On March 5, it was reported that Taemin's exclusive contract with SM Entertainment would expire by the end of this month.
Many Korean netizens were surprised by the news since Taemin had already renewed his contract with SM multiple times with SM since his debut with SHINee back in 2008. Furthermore, with the latest rumors that Taemin is signing with Big Planet Made, fans and Korean netizens gathered in an online community to express their concerns.
In particular, many netizens are concerned due to the previous controversy embroiled with Big Planet Made. Big Planet Made was previously associated with MC Mong, who served as an executive within the company and also previously made headlines for allegedly attempting to poach EXO-CBX.
Korean netizens commented, "Isn't SM still better?" "MC Mong..." "I think SM Entertainment is still good for releasing solo tracks," "I'm not worried since Taemin plans the concept for his albums himself but why Big Planet Made?" "I can't believe he's going to Big Planet Made after leaving SM... SM is still better," "I think SM is much better," "I think Taemin is perfect for SM," "He should've just established his own label," "Big Planet Made appears so frequently in the news," "There should be more places Taemin can go to," "Why are you signing with them...of all places?" and "I liked all of Taemin's solo album concepts. This is disappointing."
He's been in the industry for such a long time, I'm sure he was able to make a very well informed decision. I just hope everything works out and he's able to release content at the same level, as well as perform all of his old singles. Doesn't sm own the rights to them?