THE BLACK LABEL Cuts Ties With YG Entertainment, Sparking Massive Fears

YG Entertainment CEO Yang Minsuk has stepped down from THE BLACK LABEL‘s board of directors, marking a historic first for the company.

Since its founding in 2016 as a YG sub-label, there has always been at least one YG-affiliated figure sitting on the board until now.

BLACKPINK Rosé’s solo activities are managed by THE BLACK LABEL. | @roses_are_rosie/Instagram

Yasng Min Suk was reportedly removed after his term expired in December 2025. YG’s shareholding in the company has also been quietly shrinking for years, from 45% in 2019 to just 14.55% as of late 2025. The label is now run almost entirely by ex-Pearl Abyss executives, and it’s been aggressively courting new investors like Krafton and Tencent ahead of what many expect will be an IPO push.

On paper, this looks like a clean break toward full independence. Many fans have welcomed it.

Is meovv finally free https://t.co/JJnUzsgqUp

— sarah : sevEN (@eimikomilf) April 28, 2026

But others aren’t so sure. Fans are seemingly concerned about what independence under THE BLACK LABEL’s current leadership actually looks like for artists. The label has long faced criticism for infrequent comebacks and minimal promotion.

Teddy’s producing skills have also been put into question many times before.

am i the only one who thinks this is really bad? teddy keeps artists locked for years and gives bare minimum promo for a few songs every couple years—wbk how things were w blackpink and somi https://t.co/mdXrR9ubiA

— Pikachu (@quarrelpinks) April 28, 2026

Loll prob not, Teddy is the real anti comeback 😭

— Charlie (@yangcharlie34) April 28, 2026

So now they can be a shit company without YG taking any of the blame lol https://t.co/gMRA58et5X

— Robles (@Robless5k) April 28, 2026

okay can we get a meovv comeback pic.twitter.com/im5xiWH46j

— samira ✸ (@katsllit) April 28, 2026

THE BLACK LABEL currently has some of the biggest stars in K-Pop on their roster, including BLACKPINK‘s Rosé, ALLDAY PROJECT, BIGBANG‘s Taeyang, MEOVV, Somi, Park Bogum, and more. Remains to be seen if their careers will be impacted by this change.

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