INTERVIEW 'We'll build metaverse platform where AI matches songwriters to labels'
SPARWK President Choi Jin-suk, left, and SPARWK CEO Robin Jenssen / Courtesy of SPARWK
SPARWK, metaverse platform connecting entertainment industry insiders, to be launched in 2023
By Dong Sun-hwa
The entertainment industry may look very high-tech on the surface. There is the metaverse K-pop girl group aespa, which consists of four human members and their digital avatars. A legion of singers wowed their fans during their online concerts for utilizing cutting-edge technologies like augmented reality (AR). Some of them are even using non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to monetize their music.
However, upon closer inspection, there has been a deep-rooted issue that hardly anyone has paid attention to: the lack of a universal platform connecting industry insiders across the globe, where they can interact and collaborate without facing physical and language barriers. This absence has deprived many people of opportunities to boast their talents on the international stage and make more profits.
To tackle this problem, Robin Jenssen, the CEO and co-founder of EKKO Music Rights Europe ― a sister company of K-pop powerhouse SM Entertainment ― has joined hands with music producer Choi Jin-suk. In 2019, the two established SPARWK, a company dedicated to developing such a platform, in Trondheim, Norway.
“Next year, we will launch the metaverse platform SPARWK for the entire entertainment industry, using artificial intelligence (AI) to connect and match the right people based on what they had done before,” Jenssen said during a recent interview with The Korea Times at a hotel in Ganganam, southern Seoul.
“For instance, on our platform, a lyricist in the U.S., a topliner in Sweden and a producer in Korea will be able to partner up even if they do not know about each other, because our AI will go through all different songs they worked on and find the best match. It can help create a crazy mixture that nobody has ever heard of before,” he added.
Jenssen, the CEO of SPARWK, compared this system to a “washing-up bowl.”
“We are going to wash all the data about different people and our AI will translate and analyze them,” he explained. “Our system is truly global. It is not just for the Western world or the Asian world. It will be available in all languages. In fact, there are so many issues when you try to make money outside of your country. In my case, I use Romanized letters in Europe, but when I release my song in Korea, it is done in the Korean alphabet, Hangeul. So when someone is trying to match my name in other languages, it can be very complicated. That is why we need one unified database in all languages.”
He added that so many people are involved in the creative process of one song these days.
“One song has about 20 stakeholders today, who should be paid for neighboring rights or whatever,” he said. “But as of now, there is no proper record showing when the agreement among them started and when it ended. Our platform will save a lot of work that is now being done manually. In my case, I am currently spending 80-90 percent of my time doing administrative work. I am not creating anymore and I am tired of this. A lot of people in our industry feel the same. They have no time to think about what is the next great thing that they can come up with. This is why we need one place for everything. We will automate the most common manual processes between different stakeholders.”
SPARWK CEO Robin Jenssen, left, and SPARWK President Choi Jin-suk, right, pose during an MOU signing ceremony with the Federation of Korean Music Performers. Courtesy of SPARWK
Choi, the president of SPARWK, chimed in, saying the people in the entertainment scene are looking forward to the launch of this new platform.
“The A&R people and songwriters told us they could not wait to use our platform,” he said. “By using our tool, they can follow all the necessary steps and make sure they are fully connected to their songs, which are part of their intellectual property. In the past, some creators could not receive the money they deserved if there was a single error in the manual work. But SPARWK will make sure this does not happen through our verification process.”
Prior to the official launch of SPARWK, Jenssen and Choi are set to release a mobile application named “SPARWK Passport” by the end of this year. As its name implies, it is an application that helps people log into SPARWK with their necessary information.
“'SPARWK Passport' will verify every individual on our platform,” Choi explained. “It is also similar to a bank account. In the case of SPARWK, our back-end is ready, but we still need a robust and futuristic front-end that people can easily navigate.”
Making a new platform might have been a tall order, if it were not for the vast experience that Jenssen and Choi have.
Jenssen set foot in the music industry as an artist at the tender age of 12. He moved on to become a manager, a songwriter and a producer before starting his own PR company and music label. In 2005, he co-founded the Grammy-nominated songwriting and production team, Dsign Music, in Norway, which has been involved in more than 400 releases worldwide. Today, Jenssen is doing publishing.
K-pop boy group NCT 127 / Courtesy of SM Entertainment
Choi is a prolific music producer, who brought life to multiple K-pop hits, such as NCT 127's “Simon Says” (2018). He also worked with many other big-name acts such as EXO and TWICE.
“I do not think anyone can make this platform unless they have spent a vast amount of time in this industry,” Jenssen stressed. “Everything is based on our experience.”
The pair, who first met each other in the Song:Expo ― the world's biggest songwriting camp launched by Jenssen ― have been working on this project since 2015. After realizing that they are not getting their fair share from their creations, the two joined forces to create a new platform where people can make the most of their talents. In the past, technology was not ready, but the two believe that now it is the right time to take off.
“We already had meetings with the officials from different organizations in Europe and Korea,” Choi revealed. “We recently inked a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Federation of Korean Music Performers and we are pushing different MOUs with K-pop labels too. We are trying to have everyone on board to make a more sustainable ecosystem.”
Jenssen added that even makeup artists and hair designers can join this universe.
“SPARWK is not only for the artists,” he stressed. “We will offer a lot of educational and editorial content in every language for different people. In fact, we are now the members of the United Nations Global Compact, an initiative supporting companies that are committed to responsible business practices. We will make sure we have the code of conduct, which will be taught to our partners. We believe this is the only way we can make a change.”