Jaejoong revealed the total cost of launching an idol group recently.

Jaejoong spoke about his upcoming ventures in the new episode of the Netflix variety show 'Try? Choo-ry!' The former TVXQ member, who had produced the girl group SAY MY NAME, revealed he is preparing to launch a boy group.

On this day, Choo Sung Hoon asked whether it's possible to make money despite the difficulty of an idol achieving success. Jaejoong explained, "The best scenario is for the group to start making a profit about three years after debut... It's expensive, it costs around 20 Billion KRW (13.7 million USD) a year to manage two teams."

Jaejoong based his response on the K-pop industry system, where companies must make a significant pre-debut investment. This process includes discovering members, training them for years, and producing content, all before generating any revenue.

Expenses begin at the casting stage, where agencies visit K-pop academies worldwide or hold auditions abroad, incurring costs for staff travel, lodging, and venue rentals. Some companies even invest tens of billions of KRW (millions USD) upfront by creating and producing their audition TV programs.

Once trainees begin their training, costs skyrocket. Training includes not only basic lessons in vocals, dance, and rap, but also camera techniques, foreign language classes, and even cosmetic training. Once a debut is confirmed, agencies also provide dormitories to minimize travel logistics.

In the early stages of debut, expenses rise even more steeply. Due to the fierce competition among rookies, pre-release singles and multiple music videos have become standard strategies, increasing content production costs.

Additionally, social media marketing costs have surged into the tens of millions of KRW. A music industry insider noted, "These days, social media marketing plays a crucial role in a rookie group's success. Spending even 100 million KRW (~75,000 USD) barely makes a dent. The disparity in marketing budgets between large and small agencies is so significant that people now talk about the ‘marketing wealth gap’ in the industry."

At a recent press conference held by South Korean music organizations, an official stated, "The idol lifecycle has shortened to just two to three years. The effort required to debut and successfully promote a group within such a short time is enormous. Even small and mid-sized agencies spend anywhere between 1 billion to 10 billion KRW (~750,000 USD to ~7.5 million USD) on a single group."

As a result, some industry players are gaining attention for successfully producing groups with significantly lower budgets. One notable example is QWER, a band formed by gathering existing creators, TikTokers, and former idols rather than traditional trainees.

Unlike conventional idol groups, whose members go through years of training before debuting, QWER documented their entire journey from formation to debut through the YouTube series 'My Favorite Idol,' allowing audiences to witness their growth in real-time. This strategy strengthened fan engagement by making their entire schedule part of their narrative of growth.

YouTuber and producer Kim Gye Ran, who spearheaded QWER’s debut, revealed in an interview that their production cost was one-tenth that of a typical idol group, spending under 1 billion KRW (~750,000 USD) in total. He explained, "We debuted very quickly. Normally, idols take three to five years to debut, but we launched QWER just six months after starting PR."

Because QWER is a band, additional costs were incurred for live performances, instrument setup, and sound engineering. However, instead of appearing on traditional music broadcasts, they focused on festivals and live events, where they could both improve their skills and prove their live performance abilities, a more cost-efficient approach. Remarkably, the members reportedly began receiving earnings just 10 months after their debut.

As a rare success story, QWER has drawn widespread industry attention. Their band concept, unique origin story, alternative audience targeting, and bold planning strategically filled a gap in the market. However, many observers note that QWER’s approach differs from the conventional K-pop training system, where a group’s initial polish directly reflects the company's capabilities.

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