Amid Mnet's Producing Director Ahn Joon-young admitting to the manipulation of the votes in 'Produce 48' and 'Produce X101', it was found that Group X1 has not yet signed a contract with CJ ENM.
X1 rose to stardom through Mnet's 'Produce X101' which was closed in July. X1 made its debut album 'QUANTUM LEAP' on August 27 and made its first step in the music industry.
Suspicions of ranking manipulation were raised shortly after the broadcast, but at that time Mnet denied it and CJ ENM made the debut of X1.
The X1 had to be active for five years, the longest in the 'Produce' series, but it didn't write a contract until it released its debut album. The companies of individual members constantly communicated with CJ ENM, and the contracts were made several times, and the contents of the contracts were exchanged. However, the final contract was not signed yet. Currently, the group continues its activities without a contract with CJ ENM.
A media source wrote, "While the investigations on the suspicions of manipulation were taking place, the advertisement deal X1 was in talks for was cancelled, and it wasn't easy for them to appear on other broadcasting channels. That's why the agencies of some of the X1 members stated that they wanted to sign their contracts [with CJ ENM] after seeing how the results of the investigations turn out. In IZ*ONE's case as well, all of the members signed their contracts six months after their debut, so CJ ENM didn't mind having X1 start promoting without signing a contract."
There is no active contract, and PD Ahn Joon-young admitted to manipulating 'Produce X101'. Already, some agencies expect that it will not be easy to carry on team activities with X1. It will be hard for the group to continue their activity with a damaged reputation as a fabricated singer team. But CJ ENM will not be given up X1 easily. If the team's activities fail, such as the dismantling of the X1, with five years' worth of sales already in progress, the financial damages and losses that CJ ENM will receive will be substantial.
A source related to the music industry said, ""The members and their agencies are looking ahead at their careers five years in the future, instead of only their five years as X1. They're thinking deeply about whether or not it's right to continue promoting with X1. The members are already receiving lots of malicious comments, and it's hurting them. It's a terrible situation. They're thinking hard about what the best decision will be for X1 and their fans. It's a relief that they haven't signed a contract with CJ ENM yet. But from CJ ENM's point of view, if they think about the revenue they'll earn from X1's five years of promotions, they won't be able to let go of X1 easily."
