Smaller K-pop agencies get a helping hand with overseas expansion
A new government program will give up to 300 million won a year to 10 small and mid-sized entertainment agencies as they expand their K-pop groups overseas.
Tired of the same big name entertainment agencies dominating K-pop?
The government will support small and mid-sized entertainment agencies' overseas expansion efforts in a bid to give more opportunity to K-pop's smaller players.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Creative Content Agency announced the new funding program on Tuesday.
The ministry plans to select 10 small and medium-sized entertainment agencies and their K-pop groups each year, annually providing up to 300 million won ($198,300) to each agency. Agencies with exceptional performance will be eligible to receive funding for up to three years.
Ten agencies and their artists were selected for this year's program: The Muze Entertainment's Rescene; KQ Entertainment's xikers; IST Entertainment's Tunexx; LeanBranding's Kiiras; Cat Whiskers's Can't Be Blue; Great M Entertainment's 82Major; Parastar Entertainment's Big Ocean; MW Entertainment's Uspeer; BeBy Entertainment's X:IN; and MNH Entertainment's 8TURN.
Unlike existing support programs focused on specific areas such as album production or concerts, the new initiative is designed to allow agencies to allocate funding based on their own strategies and priorities. Participating agencies can use the funding in areas related to overseas expansion, including the production of albums to be exported, music video production, local marketing and overseas promotions and concerts abroad.
The 10 groups selected this year plan to use the program as a springboard for various international activities.
Girl group Rescene plans to focus on activities in Japan and the United States. The group performed at KCON Japan in May and plans to also perform at KCON LA in August.
Rescene recently drew attention after the phrase "Geoje yahoo" went viral on social media. Member Woni visited her hometown in Geoje, South Gyeongsang with Japanese member Minami in a YouTube video.
The group's song "Love Attack," released in August 2024, has climbed music charts, ranking No. 5 on Melon's Top 100 chart as of 2 p.m. Tuesday.
Tunexx will seek to expand into India, while Kiiras will focus on Asian markets including Malaysia. Can't Be Blue plans to build an overseas fan base through concerts abroad and promotional activities.
"K-pop has become part of the global mainstream, but small- and medium-sized agencies — who are the backbone of the industry — must also be able to grow to ensure sustainable growth," said Choi Sung-hee, director-general for Content and Media Industries Division at the Culture Ministry.
"We hope this new program will help create more miracles from small companies and help lead the future of K-pop."
BY HA NAM-HYUN [[email protected]]
