YG’s groundbreaking label, HIGHGRND seems to be in trouble.
In 2015, YG Entertainment opened HIGHGRND an ambition subsidiary music label headed by Epik High’s Tablo. YG established the label with the aim to provide an opportunity for talented and visionary underground artists, giving them a higher platform from which they could share their music — hence the name HIGHGRND (high ground).
Indeed, the label houses some great artists including offonoff, Hyukoh, Punchnello, The Black Shirts, Idiotape and more. Their individual sounds are creative and ear-catching in a manner that deviates and redefines most people’s understanding of Korean music. As Alexander Lendrum wrote in the online publisher Unrated, HIGHGRND is: “responsible for housing some of the country’s most contemporary, forward-thinking and simply f****** awesome sounding music acts today…redefining the genres synonymous with the country they came from.”
Lable Loses Ground
However, according to industry insiders, the label is on its last legs. In July of 2017, Tablo stepped down as the CEO of the company. Since then, the position has remained vacant. More, the company has little staff members left. Apparently, YG has dispatched workers to the agency to keep it running. Reportedly, the only permanent staff at HIGHGRND are the artists and their managers.
Furthermore, the company branch in Hongdae has also been shut down, adding speculation that the agency will soon close its doors. Additionally, no new projects have been carried out. No collaborations with other brands or label have happened for months, a fact that stands out since HIGHGRND artists have actively done so since its launch.
Given these facets and the lack of action from YG to revive the company, it shouldn’t be a surprise that many industry insiders believe that the company is about to be shut down or liquidated.
When Tablo resigned as chairman last year, internal cracks in the company became apparent. At that time, YG stated that “HIGHGRND and its artist will remain. YG’s professional stall will actively provide more support.” However, since then the sub-labels operating power has diminished.
According to YG Entertainment’s 2017 business report released on April 2, shows that it holds a 100 percent stake in HIGHGRND, which is unlisted. Further, the current assets of HIGHGRND are reportedly recorded at 1.73 billion won, approximately 1.6 million USD. More, its net loss from last year was recorded as a 336 million won, which is about 316,000 USD.
In the meantime, the future actions of the artists under HIGHGRND will be watched by industry insiders.
Translated by O.C
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