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South Korean technology company Kakao Entertainment said it is accelerating its expansion into music, a year after winning a bitter corporate battle for control of pioneering K-pop agency SM Entertainment.
Kakao already holds a controlling stake in South Korea’s leading subscription music streaming service Melon, and in the first half of last year it won a control battle over SM Entertainment, which began when SM founder Lee Soo-man decided to sell his shares, against Hive Corp, the company behind BTS.
In the first half of 2024, the company plans to focus on world tours for various artists under its label, expanding its fan base around the world and expanding its so-called multi-label system. It also hopes to establish partnerships with global music platforms and other local platforms to further promote K-pop overseas.
SM Entertainment and Kakao Entertainment America will be announcing the debut project of a new British boy band, which they have been working on in collaboration with global entertainment agency Moon & Buck Media, with the aim of making stronger inroads into global markets, including Europe and the US.
The group, which Kakao said is “the result of combining Kakao Entertainment’s business experience and global network with SM’s expertise in music and artist development and production,” will appear in “Made in Korea: The K-Pop Experience,” a new six-part series airing on BBC One and iPlayer in the U.K. The series follows the band’s members as they undergo an original K-Pop training process for 100 days.
IU, a famous Korean artist, will be touring six US cities starting this month, including Newark, Atlanta, Washington DC, Rosemont, Oakland and Los Angeles. She toured Asia and Europe earlier this year.
IVE is scheduled to perform at Lollapalooza in Chicago in August and at Summer Sonic in Japan in 2024. The band’s first world tour, “Show What I Have,” has been touring 27 cities in 19 countries since last year, and is scheduled to perform at the Tokyo Dome in September.
The Boyz will embark on their third world tour, “Generation II,” in the second half of this year, visiting Asia, Europe and the Americas. This comes after the release of their third Japanese album, “Gibberish,” in July.
Kakao Entertainment co-CEO Joseph Chang said, “In the second half of the year, we plan to utilize our global management structure to diversify our artists’ activities, expand and strengthen our network with various partners in the global entertainment industry, and collaborate with SM to produce global IP. This will enable us to further strengthen our competitiveness in the music business on the global stage and solidify our position as a major player in K-pop.”
