S.M. Entertainment to produce boy bands locally

By Park Sojung

SEOUL, Jan. 27 (Yonhap) -- If you thought "locally produced" applied to food only, think again -- S.M. Entertainment is trying to apply that idea to boy bands, its founder Lee Soo-man says.

"New Culture Technology" is the term he used when he presented the idea to reporters at SM TOWN Coex Artium in southern Seoul on Wednesday, as one of South Korea's top three management agencies tries to expand its overseas footing.

Boy bands launched under the project will be based in one city and produce music that best caters to locals, Lee said, adding the first two teams will be stationed in Seoul and Tokyo.

Membership of the bands may fluctuate freely, and sub-units will be created ad hoc, he said, although that has already been the case with many K-pop groups.

The second batch of teams will be launched in Chinese-speaking cities, with Southeast Asia and Latin America being the next likeliest destinations.

Five other projects have been freshly initiated by S.M., Lee also said.

New songs will be released on a specific day of the week on a digital music channel called "Station."

"Rookies Entertainment," an app that started service on Monday, will allow fans to participate in the creation process of new artists.

S.M. will expand its mobile business -- it currently runs a karaoke app, "everysing," and video-sharing app "everyshot" -- and create more of what it calls "multi-channel network content," which combines audio and video platforms, like a radio program that is also broadcast visually.

Finally, the agency will create an electronic dance music (EDM) label, "ScreaM Records," and start an EDM festival in Asia, Lee said.

sojungpark@yna.co.kr
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