Earlier right this moment, HYBE launched a press release on social media saying that they’ve formally acquired Lee Soo Man‘s shares in SM Leisure, thus turning into the corporate’s largest shareholder.
Alongside explaining how HYBE hopes to assist SM’s endeavors — comparable to permitting SM to work autonomously — the assertion (directed at followers, workers, artists, and shareholders alike) additionally touched on 3 ways HYBE itself may gain advantage from the share acquisition.
OPEN LETTER TO FANS, ARTISTS, EMPLOYEES, AND SHAREHOLDERS OF SM ENTERTAINMENT pic.twitter.com/CsxqAmopFy
— HYBE OFFICIAL (@HYBEOFFICIALtwt) February 22, 2023
1. SM’s success within the Asian market
SM Leisure is named one of many firms with the most important success throughout Asia, together with outdoors of South Korea. Particularly, HYBE acknowledged the corporate’s accomplishments in China, Japan, and Southeast Asia.
Artists comparable to BoA, TVXQ!, SHINee, and Women’ Era have seen large quantities of success in Japan over time, and a few have been among the many first to take action. Likewise, EXO collected an infinite fanbase in China with their EXO-M and EXO-Ok models.
Whereas Crimson Velvet has constructed a powerful fanbase in quite a few Southeast Asian international locations, teams like NCT and aespa are thought-about the subsequent step in SM’s international trajectory. By way of NCT’s a number of models interesting to totally different demographics and aespa’s progressive metaverse idea, SM has a powerful basis for continued success within the international market.
HYBE, in the meantime, has seen an overwhelmingly profitable final result on the worldwide K-Pop scene — particularly in the USA, South America, and India with acts like BTS, ENHYPEN, Seventeen, and the latest K-Pop sensation NewJeans.
Within the assertion, penned by the corporate’s CEO Park Jiwon, HYBE acknowledges that combining SM’s success in Asia with HYBE’s personal success in different international areas will make each firms “probably the most progressive recreation changer within the international music business.”
2. SM’s inventive capabilities
One of many guarantees HYBE commits itself to within the assertion is “collaborative innovation based mostly on mutual company philosophy” — the mix of every firm’s strengths to pursue a better objective.
Whereas emphasizing that they may “absolutely respect the route specified by SM 3.0 progress technique,” HYBE additionally states that integrating their “inventive capabilities” and “content-oriented tradition” with SM Leisure will create a historic innovation in K-Pop globally, additional aiding them of their objectives for the longer term.
What Park Jiwon means by “inventive capabilities” is open to interpretation, however the phrase seemingly refers back to the firms’ extra inventive endeavors. Like HYBE, SM Leisure is thought for its potential to create wealthy artist IPs, with sturdy ideas and fashionable music. In flip, this creativity can type the premise for content material that can in flip excite followers and construct a stronger following for his or her artists.
In summation, Park Jiwon instructed that SM Leisure’s and HYBE’s objectives of turning into international firms are intently interconnected. HYBE follows its “we consider in music” motto in its objective to grow to be a number one leisure way of life platform firm. Equally, SM revealed just a few weeks in the past that they’re trying towards turning into a fan- and shareholder-centered leisure firm by means of their new SM 3.0 plan.
3. SM’s enterprise pipeline capabilities
Aside from leveraging the inventive capabilities of SM Leisure and its artists, HYBE can be eager about integrating SM’s enterprise pipeline strengths with its personal.
These are the identical strengths which have made the creation and success of fandom platforms like HYBE’s Weverse and SM’s DearU Bubble doable. These two platforms are broadly recognized and utilized by a number of artists even outdoors of the 2 firms. As an example, BLACKPINK joined Weverse again on August 2nd of final yr, whereas JYP Leisure artists TWICE, ITZY, and Stray Youngsters have been utilizing DearU Bubble since 2020.
HYBE’s assertion additionally talked about the businesses’ capabilities in areas like live performance distribution and authentic story IP: two areas SM Leisure excels in with Past Reside, Kwangya, and CAWMAN.
Park Jiwon explains that by combining SM’s capabilities throughout these fields with their very own, each HYBE and SM can bolster their general enterprise processes — from planning to distribution.
By becoming a member of forces with SM Leisure, HYBE believes that they may stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the world’s main document labels.
K-Pop flourished in an atmosphere the place we may problem ourselves. We should always preserve the groun in order that we are able to stand shoulder-toshoulder with the world’s main document labels.
— Park Jiwon