SM Entertainment has addressed a recent issue between them and a brand previously associated with NCT DREAM.
On October 30, SM Entertainment released a statement warning fans of recent events announced by a brand, which had occurred without the agency’s consent or prior discussion.
Hello. This is SM Entertainment.
We would like to address the recent issue with the brand ‘TEDDY ISLAND,’ for which NCT DREAM previously served as advertising models.
In 2022, our company entered into an advertising model contract with TEDDY ISLAND and conducted the advertising filming with NCT DREAM.
However, TEDDY ISLAND did not fulfill the agreed-upon model appearance fees despite our repeated requests for payment. Additionally, they continued to use the artists’ portraits in their commercial activities without making any payment. In May 2023, TEDDY ISLAND unilaterally announced a fan sign event without reaching a final agreement with us, rendering it impossible for us to proceed with the event.
Following this, in June 2023, to protect our artists and prevent further confusion among fans, we requested TEDDY ISLAND to immediately cease the use of our artists’ images and advertising materials and we officially notified them of the termination of the advertising model contract.
Despite this, TEDDY ISLAND has continued to use the artists’ images on their website and in their advertising materials without permission even to date. Furthermore, TEDDY ISLAND only remitted a portion of the model appearance fees after the contract’s termination. After this, they unjustly claimed that our company was the one who breached the contract and most recently, TEDDY ISLAND even announced a pre-order event set to feature photo cards and merchandise featuring our artists’ names and images without prior discussion with us. In order to prevent further harm to our artists and fans, we had to promptly issue a counter statement regarding TEDDY ISLAND’s pre-order event announcement on October 18, 2023.
In an effort to resolve this matter as amicably as possible, we initially presented multiple proposals to TEDDY ISLAND, which included the resumption of the canceled fan sign event for the fans who had been eagerly waiting for a fan sign with NCT DREAM. However, despite our efforts, TEDDY ISLAND has consistently shifted the responsibility for the contract termination onto our company and continued to make unreasonable demands even until recently. Regrettably, we have now reached a point where further negotiations are no longer feasible.
We want to clarify that the events related to NCT DREAM currently being announced and promoted on TEDDY ISLAND’s website and other platforms have no affiliation with our company, and we advise fans to exercise caution in light of this information to prevent any further harm.
Thank you.