Japanese VTuber Kson has dramatically ended her relationship with talent agency VShojo during a recent livestream, citing months of unpaid earnings. The well-known streamer, who previously performed as Kiryu Coco at Hololive, confronted the CEO of VShojo’s Japanese branch directly during her broadcast and announced her immediate departure.
“Pay me,” Kson demanded during the stream, revealing that the agency owes her “a significantly large amount of money” that hasn’t been paid despite repeated requests. She had initially planned to leave at the end of the month but decided to terminate her contract on the spot.
During the stream, the Japanese CEO appeared in Kson’s stream chat and confirmed that while VShojo Japan was “financially fine,” all payments to talent were controlled by the US headquarters. He revealed he personally took a 50% pay cut earlier this year and that the Japanese branch couldn’t independently authorize payments to its talents.
The financial troubles at VShojo apparently began in late 2023, creating a growing wave of departures. Former VShojo talents Geega and MichiMochievee have also announced their exits, citing similar payment issues. Streamer Ironmouse has likewise stated she hasn’t received contractually required payments.
What makes the situation particularly troubling is the allegation that while VShojo staff and executives received their salaries, talent payments for sponsorships, merchandising, and events were withheld. Some departing members have also claimed that certain charity proceeds handled by the agency weren’t forwarded to their intended recipients.
VShojo, which launched in 2020, first set itself apart from competitors like Hololive and Nijisanji by allowing talents to retain ownership of their characters and intellectual property. The company expanded to Japan in 2022, signing high-profile talents including Kson.
The agency’s structure funnels all revenue through its US headquarters before redistributing payments, creating bottlenecks when financial issues arise. Despite successful operations in Japan, talents there couldn’t receive payments when US management failed to distribute funds.
