Controversy Erupts Over IVE’s Canceled College Performance

There has been controversy over IVE‘s canceled performance at a college festival.

IVE | Starship Entertainment

Previously, IVE was rumored to perform at Kyungpook National University, but the school later stated that due to a visa issue with one of the group’s members, the performance was canceled.

Kyungpook National University | Kyungpook National University

IVE’s agency, Starship Entertainment, then released a statement saying the group was never planned to perform, stating that although they received an invitation, they had declined.

The school then released another statement stating that not only did Starship Entertainment agree to perform, but they had sent payment for the group’s performance to an agency of the label, which constitutes a contractual agreement. The school then stated they had the invoices and payment history to prove this.

As the controversy grew, Starship Entertainment released a statement on October 5.

We would like to issue our official stance on the October 6 performance at Kyungpook National University and Keimyung College University regarding IVE’s attendance.

All requests for our artists to perform at events and concerts are placed through a third-party agency and the Starship agency that the school lists does not exist. We received a request through a third-party agency in September to perform at the school. However, due to scheduling conflicts, we could not accept and didn’t answer the invitation. All meetings regarding the performance were conducted with the agency, to whom we have never confirmed the group would be performing.

When we verified that IVE was on the school festival’s lineup, we notified our third-party agency to immediately remove the group, but no action was taken. Also, we didn’t receive any information regarding a contract or performance fee that was exchanged.

We would like to apologize to the schools and students affected by the agency’s mishandling of the incident.

— Starship Entertainment

It seems, according to Starship Entertainment, IVE was never confirmed to perform at the school, while the school alleges they worked with an agency and had paid for the group’s performance fee, which Starship Entertainment claims mishandled the negotiations and that they never received the performance fee or any communication regarding a contract.

Stay tuned for updates.