Thanks to the efforts and achievements SNSD made in their Japanese advancement, the Hallyu market and the Korean music industry have been revitalized. Previously centered around dramas, the Hallyu wave is now being led by idol groups and singers. SNSD’s overseas success has raised SM Entertainment’s yearly profits to four times what was made the previous year.
It was only through trial and error of the groups (and a soloist) such as H.O.T, S.E.S, BoA, and TVXQ that industry representatives believed the birth of SNSD was possible. At the center of their success, however, lies the CEO of SM Entertainment, Kim Young Min.
Ever since he was six years old, he grew up in Japan and is more knowledgeable in the Japanese entertainment market than any other. “The birth of a star is much like refining a gemstone into a diamond. After you pick a good gemstone, you pay close attention to what type of clothes it’ll match. I believe our success lies behind the individual talents of the nine SNSD members, SM’s system, which gave them the skills to develop into great ‘content,’ and digital media, which spread the girls globally.”
CEO Kim was quick to point out that the success behind SNSD is none other than their exceptional skill set, but it was only through the combination of digital media and SM’s system that really allowed them to gain momentum. Before SNSD’s official debut in Japan last year, SM released SNSD’s Japanese music video for the first time through YouTube, allowing Japanese fans quicker and easier access to their content, which, in turn, raised awareness for the group.
Their system was obviously a success, as their “Gee” single managed to sell 66,000 in the first week and rank #1 on the following week’s Oricon singles chart.
Kim continued, “In the past, groups were contracted for both management and music distribution, but starting last year, SM Japan used their experience and research of the Japanese market in individually managing our artists’ performances, advertisements, and promotions. They’ll be more flexible this year, but will be trying their best in order to make sure that SNSD is able to gain firm status in the Japanese market.”
Although the girls debuted last year, this year will mark their official start. They recently contracted with a Japanese advertisement CF, which will be followed by an official album and their own concert.
When asked about SM Entertainment’s plans for the new year, Kim replied, “As opposed to extending our business field this year, we’ve placed a priority on developing singer trainees, as well as a focus in the domestic market. It’s only after the domestic market is stable that we’re able to advance overseas without any trouble. We’ll be working persistently in producing Korean albums and other related content.”
Ever since 1990, SM Entertainment has placed utmost importance and investments in the development of their singers. Every Saturday, not only do they go through Korean auditions, but also auditions overseas in the USA, China, Thailand, and other locations in order to look for hidden talents.
Once accepted, each trainee is given a schedule catered to their individual needs that involve training in singing, dancing, acting, and foreign languages.
The company is also planning to debut a new rookie this year. Kim claimed that his goals and priorities for the new group this year were to launch the group in Korea first, and help them achieve a comfortable foothold in the domestic market.
im’s second goal for the coming year is carrying over Korea’s distinctive and characteristic ‘360 business model’ overseas. The ‘360 model’ requires one agency to control every aspect of a celebrity’s career from production to management; a sort of one-stop system that handles everything from auditions to training, album production, promotions and concerts, and even movie and drama castings.
SNSD managed to pilot the business model for the first time overseas with their Japanese debut. Their senior labelmates, such as TVXQ and BoA, were all promoted and managed by a separate Japanese company. SNSD, on the other hand, was managed by SM Japan.
When asked to describe the driving force behind SM’s Hallyu, Kim replied, “Instead of being satisfied with just success, we consistently researched and reinvested in ourselves to develop the system that we have now. We stress the importance of the development that went on in creating the star, not just the star itself. It’s vital that we continue to produce and plan a variety of different contents in order to create another star like SNSD under the system.”
Kim emphasized that the continuation of the Hallyu wave depended not on the stars, but on the production and mechanism behind the stars such as SNSD. More spotlight, he claimed, must be put on venues such as YouTube and SM’s production system in order for the Hallyu wave to last.
