By Taylor'd Festival: "You've Really Only Been Playing Guitar for a Year?"
"You've really only been learning guitar for a year?"
"Uh... yeah. Pretty much."
Festival day two. The storm of a performance that had erupted at 6 PM on day one. And because of it, the Yun Hyeonjun Band at 7 PM had tried to whip up the crowd by saying, "I never do this kind of thing usually..." while desperately hyping up the energy with fan service. Just like Joo Hyun from headliner Merkishd, who'd shouted, "Everyone who came to see the show today ain't goin' home in one piece!!" and unleashed their killer move. All the other bands, spurred on by that stage, had poured everything into protecting their pride.
The bands from day one who'd given their all were laughing it up, the day two bands were buckling under the pressure, and even the bands who'd scored free invites without performing were thinking, I wanna put on a show that lit! It was in that kind of evening vibe when the question hit.
Or rather, it was more like a scream than a question. And Suyeon answered with an awkward shrug. People should've been used to it by now... but they still reeled in shock every time an answer came out of her mouth.
And who could blame them? The Group Sound performance at 6 PM on day one had been nothing short of miraculous. Rock-solid drums, keys, and bass providing the foundation. And on top, guitar work that danced like it was alive—blues infused with emotion that even someone with decades of experience couldn't pull off easily.
But to the follow-up questions, Suyeon just kept giving the same answers:
"How long have you been doing music?"
"A year."
"How long has the band been together?"
"A few months."
"How long have you been composing?"
"A few months."
"Did you maybe do music as a kid or something?"
"I'm already a kid. And no, I didn't."
Before anyone could even question if it was true... was it even possible to play at that level with just a bit over a year under her belt? Was this what genius looked like? People hovered around Suyeon, lost in those thoughts. Completely ignoring the bassist girl Choi Iseo, who they just pegged as having "decent talent."
"Oh yeah, Suyeon, I heard you studied under guitarist Seo Myeongjeon?"
"Yeah, that's right."
People asking who the hell Seo Myeongjeon was. A few guitarists looked stunned and started explaining. How could you not know Seo Myeongjeon? You know who Chae Hogun is, right? That kind of chatter flew around.
"Suyeon, got any scheduling conflicts? I'm lookin' for an opening band for our next tour. You girls up for it?"
Kim Cheol-yeon's words drew a chorus of "Oooohs" from the crowd. Getting picked for the Taylor'd tour alongside the By Taylor'd Festival invite was a dead giveaway that Taylor'd—huge influencers in the Korean rock scene—was backing you.
"Uh... not sure yet. We're probably doing that audition show... Invasion from Seoul or whatever."
More gasps. Half in disbelief that an indie band would turn down Taylor'd. The other half buzzing that they were joining the band audition program Invasion from Seoul.
"I was gonna try out for that."
"You'd get wrecked first round."
"Don't tell the other bands. They need a reality check kekeke."
Stuff like that bouncing around... And amid it all, one guy was thinking, Are these punks blocking my path again?
Jeong Woojin, leader and vocalist of modern rock mixed band Ullim Stones. Back during the government-backed Band Pioneer project, he'd anonymously tipped off the judges about Ha Suyeon's school violence rumors, knocking Group Sound out of contention. And still hadn't made it to the finals himself.
"That's them from back then, right?"
"Looks like it."
"Should we just skip the audition?"
"No need to go that far."
His bandmates were chatting like that beside him. Ever since failing Band Pioneer despite eliminating a top contender, they'd lost all their fire. Woojin hated it.
Just try again, right? "We're doing the audition. And we gotta knock those girls out too."
"What?"
One bandmate stared at him like he'd lost it. But Woojin pressed on, unfazed. "You gotta eliminate anyone you can early. Every one you cut is an advantage, yeah?"
"Oppa, that's just baseless rumors we heard. And those girls are legit good— what's the point? Better to just let 'em compete with us."
"Hey, you gonna let a school bully slide? Bullies are bullies forever. I've got plans. I dug up some dirt too..."
Despite the member's protests, Woojin blew up and ignored her. Then, muttering low enough that no one else could hear, he grumbled as his own words consumed him. "The hell they think they are. Everyone's serious, and she's out here bragging she only did it a year. Thinks music's a joke? It's punks like her keeping me down. Fuckin' bullshit..."
"Dude, isn't this straight fire? Told ya there's a reason I splurged on this selfie stick. You know your big sis didn't drop a few bucks for nothing."
"Cut it out already. How many times you gonna say it?"
Park Sehyung scolded Seyun while watching her footage. Another smack to the back of his head flew in. But Sehyung's focus was glued to the screen, pain be damned.
"The girls are legit cute."
"Told ya."
Iseo in her menhera fashion. Seoha rocking obvious metalhead gear. Hyeona dressed all prim and proper. And Suyeon front and center... channeling the music's retro vibe. Black slacks and loafers. White shirt with one button undone. Oversized one-button jacket draped over her shoulders.
"The music's insane too. Did they ever play like this at Paradox?"
"Nope."
Sehyung pulled out his phone and checked online communities. Just days ago, they'd been full of crap like, Who the hell is Group Sound? Total parachute drop. What'd they do for Kim Cheol-yeon?
Twitter and other SNS were flooded with rave reviews too. Complaints? Buried at 10:1 or 100:1 ratios—practically nonexistent.
"Hurry up and check this. Gotta see if the edit's good or not!"
"Just handle it yourself—why the fuss?"
Despite griping at his "annoying" big sis, Sehyung watched the screen. Sure, he'd sabotage anything else she did... but anything Group Sound-related? No way in hell.
Quick primer: How do album sales profits get split in Korea?
After taxes, consumers pay about 90% of the price. Normal distributors take 50%, labels get 30%. The rest splits between performers and copyright holders.
But Group Sound's EP? No label. No wholesalers/retailers. Super generous distro deal. (Readers, take note: Connections matter.) Performers and copyright holders? Both Group Sound.
And post-By Taylor'd Festival, their EP shattered indie sales records. 2,500 copies between standard CDs and limited vinyl—insane for a debut band.
So how much did the band pocket?
"Ten million won?"
"Yup."
Myeongjeon slurped his iced coffee through the straw, eyeing the kids' slack-jawed faces.
"Not all ten mil goes straight to your pockets, though. I'm the copyright holder, so it'll split accordingly. Standard performer-to-rights ratio is 6:10. So about a mil each first..."
The three girls erupted in cheers. But Myeongjeon held up a hand. "Of the remaining six mil, 2.4 goes to me. 2.4 to Iseo."
"Huh? Another 2.4 mil to me?"
"Lyrics fee."
Iseo cheered again. Ignoring her, Myeongjeon continued, "The last 1.2 mil splits 300k each to you three. So Seoha 1.3 mil, Hyeona 1.3 mil."
"Whoa... first time seeing a band rake in this much from albums."
"For real?"
"Indie bands? Might see 100k per album sold. That's the norm."
Seoha muttered an explanation to Hyeona. Yeah, in this streaming era, physical sales profits were a pipe dream anyway.
My cut's about 4 mil, then.
Album sales aside, 4 mil was solid cash. But after bleeding for production and recording? Objectively underwhelming. Myeongjeon made more than that sessioning gigs. Full schedule during that time? Several times over.
"What to spend it on?"
But whatcha gonna do? That's Korean music life. And seeing the kids buzz about where to blow it melted away any regrets. Happy over pocket change that wouldn't even hit minimum wage? Yeah.
"New gear, all around."
"Was eyeing a Podera switch. Heard they're killer..."
"4 mil won't cover a Podera, though?"
Iseo deflated at Hyeona's words. Seoha cackled and suggested a group trip instead. Four of 'em traveling? Sounds fun. It did... but
"Let's think after year's end. Exams, important stuff first."
"Important stuff?"
"Yup."
Myeongjeon recalled what he'd blabbed publicly that By Taylor'd evening. Lee Hyein—who rarely asked favors but insisted on this one—and all the "reputation rehab" he'd done to make it happen.
"Time to hit that audition show."
The cable audition program, Invasion from Seoul. Group Sound's next stop.