It’s been greater than 3 many years since Soo-man Lee based SM Entertainment, one in every of South Korea’s music businesses identified for bringing Ok-pop to the world.
The leisure firm, initially based as SM Studio in 1989, grew to become one of many first to kickstart the worldwide Hallyu wave — higher generally known as the Korean wave.
But Lee’s music was not all the time based mostly off Korean pop music.
“I became a singer when I was 19. Although I was famous, I realized that the audience was really quiet when I sang because I sang folk songs,” he informed CNBC’s Chery Kang in an interview for The CNBC Conversation.
SM Entertainment’s Soo-man Lee (fourth from the proper) posing with Ok-pop supergroup SuperM.
Gabriel Olsen | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty Images
“But when foreign bands come to [South Korea to] perform, they completely took over the stage and fans went wild. When I went to check out the concert, it seemed like the fans were more enthusiastic than in mine,” mentioned Lee, who’s founding chairman of the corporate.
A imaginative and prescient for Ok-pop is born
Lee mentioned that is when he started to consider taking South Korea’s pop music to the world.
“As I studied in the U.S., I learned a lot and thought it would be nice to promote Korean songs and singers overseas. That’s the start [of SM Entertainment].”
Over the years, the 70-year-old developed a system he calls “culture technology” — by way of which he recruited and nurtured expertise in a scientific manner of casting, coaching, producing, and administration.
The system is behind the music manufacturing of SM Entertainment’s Ok-pop prime bands — similar to Super Junior, Girls’ Generation and Red Velvet.
“There is a written ‘culture technology’ manual somewhere in my office,” he mentioned, explaining that it combines each tradition and know-how in a “logically formulized” manner.
“The manual will allow employees to learn and transfer ‘know-how’ out of it. Because I’m an engineer, it is to be understood by logic. It lays out formulas,” Lee mentioned, sharing that he has a Master’s diploma in laptop engineering.
“So, I can say that I am an engineer rather than an artiste.”
We have to be at that world class degree, and we’re specializing in what’s lacking and how much distinctions we are able to make…
Soo-man Lee
Founder, SM Entertainment
Even as SM Entertainment’s music continues to go world, Lee says it is essential to repeatedly innovate and keep forward of the competitors within the music business.
“We need to be at that world class level, and we are focusing on what’s missing and what kind of distinctions we can make” from different genres of music,” he told CNBC.
Lee works with producers and songwriters from the U.K. and U.S. on accompaniments, track songs, kick drum and bass, which he adapts to South Korean and Asian culture.
As for the significance of China’s influence in the K-pop industry, Lee admits that money will have a “highly effective affect,” but said he remains confident creativity that comes from producing will have “infinite worth.”
SM Entertainment has represented K-pop artists like boy band Super Junior.
Chung Sung-jun | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty Images
The issue of mental health is something that remains a focus for his company, Lee says.
“‘Be humble, be type and be the love’ is what we educate our abilities and folks in SM … Things are loads higher now and world administration firms are attempting to study it.”
Lee also said his company is “connecting them to counselors and docs in order that they’ll get assist anytime. We could not have the identical economies of scale like CNBC, however we discovered this stuff are crucial.”
Future of K-pop
As for the future of K-pop, “I believe the metaverse that everybody is speaking about as of late is the longer term,” Lee says.
SM Entertainment established a metaverse world known as SM Culture Universe, and launched its first metaverse girl band, Aespa in 2020. The group is made up of four real-life members – Karina, Winter, Ning Ning, and Giselle – and their corresponding virtual counterparts.
SM Entertainment established a metaverse world called SM Culture Universe, and launched its first metaverse girl band, Aespa in 2020.
Alexi Rosenfeld | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty Images
“SM Entertainment is constructing ‘Play-2-Create’… individuals can uncover their artistic facet and create within the metaverse. They will understand, ‘Oh, I can create. I could make music. I can create dance strikes. I could make garments. I can type artists.'”
To realize the concept of “Play-2-Create,” the corporate partnered with metaverse firms like The Sandbox earlier this yr.
Players can create NFTs and video games surrounding “Ok-content” in SMTOWN LAND, a virtual land in The Sandbox under SM Entertainment. NFTs are non-fungible tokens which are unique digital assets, like artwork and sports trading cards, that are stored using blockchain technology.
Lee believes that any country can create something as successful as K-pop, but the metaverse will be key.
“You can not create a style by copying Ok-pop. Everyone will view it as Ok-pop. Now, it’s essential present it within the metaverse.”
Without looking at yourself in the mirror, you have no idea what you’d look like when dancing, even if you danced really hard…
Soo-man Lee
Founder, SM Entertainment
“I believe we simply must let the followers grow to be producers and customers on the identical time. Let them create… Young individuals could have the massive satisfaction of creation and can find yourself creating huge quantities of mental property and content material.”
For those aspiring to become K-pop artists some day, Lee has this piece of advice: “Self-assessment is essential.”
“Without taking a look at your self within the mirror, you haven’t any thought what you’d appear to be when dancing, even in the event you danced actually arduous … It is when you may see and really feel what you do not do nicely that you simply study.”
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