SARAH HURTES, JIN YU YOUNG2026年11月6日 Jung Yeon-Je/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesTwo years ago, the five members of the record-shattering girl group NewJeans, some still in their teens, did what no K-pop stars of their stature had done in a generation: They quit their record label.两年前，屡创纪录的韩国女子组合NewJeans的五名成员做出了一件近一代人以来从未有同等知名度的韩流明星做过的事：与公司解约。当时，部分成员还只有十几岁。“Staying at the company will only prolong our psychological pain,” one of the members, Hanni Pham, told reporters, about a year after their album “Get Up” debuted at No. 1 on the U.S. charts.“留在公司只会延长我们的精神痛苦，”成员之一范玉欣(Hanni Pham)对记者说。那是她们的专辑《Get Up》登顶美国排行榜约一年后。What followed was one of the most explosive controversies in K-pop history, a yearslong legal and power struggle over artistic freedom in an industry where companies tightly control aspiring stars starting from early adolescence. Executives warned that if NewJeans could walk away, the multibillion-dollar K-pop industry might collapse.随后发生的是K-pop历史上最具爆炸性的争议之一：一场围绕艺术自由的、长达数年的法律与权力斗争。在这个行业里，娱乐公司从艺人十几岁起就对其严密控制。高管们警告说，如果NewJeans可以一走了之，价值数十亿美元的K-pop产业可能崩溃。Underpinning this fight are the secret contracts that the singers signed while ages 14 to 17, when they were mostly unknowns, dreaming of stardom. The contracts, which were obtained by The New York Times, offer a rare inside look at the strict control that K-pop labels place on even the biggest acts. (The contracts contain redactions of names and home addresses. The Times made further redactions to protect personal information.)这场争端的核心是五名成员在14岁至17岁时签署的秘密合同。当时，她们大多默默无闻，怀揣着明星梦。《纽约时报》获得了这些合同，得以罕见地窥见韩国的娱乐公司如何严密控制旗下艺人，即便是最红的明星也不例外。（合同中的姓名和家庭住址等信息已被隐去。《纽约时报》为保护个人隐私，又进一步遮盖了部分信息。） The Korean government has a K-pop contract template that guarantees the right to education and to physical and mental health. The NewJeans contracts stripped away that language. The contracts banned such behavior as having an “insincere attitude,” entering “inappropriate romantic relationships” or criticizing the record label. The agreements included steep exit clauses and allowed the label to sell NewJeans music after the end of the deal while slashing payments to the band. And it gave the label the right to use artificial intelligence-generated NewJeans voices indefinitely.韩国政府有一套K-pop合同模板，保障受教育权以及身心健康权。NewJeans的合同删去了这些表述。合同禁止诸如“态度不真诚”、进入“不适当的恋爱关系”或批评厂牌等行为。协议包含高额退出条款，允许厂牌在合同结束后继续销售NewJeans的音乐，同时削减支付给组合的款项。它还赋予厂牌无限期使用人工智能生成的NewJeans声音的权利。K-pop has long been dogged by allegations of exploitation. Labels recruit children, put them through years of intensive training, then often bill them for those costs. Performers have described near-starvation diets and lingering debt, even while selling out stadiums. Several stars, known as idols, have died by suicide.长期以来，K-pop一直受到剥削艺人的指控。厂牌招募儿童，让他们接受多年高强度训练，之后往往还要求他们偿还培训费用。一些艺人表示，即使能够在座无虚席的体育场演出，他们仍被迫节食到近乎挨饿的程度，并背负长期债务。已有多名韩流“爱豆”自杀。The NewJeans contracts show that despite years of promised overhauls and government intervention, little has changed, even for one of the most successful groups of its time.NewJeans的合同表明，尽管多年来业界不断承诺改革，政府也出手干预，但实际情况并没有多少改变，即使对于当今最成功的组合之一也是如此。2024年，韩国流行音乐组合NewJeans召开记者会，宣布与公司解约。“This contract is unusually aggressive,” said Jong-eon Roh, a Seoul-based entertainment lawyer who was one of five experts who reviewed the NewJeans deal for the Times. “It restricts the artists’ freedom to a degree rarely seen, even in recent major-label contracts.”“这份合同苛刻得异乎寻常，”首尔的娱乐行业律师卢宗彦（音）说。他是为《纽约时报》审阅NewJeans合同的五名专家之一。“它对艺人自由的限制程度即使在近年来大厂牌的合同中也极为罕见。” At the heart of the NewJeans controversy is the band’s fight with Ador, a label under the entertainment conglomerate Hybe, the K-pop giant behind bands including BTS and Katseye.NewJeans争议的核心是该组合与厂牌Ador的斗争。Ador是娱乐集团Hybe旗下的厂牌，Hybe是K-pop巨头，旗下拥有BTS和Katseye等组合。Hybe made four spokespeople available for a lengthy interview and sent a written statement, both on the condition that information be attributed to company representatives.Hybe安排四名发言人接受了一次长时间采访，并提供了一份书面声明，但要求采访和声明中的信息均以公司代表的名义发布。Hybe said its labels’ contracts were legal and negotiated in good faith, with terms to protect the artist and the company’s financial investment. The Korean government’s template is a nonbinding guideline, and Hybe said that adjustments were accepted by the performers’ parents.Hybe表示，旗下厂牌的合同合法，谈判也秉持诚信原则，条款旨在保护艺人及公司的财务投资。韩国政府的合同范本不具有约束力，Hybe表示，合同中的修改得到了成员家长的认可。Contract disputes in the music industry are not new. Lance Bass said recently that he lived on $35 a day during ’NSync’s heyday. Taylor Swift famously lost control of her master recordings.音乐行业的合同纠纷并不新鲜。男子组合’NSync成员兰斯·巴斯最近表示，在组合最红的时候，他每天只有35美元生活费。泰勒·斯威夫特也曾因失去对音乐母带的控制权而引起广泛关注。 But Dina LaPolt, an entertainment lawyer whose clients have included Britney Spears and Cardi B, said that such contracts were largely relics in the United States. Not so for K-pop. Entertainment companies act as labels, managers and agents, and wield control over all aspects of a performer’s life.但曾代理布兰妮·斯皮尔斯和Cardi B等艺人的娱乐行业律师律师迪娜·拉波尔特表示，这类合同在美国基本已成为历史遗物，在K-pop业界则不然。韩国的娱乐公司同时扮演唱片公司、经纪人和代理人的角色，控制艺人生活的方方面面。“In K-pop, you either do what they say, dress as they say, do your hair as they say, or you’re going to get replaced,” LaPolt said.“在K-pop，你要么按他们说的做，按他们说的穿，按他们说的做头发，要么就会被换掉，”拉波尔特说。Child Protection Language Was Stripped Away保护未成年人的条款遭删除By the time they signed their NewJeans contracts, the performers — Pham, Minji Kim, Hyein Lee, Haerin Kang and Danielle Marsh — had spent years training. They started in dorms, one as young as 12, with no guarantee that they would make it into a pop group.在签署合同时，NewJeans的五名成员范玉昕、金玟池(Minji Kim)、李惠仁(Hyein Lee)、姜谐潾(Haerin Kang)和牟智慧(Danielle Marsh)已经接受了多年训练。她们从练习生宿舍开始自己的演艺之路，最小的一个入住时只有12岁，而且没有人能保证她们最终能够出道。 Rehearsing until 2 a.m. was not uncommon, according to interviews with people close to the group who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the fear of retribution from the label.据多名与该组合关系密切的人士透露，排练到凌晨两点是司空见惯的事情。由于担心遭到公司报复，他们要求匿名。Video cameras monitored training areas, and three people close to the group said that taking breaks was discouraged. Four of the five members dropped out of school during training.训练区域安装了监控摄像头。三名与该组合关系密切的人士表示，训练期间，不鼓励她们休息。五名成员中有四人在训练期间辍学。Hybe representatives said that the company fully complies with child-protection laws and works hard to ensure that performers work and train in safe environments. The company said it does not pressure artists to drop out of school or penalize them for resting.Hybe的代表表示，公司完全遵守儿童保护法律，并努力确保艺人在安全的环境中工作和训练。公司表示，从不施压要求艺人辍学，也不会因为艺人休息而惩罚他们。Hybe是K-pop巨头，旗下有BTS和Katseye等组合。To protect artists, the South Korean government’s template guarantees rights to physical and mental health, education and sleep. It bars labels from pressuring children to work excessive hours.为保护艺人，韩国政府的模板保障身心健康、教育和睡眠权。它禁止唱片公司强迫未成年人超时工作。The NewJeans contracts removed that language. Doing so makes it harder for singers to challenge their working conditions, experts said.但NewJeans的合同删除了这些内容。专家表示，这使组合成员更难就工作条件提出异议。Emails obtained by the Times show that contract terms were essentially nonnegotiable. In January 2022, the mother of one member requested several changes before signing.《纽约时报》获得的电子邮件显示，合同条款基本上没有协商余地。2022年1月，一名成员的母亲在签约前提出了几处修改要求。“If you do not agree to the current contract draft, including the points above, it may be best to reconsider the contract itself,” Ador’s vice president responded.Ador副总裁回复说：“如果您无法接受目前的合同草案，包括上述几点，那么最好重新考虑是否签署这份合同。” The parents all signed.最终，所有家长都签了字。Financial Terms and Cosmetic Surgery财务条款与整容手术Performers everywhere change their looks, but K-pop labels often arrange plastic surgery for their artists. That causes little comment in South Korea, which has one of the highest cosmetic surgery rates in the world.世界各地的艺人都会调整自己的外在形象，但K-pop的娱乐公司经常为旗下艺人安排整容手术。这在韩国很少引起争议，因为韩国是全球整容手术比例最高的国家之一。K-pop labels urge singers, sometimes in their early teens, to get nose jobs or eyelid surgery, according to interviews with former idols. Labels often pay for the procedures and bill the performers later.据对前偶像的采访，K-pop厂牌敦促歌手做鼻整形或眼睑手术，哪怕有时对方只有十几岁。厂牌通常先垫付手术费用，之后再向艺人收费。The NewJeans contract required members to repay a significant share of what the label spent on plastic surgery and other beauty treatments while they were trainees.NewJeans的合同规定，成员必须偿还公司在她们担任练习生期间为整容手术及其他美容项目支付的相当一部分费用Before NewJeans debuted as a band, photographers took pictures from multiple angles to study how light would hit the singers onstage. The label then suggested cosmetic procedures to several of them, according to two people close to the group.NewJeans正式出道前，摄影师从多个角度为成员拍照，以便研究舞台灯光照在她们身上的效果。据两名与组合关系密切的人士透露，随后公司向其中几名成员建议接受美容整形。Hybe’s representatives said in a written statement that it does not require plastic surgery. “We do not even recommend cosmetic surgery or procedures against an individual’s wishes.” The two people close to the group said that in an industry and country where cosmetic surgery was commonplace, the suggestions were not taken as coercive.Hybe代表在书面声明中表示，公司不要求艺人整容。“我们甚至不会违背个人意愿推荐整容手术或美容项目。”上述两名知情人士也表示，在整容十分普遍的韩国及其娱乐行业，这些建议并不被视为强迫。The Times is not revealing the medical histories of the NewJeans members.《纽约时报》不会披露NewJeans成员的医疗史。2025年3月，NewJeans在香港登台演出。Cosmetic surgery often contributes to what is known in K-pop as trainee debt. Many singers start their careers owing their labels for training and other expenses, then work off the debt by performing.整容手术往往造成K-pop所谓的“练习生债务”。许多歌手职业生涯开始时，欠下训练和其他费用，然后通过演艺收入还债。In this regard, NewJeans was an exception. Hybe absorbed the group’s early costs, meaning that members started earning right away, without debt. The company’s representatives said that trainee expenses were handled at the discretion of its labels — in this case, Ador. (Hybe is in a legal fight with Ador’s former CEO.)在这方面，NewJeans是个例外。Hybe承担了组合早期的费用，因此成员从出道起便能获得收入，没有债务。公司代表表示，练习生费用如何处理由旗下各厂牌自行决定，NewJeans的情况由Ador决定。（Hybe目前正与Ador前首席执行官打官司。） From a financial standpoint, the NewJeans contract was fairly standard in the K-pop industry, experts said. After the label deducted expenses, the group received about half the profits from concerts, advertisements and promotional appearances, plus a small share of record sales and streaming.专家表示，从财务角度看，NewJeans的合同在K-pop行业相当常见。扣除开支后，组合可以获得演唱会、广告和宣传活动约一半的利润，外加唱片销售和流媒体播放收入中的一小部分分成。LaPolt said that such terms would be “horrific” in the United States, where artists hire their own managers and agents and keep most of their touring revenue.拉波尔特说，这样的条款在美国会被认为“极其恶劣”，因为美国艺人可以自行聘请经纪人和代理，并保留大部分巡演收入。No ‘Insincere Attitude’ Allowed不允许“态度不真诚”In October 2024, after NewJeans became the fastest K-pop act to hit 1 billion Spotify streams, Pham testified before the South Korean parliament that she believed that Ador hated her and her fellow singers. She accused the label’s employees of insulting the group on social media, playing down their success in the media and at times giving them the silent treatment.2024年10月，在NewJeans成为Spotify平台上最快达到10亿次播放量的K-pop艺人后，范玉欣在韩国国会作证时表示，她认为Ador憎恨她和其他成员。她指责公司员工在社交媒体上侮辱这个组合，在媒体报道中淡化她们的成就，有时甚至对她们不理不睬。 2024年，NewJeans成员范玉欣(Hanni Pham)在韩国国会作证。Her contract made no allowance for saying such things publicly. Singers were prohibited from saying “true or false facts” that could damage the company’s reputation. The contract also prohibited underage drinking and drug use, plus vague behavior and actions such as “insincere attitude,” “neglect of self-management” and “inappropriate romantic relationships.”但她的合同并不允许她公开发表这样的言论。合同禁止歌手传播可能损害公司声誉的“真实或虚假事实”，还禁止未成年人饮酒、吸毒，以及一些定义模糊的行为，例如“态度不真诚”“疏于自我管理”和“不适当的恋爱关系”。Experts said those terms would give labels wide latitude to claim that artists had violated their contract.专家表示，这些条款给了唱片公司很大的解释空间，可以据此指控艺人违约。Weeks after Pham’s testimony, NewJeans members accused Ador of leaking training videos to the media and urged the company to treat them better.范玉欣作证几周后，NewJeans成员指责Ador向媒体泄露训练视频，并敦促公司改善对她们的待遇。When discussions fizzled, NewJeans members called a news conference and said they were quitting the label. The rebellion sent shock waves through the industry. Ador sued, and a monthslong legal battle followed. In March 2025, almost a year after the group’s announcement, judges sided with the company, saying that NewJeans could not strike out on its own.双方协商无果后，NewJeans成员召开记者会，宣布退出该公司。这场反抗震动了整个行业。Ador随后提起诉讼，双方展开了长达数月的法律争斗。2025年3月，该组合宣布退出近一年后，法官作出有利于公司的裁决，认定NewJeans不能自行开展演艺活动。Under their contract terms, the attempted insurrection had exposed the stars to potential lawsuits and millions of dollars in damages.根据合同条款，这次试图反抗公司的举动使成员面临潜在诉讼和数百万美元赔偿的风险。Family members moved to smooth things over and asked the company not to retaliate, according to a meeting transcript filed in a Korean court.根据提交韩国法院的一份会议记录，成员家属曾试图缓和矛盾，要求公司不要报复。The company offered no such assurances, saying that the hiatus had already cost it a lot of money.公司没有给出这样的保证，称停摆已经让其损失了很多钱。Penalties for Leaving, Even if You’re Pushed Out即使被公司解约，也要支付赔偿金Consequences came quickly.后果很快显现。In December 2025, the label terminated its contract with one NewJeans member, Marsh, who was 20 at the time, and sued her. The company said that she had broken her contract by refusing work and by doing unauthorized solo projects and photo shoots, as well as by signing a deal with a third party.2025年12月，公司终止了与NewJeans成员牟智慧的合同，并对当时20岁的她提起诉讼。公司称，她拒绝工作、未经授权独自开展项目和拍摄照片，还与第三方签订协议，违反了合同。Marsh’s lawyer said the label was punishing her for the attempted revolt.牟智慧的律师表示，公司是在惩罚她参与此前的反抗行动。2025年，牟智慧(Danielle Marsh)在香港登台表演。The lawsuit revealed a K-pop peculiarity. Contracts often allow labels to demand exit fees, even when the company, not the singer, ends the relationship.这起诉讼揭示了K-pop行业的一项特殊做法：合同通常允许公司要求支付解约金，即使是由公司而非歌手单方面终止合作关系也是如此。In Marsh’s case, the company sued her for roughly $22 million, most of it in exit fees, claiming that her behavior had effectively severed the contract.在牟智慧的案件中，公司向她索赔约2200万美元，其中大部分是解约赔偿金。公司声称，她的行为实际上已导致合同关系破裂。The government template suggests a payout formula based on average monthly earnings, projected over the months left in the deal. The NewJeans contracts used a similar calculation but with a twist. Instead of averaging all months, the contracts only considered months when the band made money — a change that lawyers who reviewed the terms said could inflate the penalty.韩国政府的合同范本建议，根据艺人的平均月收入和合同剩余月数计算赔偿金额。NewJeans的合同采用了类似公式，但有所修改：计算平均收入时，不是把所有月份都计入，而是只计算组合有收入的月份。审阅合同的律师表示，这种修改可能抬高赔偿金额。Hybe representatives said that its exit penalties are in line with industry standards. They said that, in practice, the formula does not increase penalties because its performers make money every month.Hybe的代表表示，公司的解约赔偿条款符合行业标准。他们还称，实际操作中，这种计算方法不会增加赔偿金额，因为旗下艺人每个月都有收入。Marsh’s lawyer, Jung Jong-chae, complained to the South Korean Fair Trade Commission, accusing Hybe and Ador of trying to end her career.牟智慧的律师郑钟采（音）向韩国公平交易委员会提出投诉，指控Hybe和Ador试图终结她的演艺事业。Jung argued that the minor outside work was a pretext. The goal, he said, was to send a warning across the industry.郑钟采认为，牟智慧在公司以外开展的少量工作不过是借口，他表示，公司的真正目的是向整个行业发出警告。“If you try to escape Hybe’s control,” he said, “this is the price you will pay.”“如果你试图摆脱Hybe的控制，这就是你要付出的代价，”他说。The Label Owns Their Voices and Faces公司拥有艺人的声音和肖像Under the government template, a label’s rights to a performer’s name, image and voice end with the contract. Not so with NewJeans.根据韩国政府的合同范本，公司使用艺人姓名、肖像和声音的权利应随合同终止而结束。但NewJeans的合同并非如此。The singers are under contract until 2029. After that, the contract allows the label to keep using and licensing their identities. NewJeans members must still be paid, but they will not control the use of their faces and voices. That includes any NewJeans voice clones or chatbots created by artificial intelligence.成员的合同将持续到2029年。此后，合同仍允许公司继续使用她们的身份形象，并将相关使用权授权给第三方。NewJeans成员仍有权获得报酬，但将无法控制自己的肖像和声音如何被使用，包括人工智能生成的NewJeans声音克隆和聊天机器人。2025年3月，NewJeans在香港表演。How broadly those contract provisions would hold up in court is unclear, legal experts said.法律专家表示，这些合同条款究竟能在多大程度上得到法院支持，目前尚不清楚。Hybe can also sell and repackage NewJeans music after the contract ends, while slashing the amount of money due to the singers. Legal experts called that clause unusual.Hybe还可以在合同结束后继续出售和重新包装NewJeans的音乐作品，同时大幅削减应支付给成员的报酬。法律专家称，这一条款并不寻常。The future for NewJeans remains uncertain. The label has teased the possibility of a new album, but the group has not performed in over a year.NewJeans的未来仍充满不确定性。公司曾暗示可能推出新专辑，但组合已经一年多没有登台演出。Lee Jiyoun对本文有报道贡献。翻译：杜然点击查看本文英文版。