On March 13th KOCOWA went to SXSW in Austin, Texas and attended SM Entertainment’s featured session called, “The True Value of K-pop”. During the session, Chris Lee was able to briefly touch upon the history of SM and how its been able to cultivate its talent and assets through their company philosophy of “Culture Technology” which was established in the late 90’s. He also breaks down the company’s methodology of: Creation, Expansion, and Exportation, which helps explain how SM has been able to grow over the years outside of just music.

Speakers: Chris Lee (SM Entertainment) / John Yang (SM Entertainment / Interpreter*)

Moderator: Zack O’malley Greenburg (Forbes)

Highlights:

• (05:22) How SM got its Inspiration in 1996
• (08:55) Economy First, Culture Next & The True Value of K-pop
• (12:00) What’s Culture Technology
  • Culture Creation: Cast and Develop Your Talent
  • Culture Expansion: Market Your Talent (Music, Travel, Food, Acting, Tech, etc)
  • Culture Exportation: Partner with Local Companies
• (22:00) Localization: Introduction to NCT
• (31:30) Conclusion: Q&A
  • What are SM’s revenue streams?
  • How does SM protect its stocks from scandals?
  • Do SM artists have control over their work?
  • What role does SM and its music play in relation with North and South Korea?
• (46:00) Conclusion: Audience Q&A
  • How does SM recruit international producers?
  • What would you recommend for someone who wants to work at SM?
  • How do you settle your creative differences when collaborating with international artists?
  • How much do you prepare your artists for a diverse fan base?
  • What challenges have you experienced in the US and what do you hope to achieve?
  • Does SM plan to branch out into different music genres?

Writer’s Thoughts:

After listening to the seminar, I was impressed by how thorough SM was in every aspect of its work and endeavors. Although they’re mostly known for their hand in music and production, I’m curious to see how they will grow in the tech space. One thing that’s certain is that SM is very into, well…SM. There’s a lot of talk of expansion and localization but I don’t think SM would deviate from its current formula as they mentioned multiple times during the seminar; they want to continue doing what they’re good at. There’s been some level of skepticism regarding their up and coming groups, mainly for those created for the European and US markets. To the dismay of some fans, or not, I don’t see them casting talent of the non-Asian variety since it’s rarely seen in their talent roster. Whether or not they will is up in the air, but what’s certain is that SM is well on its way to becoming a leader in global entertainment.

Listen to the full session below!

(Disclosure: Audio is from a personal device, audience noise included)

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