KUALA LUMPUR: With K-Pop fever continuing to heat up across the world, the challenge would also lie in keeping the momentum going.
One of the biggest South Korean entertainment agencies, SM Entertainment, apparently has plans to switch up the strategy with something radical.
According to Koreaboo, a member of the company’s board of directors, Chris Lee, had let on that the key word for SM’s global strategy was localisation.
Speaking during one of the SXSW 2019 series of events currently being held in Austin, Texas in the US, he let on that: “We are planning to make the ‘2nd Girls’ Generation’ with Americans and the ‘2nd NCT’ with Europeans. Localisation is our global strategy,” he said.
Girls’ Generation and NCT are just two major acts from the longstanding company which was established in 1995. Other largely successful K-Pop acts under it include Super Junior, Shinee, Exo and Red Velvet.
Lee added that if everything turns out well, fans of K-Pop in the US and Europe might be able to see these fresh new acts debut in about five years’ time.
The solidifying aspect of K-Pop as a bona fide genre was an opportunity to step out even further.
“Just like how Indian movies are called Bollywood, K-Pop is gaining attention as a new genre of music all around the world. SM Entertainment has been trying to advance into other Asian and global markets since the early 2000’s, by focusing on certain overseas markets.”
“SM Entertainment is focusing on the fandom, the culture and musical colour of SM, rather than merely focusing on appealing to the general public. We have confirmed that these fandoms are huge in America and Europe, and our goal is to continue to expand them,” he said.
Lee also highlighted the company’s first attempt at localisation through the formation of a multinational team, called WayV, which made its debut earlier this year.
“The group is comprised of Chinese and Thai members. There are no Koreans. We are working with Label V, a Chinese joint venture label.”
“This is the first time we have introduced a fully localised joint venture group, using SM Entertainment’s culture, technology, and production. We will also carry out the same management strategies with local joint ventures in Singapore, Indonesia and Vietnam,” he said.
Lee elaborated further on a multi-pronged approach and offered praise to rival agency Big Hit Entertainment’s mega-successful K-Pop act, BTS, which had managed to break into a multitude of markets around the world that include America and Europe.
“SM is looking to have our culture technology integrated into various fields, including IT, food, sports, and fashion. We want to spread our own K-Pop culture and content to global markets.”
“We have been focusing on the North American market since last year. We believe companies like Spotify and Apple Music are showing lots of interest in K-Pop, and global companies like Universal Music continue to propose collaborations.”
“Recently, BTS has taken the entire world by storm, and thus the status of K-Pop has changed, which is a huge movement for the industry,” he said.
Let’s just wait and see how this progressive plan will eventually play out!