiting for various proposals with an open mind regarding the trademark, and we merely had a few basic and theoretical discussions for the sake of a smooth handover.
Although our relationship with THE BOYZ is sadly ending, we promise to support THE BOYZ so that they do not experience any inconvenience in their future activities, and we will sincerely cheer them on in their future endeavors as well."
While IST Entertainment claims they've offered free use of the name, the label agency has not clarified whether or not they've offered a free transfer of the band's alias. With the issue of the name change still up in the air, One Hundred has revealed that they've already taken steps to register alternative names for the group, including The Boys, The New Boyz, and TNBZ, in anticipation of the failed negotiations with IST Entertainment.
