Avex and SM Burn Their Bridges
SM Entertainment founder Lee Soo Man has announced that he will be stepping down from his current position of Director of Registration, and taking his past position on SM’s production staff.
As a result of this change, Lee Soo Man will no longer be a primary voice in SM’s business ventures and decisions. However, he nonetheless holds almost 30% of SM’s shares, which maintains his current position as SM’s primary stockholder.
It should be clarified that Lee Soo Man is not and has never been CEO of SM Entertainment. He started in the industry as a singer, but later on founded SM Entertainment through his formation of H.O.T. and S.E.S. The first CEO of SM was Kim Kyung-wook, who resigned from his position in 2005. The current CEO of SM Entertainment is Kim Young-min. Producers such as Lee Soo man have control over the training and production of SM’s artists. However, only the CEO and other executive board members have the power to control the artists’ contracts.
Just my opinion, but I don’t really believe that the news of Lee Soo Man’s change of position itself is a huge deal. The man has taken a backseat role to much of SM’s latest business activities, lately. No wonder he had the time to try his hand at winemaking while the DBSK lawsuit scandal was at its hottest during the autumn.
Rather, what may be of greater interest is the news that Japanese entertainment holding company, Avex Group, has sold off all of its shares of SM Entertainment, effectively ending their close, long-running business relationship. All of Avex’s 2,479,203 SM shares have been sold to Neowiz Bugs Corporation, a Korean internet and online game company.
Within the context of K-pop, Avex is best known for its overseas management of various SM artists, most notably DBSK–or Tohoshinki, as they are known in Japan.
Not much more has been revealed about these recent developments in SM’s business structure. However, the termination of SM and Avex’s relationship has raised many questions about DBSK’s future. DBSK’s dual career with both SM and Avex effectively allows for it to be a primary bridge between the companies. Now that the shareholding bridge between SM and Avex has been burned, what does this mean about SM artists managed under Avex? What does this mean about DBSK? There’s not enough information to make sound speculations just yet (although you can bet that I’ve got them, the amateur DBSK lawsuit drama analyst that I am), but it looks like the recent quiet period in the DBSK lawsuit drama might be ending soon.
Original Article
Source: SeoulBeats
Date: 02/24/10
