Cube expanding presence with new artists

Six-member boy group BEAST’s single “Will You be Alright?” is flying high, while the group is scheduled to hold concerts in Seoul on July 20 and 21.

Rain, who will be discharged from the military on July 10, will sign with Cube Entertainment. / Korea Times file

By Kim Ji-soo

To the delight of BEAST fans, the six members broke their one-year hiatus as a group and released an online single “Will You be Alright?” The ballad featuring an R&B rhythm topped music charts immediately after its release Wednesday.

The group will hold number of events in the coming days including concerts on July 20 and 21 at Seoul Olympic Park Gymnasium.

Another group registered with Cube, 4minute, is cruising with their latest album that was released in April. The five girls of 4minute are busy promoting “What’s Your Name?” a single that topped the country’s largest music chart, Melon, in the last two weeks of May. On May 26, they topped the rankings on SBS’s “Inkigayo” program for second straight week. With its strong addictiveness, the song is currently loved by middle-school students and jams the domestic airwaves.

It’s an achievement that beats out other K-pop groups that have returned to the domestic scene so far this year. The returnees include 2PM, Secret and T-ara N4, but so far 4minute remains at the top. As more top K-top groups are set to return soon and with fellow label-mate BEAST’s new song spreading fast, it remains to be seen how 4minute fare.

Others artists with Cube are G. Na, a solo female singer fast gaining popularity, and the new group, BTOB.

Five-some girl group 4minute perform on Mnet’s music program in Seoul, May 30. / Yonhap

The most important news in the first half of the year may well be K-pop superstar Rain joining the agency.

Cube’s chief executive officer Hong Seung-seong made the announcement on the company’s website Tuesday. Rain, who was enlisted in the military on Oct. 11, 2011, will be discharged on July 10.

“I recollect the May of 2002 with excitement because Rain took his first step toward world stardom that spring,” wrote Hong.

“So many years have passed by, and in the spring of 2013 Rain and Hong Seung-seong now stand together in a new start line.”

Hong wrote of how rewarding it was to watch Rain, whom he recruited, trained and transformed into a powerful world star.

The addition of Rain to Cube’s already powerful line-up is speculated to spur the company’s drive to become one of the “top three,” currently listed as SM Entertainment, YG Entertainment and JYP Entertainment. Hong was formerly with JYP before going on his own and founding Cube Entertainment in 2008.

“We didn’t’ take the safe way. We continued to change, in terms of musical style for our artists,” said An Hyo-jin, the PR team manager at Cube. An said it was essentially Hong’s knowhow and the contents produced by the artists that worked together to bring Cube to where it is now.

“We also sought a distinctive character for each artist or group. 4minute are tough girls and have a girl-power attitude. BEAST tries to infuse lyricism to their songs and their performances,” An said.

More specifically, industry insiders speculate that with the addition of Rain, Cube is looking to list on the Kosdaq within the year. An said that the company has never said anything about going public.

With the popularity of K-pop, the nation’s leading entertainment agencies are expected to grow their businesses.

According to a Financial Supervisory Service posting on May 30, YG Entertainment and SM Entertainment made profits in the first quarter of 2013. YG, spurred on largely by world star rapper/singer Psy, recorded an operating profit of 6.29 billion won, an increase of 44.3 percent over the same period last year. Sales also grew 40 percent to 29.8 billion won and the net period profit rose 27.2 percent to 4.1 billion won for the first three months. SM Entertainment’s operating profit was recorded at 5.07 billion won that is nevertheless a 72.1 percent decrease over the same period last year. It’s sales rose 0.7 percent to 49.9 billion won and the net profit during the term stood at 2 billion won, a drop of 80.0 percent. SM Entertainment however said that they believe business figures will rebound in the second half when SM world concert tours are planned.

Only JYP Entertainment posted an operating loss of 936 billion won in the first quarter of 2013.