SM, Tencent Music launch China joint venture with Super Junior-M’s Zhoumi as CEO

K-pop powerhouse SM Entertainment established a joint venture with Chinese music giant Tencent Music Entertainment (TME) to debut a new Chinese idol group.

STE, the new joint venture, was established as part of efforts to build a cooperation framework based on a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed by SM Entertainment and TME in May last year.

Chinese singer Zhoumi, who is a member of Super Junior-M — the China-based subunit of the boy band Super Junior — will serve as the chief executive of STE, according to SM Entertainment.

“Zhoumi has nearly two decades of experience as a member of Super Junior-M and as a solo artist, which gives him extensive knowledge and expertise in the K-pop production system,” SM Entertainment said.

“He has also gained hands-on management experience as a director at SM Entertainment's Chinese subsidiary, along with a strong understanding of local trends.”

STE will hold auditions to debut a new idol group in China within the next two to three years. The company will also manage the group after the debut.

The newly launched venture will also support SM Entertainment’s artists from Greater China, including NCT Dream's Renjun and WayV's Yangyang and Xiaojun, SM Entertainment said. It plans to provide more tailored local promotions and support for their entertainment activities.

“By combining SM Entertainment’s strengths in intellectual property [IP] and content production with a deep understanding of the Greater China market, we will deliver unique content and achieve meaningful results as a bridge between the two companies,” Zhoumi said.

SM Entertainment and TME signed the MOU on May 29 last year to launch a Chinese girl group within two to three years. Under the agreement, SM Entertainment will recruit and train the new group members and oversee music production, while TME will handle promotions and album and music sales.

The two also agreed to collaborate on creating merchandise, producing video content and opening pop-up stores using SM Entertainment's IP for the Chinese market.

BY KIM JI-YE [[email protected]]