State Champ Radio Korea
Billboard and Billboard Korea have joined forces with CJ ENM to expand the global influence of the K-pop industry. The entertainment company behind KCON and MAMA AWARDS has inked a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Billboard and Billboard Korea, ahead of the first Billboard Korea print issue mid-year. Harry H.K. Shin, Head of Music Entertainment […]
Kakao Entertainment is aiming to accelerate the global expansion of K-pop thanks to a new partnership with Billboard and Billboard Korea. The company announced that it has signed a partnership agreement with the American music and entertainment magazine to enhance the influence of K-pop worldwide. Joseph Chang, co-CEO of Kakao Entertainment, met with Billboard President […]
SESAC Music Group today (March 5) announced a deal with the Korean Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (KOSCAP) that calls for KOSCAP to represent SESAC’s repertoire in Korea and for SESAC-owned Audiam to administer KOSCAP’s publishing rights in the U.S.
The deal makes SESAC one of the first big collective management organizations (CMOs) to move its rights out of the established Korea Music Copyright Association (KOMCA) to KOSCAP, a competitor that the government approved in 2014 to increase competition in the market. KOSCAP will represent SESAC’s online and offline performing rights in Korea, and the catalog of the Harry Fox Agency, the SESAC Music Group’s mechanical rights entity, will follow next year.
The Audiam deal calls for that company, which the SESAC Music Group bought in 2021, to collect performing, mechanical and other audiovisual rights in the U.S. on behalf of KOSCAP.
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Charles Park
Although this might seem like just another deal in the alphabet soup world of collective rights management, it highlights the growing competition among CMOs – and how that is leading to different kinds of international deals. In October, SESAC made a deal to have its offline performing rights in Italy managed by Soundreef, a private company just over a decade old, instead of the traditional society Italian collecting society, SIAE.
“Why did we switch?” Alex Wolf, president of international of the SESAC Music Group, told Billboard about the KOSCAP deal. “We’re convinced about the competence and the responsiveness of the management and we’re convinced that we will increase our revenues. This is a bet on the future.”
Just a decade ago, only a few markets had competition among CMOs, which didn’t compete with one another across borders. Since 2014, though, when the European Union passed the Directive on collective management of copyright and related rights and multi-territorial licensing, European societies have had to compete for online rights in the EU, and many other countries have opened up as well. This has led to competition among established organizations, as well as new companies like Soundreef – both to represent writers and publishers and to make deals with foreign CMOs.
“It’s a great honor to partner with SESAC, a global leader with a world-class catalog and one of the premier Performing Rights Management organizations in the world, along with Audiam’s innovative technology to administer our catalog in the US,” KOSCAP COO Charles Park said in the press release announcing the deal.
Billboard is expanding its global footprint in Asia with the launch of Billboard Korea. The expansion, in partnership with Global Entertainment Media Group (GEMG), will be dedicated to the flourishing Korean music scene. Billboard Korea‘s first issue, Billboard K Vol.1, is scheduled for release in June. “We are thrilled to announce our expansion into Korea,” […]
aespa – “Spicy”
Agust D (Suga) – “People Pt.2” (Feat. IU)
AKMU – “Love Lee”
Anne-Marie, Minnie – “Expectations”
ASH ISLAND – “Goodbye” (Feat. Paul Blanco)
BIG Naughty – “Hopeless Romantic” (Feat. Lee Suhyun)
BIG Naughty – “With me” (The Interest of Love OST)
BSS (SEVENTEEN) – “Fighting” (Feat. Lee Young Ji)
BTOB – “Wind and Wish”
BTS – “Take Two”
BTS – “The Planet” (BASTIONS OST)
DAWN – “Dear My Light”
(G)I-DLE – “Queencard”
Hwasa – “I Love My Body”
IVE – “I AM”
J-Hope – “on the street” (with J. Cole)
Jay Park – “Candy” (Feat. Zion.T)
Jeon Somi – “Fast Forward”
Jihyo – “Killin’ Me Good”
Jimin – “Like Crazy”
Jisoo – “FLOWER”
Jungkook – “Seven” (Feat. Latto)
Kai – “Rover”
LE SSERAFIM – “UNFORGIVEN” (Feat. Nile Rodgers)
Lee Chae Yeon – “KNOCK”
Lee Mujin – “Ordinary Confession”
Lim Jae Hyun – “Heaven (2023)” (It Was Spring OST)
Lim Young Woong – “London Boy”
M.C the MAX – “Eternity”
MeloMance – “A Shining Day”
NCT 127 – “Ay-Yo”
NCT DREAM – “Candy”
NewJeans – “Ditto”
Parc Jae Jung – “Let’s Say Goodbye”
Paul Kim – “You Remember” (The Glory OST)
SEVENTEEN – “Super”
STAYC – “Teddy Bear”
Stray Kids – “S-Class”
Taeyang – “VIBE” (Feat. Jimin)
Taeyong – “SHALALA”
TXT – “Goodbye Now” (Love Revolution OST)
TXT – “Sugar Rush Ride”
V – “Love Me Again”
ZEROBASEONE – “In Bloom”
Zior Park – “CHRISTIAN”
A South Korean law firm representing three members of K-pop boy band EXO says the singers are pursuing legal action against their longtime label and management agency SM Entertainment over contractual issues related to “slave contracts.”
In a press release, Lin Law Firm claims it has represented K-pop stars Baekhyun, Chen and Xiumin — who are members of EXO and also perform together in a splinter trio unit named EXO-CBX — since March over pay and contract disputes with SM Entertainment, who debuted EXO in 2012 and are home to acts like TVXQ!, Girls’ Generation, SHINee, NCT and aespa.
Baekhyun, Chen and Xiumin (whose full names are Byun Baekhyun, Kim Jongdae and Kim Minseok, respectively) claim SM has shown a lack of payment transparency and required unreasonably long contracts extending beyond 12 years, according to a five-page document reviewed by Billboard that was sent by Lin Law Firm attorney Lee Jaehak.
The firm alleges that despite the trio signing exclusive, long-term contracts with SM, the K-pop company has not provided full data about the artists’ payments as they recently requested. Lin Law adds that the artists have always trusted SM’s payments despite Korean law requiring entertainment companies to provide updates on payment settlements twice a year.
Lin Law Firm also claims that SM has used its position in the K-pop market to force artists to sign with the company for longer than the industry standard seven years — deals it calls “slave contracts.” The firm says that SM automatically extends artist contracts by three years if the artist works overseas, which applies to Chen and Xiumin, as the two were originally part of the China-focused group EXO-M. Meanwhile, Baekhyun has released solo music in Japan and was a part of the U.S.-focused, Billboard 200-topping “supergroup” SuperM.
The final point in Lin Law’s document includes an apologetic message to fans and a pledge to resolve the dispute.
SM Entertainment has not responded to Billboard‘s request for comment. Baekhyun, Chen and Xiumin have not publicly commented on the matter, either.
Alleged “slave contracts” are a historically sensitive spot for SM Entertainment. In 2009, three of the original five members of boy band TVXQ! asked Korean courts to examine their 13-year contracts, citing extreme length and worries about payment distribution. Over the course of three-plus years of legal battles, singers Kim Jaejoong, Park Yoochun and Kim Junsu won the right to work independent of their SM deals and formed a new boy band named JYJ. By November 2012, the two parties mutually agreed to terminate the SM contracts, which would have expired in 2016 at the earliest.
As a result, South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission created a rule in 2010 that did away with so-called “slave contracts,” requiring entertainment companies to sign individuals for a maximum of seven years initially. Lin Law does not explain how SM could legally surpass the rule.
As members of EXO, Baekhyun, Chen and Xiumin helped lead K-pop’s international expansion with the group’s dual focus on releasing music in both Korean and Chinese. In April 2015, EXO set a new record for the largest sales week for K-pop artists in America at the time when its Exodus album sold 6,000 copies, according to Luminate. It held that record until late 2016.
EXO has scored five No. 1s on Billboard‘s World Albums chart, while EXO-CBX also topped the chart with its debut record Hey Mama! from 2016. All three members have also released solo albums, with Chen releasing a new song, “Bloom,” on May 30 through SM Entertainment. After several EXO members fulfilled their South Korean military duties, the group reunited for the first time in years. SM has confirmed the group would release a new studio album together this year.
SEOUL — South Korea’s SM Entertainment appointed Jang Cheol-hyuk as the company’s new CEO on Friday (March 31), as the K-pop giant vowed to turn over a new leaf by bringing on a fresh leader and board of directors. Jang succeeds outgoing CEO Lee Sung-soo.
“I feel a great responsibility to assume the position as a CEO when SM is about to take a big leap forward,” said Jang in a statement. “We will establish a sound [and] transparent governance structure and faithfully implement the SM 3.0 strategy so that SM can become a fan-and shareholder-centered global entertainment leader.”
The landmark corporate shakeup is part of SM’s bid to improve corporate governance as well as its production system, which in recent years lagged behind rivals and invited investor scrutiny. Friday’s appointments also put an end to the weeks-long drama that gripped the K-pop world, pitting industry giants HYBE, home to boyband BTS, and South Korean tech giant Kakao against each other.
A certified accountant and professional manager, Jang joined SM in early 2022 as CFO and has been involved in creating the blueprint for SM’s future. Dubbed SM 3.0, the plan is to diversify the company’s artist portfolio and delegate more creative control away from the single-pipeline structure helmed by SM founder Lee Soo-man.
For years, Lee hasn’t had an official role at SM — which developed K-pop groups EXO, NCT and Girls’ Generation — but he had nearly unchecked powers as its largest shareholder. He was being paid millions of dollars a year in production fees, a setup that ended late last year following a shareholder revolt.
At Friday’s meeting, Kim Kyung Wook, a former SM CEO and now shareholder, pressed the agency to recoup the production fees, but outgoing CEO Lee Sung-soo — who is Lee Soo-man’s nephew — said the company was not ready to consider that step.
Cracks began to show at SM in February after management, without Lee Soo-man’s approval, signed a partnership deal with Kakao. The founder retaliated by selling most of his shares to HYBE and laying the groundwork for a possible merger between the two largest K-pop agencies.
Friday’s shareholder meeting had been hyped as a spirited battle between HYBE and Kakao before HYBE abruptly threw in the towel last week and ceded some of its SM shares to its rival.
Together with subsidiary Kakao Entertainment, Kakao has now secured nearly 40% of shares in SM, becoming the company’s largest stakeholder. Jang Yoon-Joong, executive vp/global strategy officer at Kakao Entertainment, as well as Align Partners CEO Lee Changhwan — who led the shareholder revolt — have now joined the board as non-executive directors.
Three SM executives, including incoming CEO Jang, were also appointed to the board, while five outside directors were also approved: Kim Kyu-Shik, chairman of the Korean Corporate Governance Forum; Kim Tae-him, attorney at Pyeong San Law Firm; Moon Jungbien, professor at Korea University Business School; Lee Seung-min, partner at Peter & Kim; and Sung M. Cho, CEO of music analytics company Chartmetric.
Before BTS conquered the world, Lee Soo-man was the most famous face of K-pop in Korea for reasons both good and bad. He has been lauded as a visionary but criticized for his harsh treatment of trainees and artists. While he treated stalwart artists like family, keeping them on the roster even after their career peaks, he also was accused of excessive control over the acts’ professional and personal lives. He has also been convicted of embezzlement, though he later received a presidential pardon for his contribution to K-pop.
Lee Soo-man still holds over 3% of SM’s shares but hasn’t disclosed his future plans regarding the company. A representative sent to Friday’s meeting on his behalf stayed silent at the gathering.
“Today marks an end of an era at SM, a company I founded in my name,” said Lee, in a statement emailed to reporters shortly before the shareholder meeting. While not commenting directly on the proceedings, he said he was staying outside the country and is “deeply immersed in the world of global music.”
South Korea’s HYBE said Friday (March 24) it will sell its stake in SM Entertainment, officially ending a bidding war between HYBE and the South Korean tech company Kakao for control of the K-pop agency that was key to the genre’s popularity and overseas expansion in recent years.
HYBE, home of superstar boy band BTS, said in a filing it will sell its roughly 15% stake in SM for nearly 564 billion won ($435 million) to Kakao, which earlier this month announced a tender offer aimed at acquiring up to 35% of SM Entertainment’s outstanding shares.
Kakao Entertainment owns Monsta X‘s K-pop record label, Starship Entertainment, as well as the South Korean music streaming app Melon, the North America-based webtoon company Tapas Entertainment and several media production companies. It’s a subsidiary of the tech conglomerate Kakao Corp.
HYBE acquired most of its shares in SM in February from SM founder Lee Soo-man, who was recently ousted from the company after shareholders called for changes in SM’s structure. For over a decade, Lee exercised top-down control of the company he started in 1995, and shareholders had raised questions over millions of dollars he received in producer fees annually.
Lee sold his shares to HYBE in retaliation for a move by SM to issue stock to Kakao, ultimately prompting HYBE’s attempt to secure a majority stake in SM through a tender offer. HYBE relented in mid-March because, it said, outbidding Kakao could have “a negative impact on our shareholders.”
Just days after canceling the company’s bid for control of SM, HYBE founder/chairman Bang Si-hyuk reiterated his desire to expand beyond Korea in an effort to eventually compete with the three major labels – Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment and Warner Music Group — on a global scale, stating the company must have a “sense of urgency” in doing so.
Bang additionally signaled a desire for outside support for K-pop companies in their attempts to rival the majors, including possibly from the South Korean government, which has helped elevate Korean companies in other industries into global players. HYBE has already made strides on that front with two U.S. acquisitions — Scooter Braun’s Ithaca Holdings and QC Media Holdings, parent company of hip-hop label Quality Control Music, which Bang said are “just the beginning” in its bid for worldwide domination.
SM and HYBE have in recent years dominated South Korean and global pop charts. Together they accounted for nearly half of all albums sold in South Korea in 2022, according to Korean chart company Circle Chart.
HYBE’s planned stock sale could net the company $87 million, the equivalent of a 25% return on its purchases of Lee’s shares one month ago, Reuters reported earlier on Friday.
In the latest episode of the battle of K-pop giants, HYBE, the home of BTS, took some swings at SM Entertainment’s business partnership with tech company Kakao, owner of a popular messaging app, Kakao M, and music streaming service Melon.
On Feb. 6, Kakao announced it would purchase a 9.05% stake in SM Entertainment, whose roster includes NCT 127 and Red Velvet. Three days later, HYBE announced it would acquire a 14.8% stake in SM Entertainment by purchasing the majority of shares of the company’s founder and legendary K-pop producer, Lee Soo Man. Following a campaign by an activist investor for SM Entertainment to reduce Lee’s role, the company canceled his producer contract on Dec. 31, 2022.
SM Entertainment called HYBE’s investment “hostile M&A” and said its partnership with Kakao is “the first step” in its long-term transformation plan. HYBE sees SM Entertainment’s relationship with Kakao as one-sided and bad for shareholders.
“The contract between SM and Kakao, which grants acquisition of convertible bonds, undermines shareholder interest,” HYBE said in a statement Friday (Feb. 24). A clause grants Kakao or Kakao Entertainment the ability to “continuously increase its stake in SM” by allocating stocks issued through a paid-in capital increase to a third party, HYBE stated. “This will dilute the value of stocks owned by all shareholders other than Kakao or Kakao Entertainment.”
HYBE further argued the contract would hurt SM Entertainment’s chance of attracting “new strategic investors” and make it easier for Kakao “to seize control of SM’s management rights.”
HYBE also took issue with the Kakao’s role in managing SM Entertainment artists and distributing their music, arguing the contract gives Kakao an “unexpiring, exclusive” right to distribute SM Entertainment’s recorded music and allow Kakao Entertainment to manage SM Entertainment artists in North and South America.
In turn, SM Entertainment subsidiary SM Life Design will produce the recordings of Kakao Entertainment artists and provide a music video shooting set. “Compared with the important business rights that SM is handing over,” HYBE stated, “the return seems unreasonably small.”
After reviewing the contract’s legal issues, HYBE “will take all necessary legal measures, both civil and criminal,” it stated.
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