The battle for corporate dominance of K-Pop has become a drama that never stops giving. After the acrimonious takeover battle between BTS-backer Hybe Corp. and tech giant Kakao for control of SM Entertainment, Korea’s financial regulators are probing the deal-making that eventually led to Kakao’s victory. Korea’s Financial Supervisory Service…
Kakao
SALES BECOME ANIMATED Indie sales agency All Rights Entertainment has achieved a string of pre-sales on “Lendarys,” a family adventure animation film that is currently in advanced stages of production and set for delivery later this year. The film was licensed to KMBO (France); Flins & Piniculas (Spain); Another World…
Hybe Corp., the talent powerhouse behind K-pop sensation BTS, said on Friday that it will sell its share stake in agency rival SM Entertainment. The move would finalize Hybe’s admission of defeat in a dramatic takeover battle in which it was out-gunned by Korean tech leader Kakao Corp. Hybe initially…
Kakao Entertainment America and Columbia Records have partnered to co-manage K-pop girl group IVE, it was announced on Thursday (March 23). The collaboration is expected to boost IVE’s presence in the North American market, with Columbia, a subsidiary of Sony Music, supporting their upcoming album, “I’ve IVE,” due out April…
The past year has seen the K-pop industry expanding into everything from ETFs to Broadway, and today, March 15, marks its leap into the comic and graphic novel world: Top group NCT 127 has teamed up with Z2 Comics alongside Universal Music Group and its Korean label SM Entertainment for…
Korean tech giant Kakao has gained the upper hand in the battle for control of K-pop agency SM Entertainment, after HYBE Corp., the firm behind music idols BTS, said Sunday that it had called off its takeover bid. SM is the second largest talent Korean music talent firm and is…
A court in Seoul on Friday blocked a proposed move to issue new shares in K-pop talent agency SM Entertainment to Korean tech giant Kakao Corp. and its Kakao Entertainment subsidiary. An injunction was sought by Lee Soo-man, one of the pioneers of the Korean contemporary music industry, but who…
HYBE Corp., the talent firm behind K-pop sensation BTS, has launched a campaign to woo the shareholders of SM Entertainment, the rival Korean talent empire in which it is poised become the largest single shareholder. In a letter and video package, issued Thursday, HYBE said that it was launching a…
HYBE, the South Korean talent management company behind BTS, said Wednesday that it has already paid for its purchase a 14.8% stake in rival SM Entertainment and expects to complete the deal by March 6, ahead of the previously announced schedule. The company announced earlier this month that it will…
The 2022 International Emmy Awards are in the books. 23 countries were represented across 15 categories and 60 nominees at the 50th International Emmys, which was hosted by Penn & Teller’s Penn Jillette. The gala took place Monday at the New York Hilton Midtown Hotel. During the show, South Korean…
After enduring long-lasting COVID restrictions, many of the Korean executives attending the AFM this week will be making their first U.S. business trip in more than two years. In the time that they were away, the Korean entertainment scene has undergone a transformation. The changes have proved tricky for some…