SM CEO speaks on founder factor behind K-pop's global success

Lee Sung-su, CEO of SM Entertainment, gives a keynote speech at MU:CON Online 2020 in Seoul, Friday. Due to COVID-19, the four-day annual music market event was held online. / Yonhap

By Kang Hyun-kyung

Lee Sung-su, CEO of SM Entertainment, said on Friday that K-pop was able to become a global cultural phenomenon, partly because of SM founder and now producer Lee Soo-man's forward thinking, timely strategy and global network.

In a keynote speech to the global music market event MU:CON Online 2020, Lee said SM founder Lee Soo-man introduced the concept of “culture technology” back in the late 1990s as part of his vision to take K-pop to the global stage.

“Since then, it has become K-pop's engine for growth,” he said during the four-day event hosted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in collaboration of Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA) which will wrap up on Saturday.

According to the SM CEO, K-pop's culture technology is a three-staged strategy.

“It first begins with culture creation,” he said. “Culture creation is about talent search, training of aspiring singers and producing of music. In SM, for example, we find talented singers through various kinds of auditions and sign contracts with only a selected few. Then they become our trainees and prepare for their debuts for several years under our systematic program. Training periods differ, depending on artists. Some debut after only one or two years of training but some undergo seven to eight years of training before they debut. During those periods, they hone their singing skill, choreography, acting and even behavior.”

Once SM artists make their debut, SM's management begins. According to Lee, SM has a network of some 2,000 composers all around the world and constantly communicates with them to produce music fitting for each artist.

Lee said the second stage is about culture development.

“In this stage, SM and our artists begin to earn profits,” he said. He cited BoA, Super Junior and TVXQ as some of the most successful SM acts.

In the last stage called expansion, Lee said the success of K-pop has a trickle-down effect on other industries. Their success begins in music but their influence expands to mobile app streaming services, tourism and even game industries, he said.

SM Classics is the project that shows K-pop's expansion. According to Lee, SM Classics is much more than a combination of K-pop and classical music. SM aims to create new cultural content through SM Classics, he said.

The SM CEO said K-pop's experimentation will be continued and the agency will keep trying new projects and music.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, MU:Con 2020 has been held online. The annual event took place amid the Korean wave prospering despite the pandemic.