JTBC Apologizes For Not Distributing "Sugar Man" Music Royalties For Hit MeloMance Song

JTBC has issued a statement of apology and assured proper compensation for MeloMance for their work on “Sugar Man 2.”

During a press conference held on September 19, the Record Label Industry Association Of Korea revealed that “Sugar Man 2” had not distributed royalties worth 1 billion won (approximately $840,200) to indie duo MeloMance for “You,” a song they wrote for the show last year that became No. 1 on music charts. A representative of MeloMance claimed that their requests for payment distribution were only met with lukewarm response and that JTBC had been hiding an unfair contract.

Later that day, JTBC responded to the allegations in official press release. Read the statement below:

This is JTBC’s statement regarding the press conference held to create a fair music industry.

We have confirmed that royalties for a song from last year’s “Sugar Man 2” were not smoothly distributed. We would like to apologize to the musicians and the viewers.

The musicians who produced the song and their agency were harmed because of the executive director’s inability to properly respond to them. During that time, the director did not come to an agreement through discussions with the agency to resolve these issues. We acknowledge that JTBC’s efforts were lacking.

Through this case, we will conduct a full investigation of the royalty distributions for all of JTBC’s music programs. If needed, an outside specialist will take part. Furthermore, a structured system will be established. We will properly compensate the affected musicians and their agency. To do so, we will carry out sufficient discussion with the musicians.

JTBC will do our best to be a broadcast company that supports the virtuous cycle of the music industry. In the future, we will bring even higher quality music programs to viewers.

“Sugar Man” is a program that seeks out artists who disappeared from the public eye after successful careers and revives their hits with covers by current producers and singers. Earlier this month, a third season was confirmed to be in the works.

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