KFANZ NEWS ☑️
Interview with Lee Sungsoo and Tak Youngjoon, co-CEOs of SM
Through the production of “Metaverse” Superstars like HOT, BoA, Girls’ Generation, TVXQ, etc., a virtual nation that had been teased for ten years was realized.
Last year, NCT achieved their best success ever thanks to record sales that surpassed 10 million copies.
“AESPA has emerged as a crucial keyword that will boost SM’s future worth”
“I hereby proclaim SM Town as a nation.” The opening of the “SMTOWN LIVE WORLD TOUR 3 IN SEOUL” performance, which took place on August 18, 2012, at Seoul’s Jamsil Olympic Stadium, reverberated. Singers from SM Entertainment, including BoA, Kangta, Super Junior, and Girls’ Generation, who started the Korean Wave, attended the concert on this particular day and distributed pink passports known as “SM Passports” to the audience. At the time, people thought it was “cringy.” The “virtual nation” that SM announced at the time is now taking shape in front of our eyes, though it has been 10 years since that declaration. Since last year, the term “Metaverse” has made us more accepting of this universe. “Fans who obtained SM Passports in 2012 could earn actual stamps every time they attended a performance, but now with the growth of technology and NFTs, this has transformed into a ‘Meta Passport,'” SM Co-CEO Lee Seongsoo remarked in an interview with Asia Economic Daily on the 9th. “Through ‘Kwangya,’ which includes the metaverse, SM is expanding its operations into the Web 3.0 digital world.”
This year, SM established Studio Kwangya, a provider of metaverse material, and is promoting it as a brand in charge of managing the metaverse industry. At the SM Town live performance, which was aired live for free across the world through YouTube in January of this year, SM’s Executive Producer Lee Sooman introduced “Kwangya as a realm of content where limitless occurrences transcend time and place.” SM intends to employ NFT items as its primary development engine through the online platform “Club Kwangya” and offline stores “Kwangya,” beginning with the SM Passport.
In the 1990s, SM began by creating first-generation idols like HOT, SES, BoA, and Shinhwa. From there, the company went on to create superstar idols like TVXQ, Girls’ Generation, Super Junior, EXO, SHINee, Red Velvet, NCT, and AESPA. “SM’s success rate is 90%,” claimed CEO Lee. ” There have never been any other businesses in history that have created so many mega stars. […]
Tak, the co-CEO, stated, “Since taking on the role of CEO, we had to eliminate the sections of the firm that were losing money.” This, he claimed, was due to the expansion of the intellectual property rights (IP) of already-established artists and the heyday of NCT. The 23-member international boy band NCT sold over 10 million CDs in the previous year. If NCT drove performance the year before, AESPA is anticipated to drive performance this year. A girl group called AESPA made its stage debut in November 2020. There are a total of 8 members, including 4 of each of the countries of Korea, China, and Japan and their avatars. Girls, the second mini-album from AESPA, sold over 1.4 million copies in its first week. They made history by becoming the first girl group to sell more than a million albums in their debut week. It breaks BlackPink’s previous record of 680,000 copies. “AESPA became a significant phrase that will increase SM’s future worth,” CEO Lee stated.
“Normally, we have to put a lot of money into singers, and after they make their debut, we anticipate losing money, but AESPA has established an unmatched record among Kpop girl groups,” the company said.
Knetizens Reactions:
1. The wilderness is good, this is it. But if you want this to be special, go to Espa’s own worldview. If you drag all the singers who already have their own originality, you will get tired of it.
2. We have to make the public understand the world view and approach them. The world view is a barrier to entry and eats away the artist’s strengths.
3. Because of the wilderness, the barriers only get higher… I think it’s getting worse and worse ☞I really sympathize with you.
4. I really hate the wilderness. If you have an Espa worldview, say only Espa; Why do you bring in other artis?
5. She has always been a leader in the image, but it seems to be getting more rustic every time she is in the
wilderness. Throw away the wilderness ㅠㅠ
6. I don’t think the public is responding to that worldview.
7. Now, it seems that AESPA has become a material for singers to fit in for the wilderness dreaming of.
8. Because I like singers, they follow me to Thunder in the Wilderness, I rarely see fans who like to Thunder in the Wilderness..
9. If you want to create a worldview called the wilderness, you need to make something more curious, but now it’s a bit boring
10. Wilderness Thunderbolt It’s rustic and cramped, that should be enough
