S.M. Company

Lee Soo-man, the CEO of SM Company, known as the "Star Factory" in South Korea, entered the music scene in the early 1970s and was a very famous singer at that time. After retiring behind the scenes, with his keen vision, he founded SM Entertainment and Culture Company in 1989, ushering in a new era of Korean planning companies. In 1998, S.M. Company introduced its HOT and SES products to China and Japan, setting off the "Korean Wave" boom in Asia. In April 2000, S.M. Company registered KOSDAQ and issued shares, becoming South Korea's first entertainment and culture joint-stock company. In 2001, BoA, trained by S.M., became one of the most popular singers in Japan. In December 2002, S.M. Company, together with Japan's FANDANGO JAPAN (a joint venture between YOSHIMOTO Group and KDDI), YOSHIMOTO Group and AVEX***, established an online entertainment company - FANDANGO KOREA. In the era of rapid development of the Internet and mobile communications , will be primarily responsible for developing digital information resources for the public. This year, in order to facilitate entry into the Chinese market, a branch was established in China. Together with the S.M. Japan branch established in 2001, we will jointly build an entertainment network in Asia. S.M. Company has made unremitting efforts to regard world-renowned American entertainment groups such as Time Warner and Disney as its future goals, hoping to become the strongest entertainment group in Asia.

S.M. company has departments: the talent show department that discovers "future stars"; the "Starlight Academy" training department that trains newcomers; the record production department that grasps market trends, embodies the singer's style, and creates a realistic visual sense; The record production department (A&R) that performs recording and post-production; the marketing department that conducts publicity and sales; the publicity department that contacts the media to promote singers; and the agency department that explores the potential value of singers and plans advertising concerts. In fact, there are dozens of entertainment companies in South Korea, including JYP Entertainment, DSP Entertainment, Laful Entertainment, DR Music, Music Factory, Good Media and C.I Media, etc. The reason why SM can dominate among many strong competitors is because of the company’s leadership. His unique vision and complete professional operation system have created famous singers such as HOT, KANGTA, Shinhwa, BoA, Moon Hee-jun, S.E.S, FlytotheSky, Trax, TVXQ!, and Tianzhang Jixi, who are well-known in the Asian music scene.

Step One: Draft & Training (Draft Department, Training Department)

In the early 1990s, S.M. Company still distinguished these two links very clearly. When HOT was formed, Kim Kyung Wook's agent traveled to high schools across the country to search for so-called "talented" talents, thus recruiting KANGTA, Moon Hee Jun, and Lee Jae Won. Director Lee Soo Man chose Tonyan from the United States, while Jang Woo Hyuk attracted attention for his outstanding performance in the dance competition. When it came time to form Shinhwa, which became popular throughout Asia, the company began to establish a draft mechanism. In 1996, the company selected Andy, who had trained with HOT before, and vocalist Shin Hyesung, who had trained with HOT, and Eric, who had won the American dance competition, through the American audition. Kim Dong-wan was selected in the Korean local audition, and Lee Min-woo was recognized for his self-formation. The band also won the championship in the Korean Dance Competition and was favored by S.M. Company. Junjin was recommended to SM Company by KANG TA because of his good talent as an artist. Through a series of drafts, the people the company wanted to train were initially determined in 1997. Devil training will begin later, and the personnel will not change. However, as the desire for Korean teenage stars grows, more and more potential children emerge, which also means that competition becomes more intense. Therefore, S.M. Company gradually combines the draft and training into one step. Entering the company through the draft does not mean becoming an artist, and you have not signed a contract with the company at this time. In further training, the company will eliminate some people. At present, the company holds two large-scale selection competitions every year and holds an internal selection meeting every week. Take TVXQ, a boy band that was just formed in 2004 and has become popular in Asia this year. All five of its members are members of S. M. Newcomer selection and training institutions were discovered and trained. At first, they served as captains in 5 different groups. Through continuous training and selection, they were able to form the current dream group-"TVXQ".

Several features stand out in this step.

First of all, celebrities are getting younger. The younger age of idols has become a common phenomenon around the world. In terms of industry profits, debuting at a young age can help the company earn more money by performing for a few more years, and the earlier the talent is recognized, the lower the cost of packaging, and the greater the plasticity, which is conducive to company training; from the perspective of industry characteristics, the entertainment industry is an industry for young people , only the young ones are fresh and eye-catching. For example, in 1997, SM Entertainment formulated a strategy to cultivate a big-name star who could represent Asia. Because judging from the situation in South Korea, it is more convenient for girls to enter the overseas market, so the future star who was selected from thousands of people in South Korea at that time was BoA (BoA).

She was only 11 years old at the time and was only in the fifth grade of elementary school during the interview, but the singing and dancing she performed proved that she already had star talent. The three or four songs that were auditioned at that time were all S.E.S classics, and the dances were also the most popular hip-hop dance steps at the time. Her outstanding performance made the commentators present full of praise. Under the strong request of the record company, her parents had no choice but to agree. From the moment she passed the interview, Baoer began to receive specialized training. Most of the Korean new stars recently launched are 18 or 19 years old. You can imagine how young they debuted.

Although the younger age of celebrities has become a necessary condition for fame, it is not without its shortcomings. Because they became famous too early, were too young, and put on the crown too early, although these idol singers paid for it with their innocent youth and a healthy growing environment, this is an irreparable advance of youth. However, what exists is reasonable. When you gain fame and fortune, you will inevitably lose something. This is the characteristic of this industry.

Second, strict training. This is the stage children must go through to become famous. When any entertainment company in South Korea creates idols, it not only requires artists to have the talent to become idols, but also requires artists to undergo strict post-training. This is especially true in SM Corporation. Take HOT, which caused the "Korean wave" in China, for example. Before the release of his first album, Jang Woo-hyuk suffered from shoulder pain after dancing for 12-16 hours of super-intensive training every day. Sometimes everyone would fall to the floor from exhaustion. Can't get up. The training process of "TVXQ", which quickly became popular this year, was almost hellish. One of the members, Xiya, had to train for more than seven years before he was allowed to stand in front of the screen. Sometimes, these five 16- and 17-year-old boys would practice singing from the afternoon until about 11 o'clock in the evening when they were hungry. When they thought they were almost ready, they would sing to the person in charge of the company, but the person in charge would still listen to it. Not satisfied, the five boys continued to practice, and all relevant personnel of the company accompanied them. At the beginning of HOT, I was learning to dance and sing 12 hours a day. They had to dance with their inner thighs tied during practice, in order for them to memorize the movements correctly. In addition, in order to accumulate stage experience, they were allowed to become backup dancers for the then singer Liu Rongzhen (now SM director). The company not only trains them strictly in singing and dancing, but also trains them in language expression, facial expressions, etc., so that they can speak calmly no matter when and where a camera is filming. After spending two years like this, they debuted in South Korea in 1996 and performed for the first time in China in 2000, triggering the "Korean Wave". As for star training for Asia, in addition to these, language training is also required.

Third, attack with a large number of combinations. Combinations are the entertainment products that brokerage companies love and are best at producing. S.M. Company has successfully launched multiple groups, such as HOT, SES, Shinhwa, TVXQ, Tianshang Jixi, and the latest 12-member group Super Junior after 3-4 years of selection and elimination. The reason why the combination was launched is that the combination of several people can meet the needs of "everyone has their own preferences" and ensure that the company's investment will not be completely sunk. At the same time, after forming a team, the company can determine the superstars to focus on in the next step based on the popularity of the team. So it’s not unusual for Korean teams to combine and break up quickly. Moreover, when forming the group, the company decided to unify the configuration, and disbanding it was also the company's decision, and in many cases it was not decided by the members of the group. Shinhwa collectively jumped to GOOD because of disagreements with S.M. regarding the retention of members. This is not bad. At the beginning, HOT couldn't twist its legs with its arms and was forcibly dismantled by the company. It can be seen that combination is a common strategy in the Korean entertainment industry and serves as a touchstone for the market.

Fourth, pay enough attention. Although the training is very strict and arduous, the company still attaches great importance to newcomers. In terms of funds, S.M. Company does not hesitate to spend a lot of money on all-round training for artists. In terms of manpower, the company will be equipped with the best teachers, songwriters, and veterans in the music industry to provide guidance to newcomers. For example, in order to make Boa a perfect and capable singer, S.M. Company invited many art experts to be her special teachers. Boa's choreographer is Japan's leading choreographer, Kazumi Sakumi. In addition, her debut album also invited famous Korean composers Yoo Young-jin, Kim Heung-seok, Kang Won-sang and Bang Si-wook to contribute.

Second step: Production (record production, production department)

Korean artists who emerge from the star-making mechanism generally do not have much personal freedom because they receive company training from a very young age. , their singing style is determined during training based on personal characteristics and cannot be changed according to personal preferences. Especially when they first debut, even if they are very creatively talented, they will not release their own works. Every song and every look is carefully crafted by the company based on its development goals.

Exquisitely made and incorporating a variety of popular elements. S.M. Company has been committed to producing music suitable for the entire Asian market and in line with the pursuits of young people in Asia from the beginning. Before packaging and promoting artists, companies usually spend time carefully analyzing local basic culture, music and other popular elements and integrating them into Korean artists to avoid risks to the greatest extent. Here I want to prove it from the opposite side. In 2004, a Chinese music company released a "2004 Compilation of the Most Powerful Mandarin Original Singers", in which the Korean original versions of 13 popular Chinese songs finally surfaced in China.

Rough calculation shows that in recent years, more than 80 well-known Chinese singers have covered more than 100 Korean songs. Among them there are many well-known big stars, Sammi Cheng, Jacky Cheung, Karen Mok, Andy Lau, Nicholas Tse, Lai Ming, Zhao Chuan, Zhang Huimei, Xu Zhian, SHE and a large number of emperors and queens have had close contact with Han Le. Looking back at singers from China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, "newcomers + covering Korean music = bound to become popular" seems to have become an unbeatable rule. Mainlanders, on the other hand, prefer originality. Only a few singers such as Sun Nan, Sun Yue, Na Ying and Chen Lin have experience in singing covers. It can be seen from this that Korean pop music is already at the upper level in terms of production.

Incorporate local elements. If a company decides to let an artist enter the Asian market, the first step is to train the artist in the language. For example, when artists under S.M. Company held a concert in Shanghai, members of TVXQ and Tianshang Zhixi greeted the audience in Chinese and introduced themselves. The second is to use songs in the local language. It can be a re-cover of the original Korean version of the song, or it can be a new song with new lyrics and music that is suitable for the local area. For example, in order to enter the Chinese market, Shinhwa and BoA have released Chinese songs. In this regard, we have to admire the meticulous and sufficient preparations of the Koreans.

Step 3: Marketing (Marketing Department, Publicity Department)

I classify all work related to packaging and publicity as marketing. In fact, in the entire star-making mechanism, the manufacturing process of stars is completely consistent with the process of ordinary products from material selection, processing, finished products, inspection to marketing, trading, and establishing brand effect. And marketing should be the top priority in the entire star-making process. S.M. Company is also full of tricks in the commercial promotion of this artist.

1. Determine target consumers. This process consists of three steps: market segmentation, target market selection and market positioning. Market segmentation is the process of dividing a market into different groups of buyers who have different needs, characteristics and behaviors and therefore require different products or marketing mixes. After segmentation, the company will select the target market. When markets are selected, the company must also decide what position it wants to achieve in those target markets. Market positioning refers to the arrangements made so that a product occupies a clear, special and desirable position in the minds of target consumers relative to competing products. Korean entertainment companies have done a great job in this regard. S.M. Company will make detailed plans before launching each new member. For example, for BoA's debut, the company plans to let her enter the overseas market. First, she will gain a foothold in the domestic Korean market, and then aggressively attack the Japanese market. So far, it seems that she has achieved success. After achieving impressive results, BoA will soon enter the Chinese market, which can be seen from the fact that she has started to release Chinese songs. Since HOT disbanded, KANGTA has been focusing on the Chinese market. Since HOT has already gained considerable popularity in China, KANGTA has entered the Chinese market very smoothly. This year, she also held a solo concert in China. When the company selects a target market and carries out market positioning, it will increase or improve the artist's ability in certain aspects through training and other means to adapt to this positioning. For example, learning a language, etc.

There is basically no vacancy in this step in our country. Most entertainment companies do not make very detailed plans and mostly follow their feelings. This leads to more blindness when packaging artists, increasing the risk of investment failure.

2. Design marketing mix. A controlled set of tactical marketing techniques used to create a desired response in a target market. The classic theory proposes four variables, namely 4P theory: product, pricing, distribution, and promotion.

Let’s talk about the product first. The products of the entertainment industry are as special as television and other media products. First of all, artists are products of entertainment companies, and secondly, artists’ records are also products of the company. The sales of records depend on the artists themselves. Therefore, artists are the most important product. First of all, quality is the first priority, and this problem can be well solved through strict training. The best example is that in various Korean entertainment programs, artists can improvise singing or improvisation. Its level is evident. Secondly, for this product, the company needs to design different routes and package it. Aiming at the target market mentioned earlier, each artist’s route is designed based on market positioning and features are highlighted to differentiate them from other products. Therefore, many adjectives have become synonymous with artists. For example, sexy is synonymous with Lee Hyori. Due to her success, many female artists are now starting to take the sexy route, and most of them are decided by the company. In the past few years, cuteness was synonymous with Dana under S.M. Company, because Dana was only 15 years old when she debuted, but this strategy did not achieve great success. Therefore, S.M. Company immediately changed its strategy and included Dana in the four-person female group "Tian Shang Zhi Xi" launched last year. This also set the precedent for a solo singer who debuted as an independent singer and then joined the group. Judging from the current results, this strategy of S.M. Company is still correct. After planning the route, it is necessary to carefully consider its appearance and clothing. If you are an idol singer, your appearance requirements are very high. For example, boys who are not taller than 180 centimeters will be exempted from consideration. Girls who are not tall enough, whose nose is not straight enough, whose eyes are not big enough, and whose facial contours are not good enough will not be considered. And those singers who have already debuted have to go under the knife on their faces in order to make themselves more perfect.

Of course, this does not mean that there are not some singers in South Korea who are not very good-looking but have great abilities. YGfamily Entertainment has many of these talented singers. Their domestic market is also very good, but they have not made any achievements in overseas markets. . In addition to their appearance, Korean stars are also very particular about their clothes and hairstyles. The company spends a lot of money to package them and has special clothing consultants. For seniors who have been in the industry for a long time, they all have their own beauty salons that specialize in beauty and hairstyles. Therefore, Korean stars often lead fashion trends and are imitated by teenagers. Attracting attention in this regard also increases the artist's popularity. In my country's "Korean Wave", clothing and hairstyles account for a large proportion.

For the second product - records. The packaging consists of the arrangement, album cover, poster, incidental content, etc. In order to further explore potential products, SM will release a compilation album every winter and summer season. In the compilation album, the title song and MV sung by all the company's artists have become the most anticipated music works by fans during the winter and summer vacations. . In the MV, the artists are happily chatting and playing, showing a happy "SM family portrait".

Pricing. Still divided into two parts. The first is the artist. This is completely reflected in the artist's worth, which is the price when signing with the company. Generally, an artist's worth is determined by his popularity in the market, but this popularity is ex post facto, so the company occupies a favorable position when signing contracts, so most of them are unequal. In order to prevent artists from changing jobs when they become popular, SM has always clearly stipulated when signing contracts with its actors that actors must pay liquidated damages and compensation if they violate the contract, and this regulation is generally accepted in the Korean entertainment industry. Other companies have adopted this or similar regulations. However, SM's liquidated damages and compensation are huge. Even 3-5 times higher than the usual regulations. This puts a lot of pressure on the actors involved, and it is almost impossible to change jobs during the signing period. Second is records. Records are ordinary commodities, so they are priced according to ordinary methods. Regarding the revenue sharing of records, it is worth mentioning that ordinary Korean singers can get 100 won for selling a record, but the group needs to share it equally, so HOT only gets 20 won (0.16 yuan) per person for selling one record that year, and then it is reduced to 20 won (RMB 0.16). The royalties and official taxes deducted were only seven Korean won (five cents in RMB). It can be seen that it is not easy for artists to make money in South Korea, and they have to be "exploited" by their companies. Of course, the company’s previous investment was also huge.

Distribution. This is mainly for the artist's output. For example, the channel for selling records, how to distribute the goods, and what are the channels on the Internet. Stock the products in major record sales stores, and according to the rebates, let the stores place the records in eye-catching locations, put up posters, etc. Generally speaking, large companies like S.M. have formed their own record sales channels and regularly stock their records. With the vigorous development of the Internet, online MP3 downloading has also become a new profit growth point, so the Internet has become a new channel and a new battlefield for major record companies. S.M. Company also realized this and established the online entertainment company FANDANGO KOREA in 2002 with Japan's FANDANGO JAPAN, YOSHIMOTO Group and AVEX*** to seize the opportunity in the online competition.

Promotional aspects. For a company, it should not only create high-quality products, but also tell customers about the advantages of the product and seriously establish the image of the brand in the minds of customers. To achieve this, mass communication methods such as advertising, sales promotion and public relations must be used skillfully. That is propaganda in our traditional sense.

Method 1: Advertising. Participate in various programs on radio and television stations (mainly the three major Korean TV stations KBS, MBC, and SBS) to increase your exposure. The main way for artists to become popular is to be exposed in entertainment media, including rankings. Charts controlled by the network provide a visible yardstick for measuring a group's popularity. Only by appearing on TV more can new songs be included in these lists. Some people think that these lists are beneficial to singers who often appear on TV. CD sales and fan votes only account for a small number of Korean lists. It all goes to show that being on TV is more important than doing anything else. The most important thing is to be able to appear in 20 or more TV programs of South Korea's three major TV companies, MBC, KBS, and SBS. Sometimes the singer's MTV is only played on several major TV stations. The programs here mainly include these two types. The first is the singing program. According to the survey results, singers affiliated with the top 10 planning companies such as S.M Entertainment, YG, I-STAR, International Music, and IVY Music SIDUS have appeared in music programs such as KBS "Music Bank", SBS "Inkigayo", and MBC "Music Camp" The number of appearances exceeds 40% of the number of appearances by all singers. Among them, singers from S.M Company have appeared the most. The second is entertainment programs. The more famous ones now are "Love Letter", "X-MAN", "Happy Together", "Night Heart", "Ten Thousand Dollars of Happiness", "The Heroine", MBC TV sitcom series, "NonStop" SBS reversal drama and so on. Celebrities participating in TV entertainment programs can achieve a win-win situation. On the one hand, artists increase their popularity and promote their records through the show.

South Korea's entertainment programs are quite mature, and the stars are very cooperative. Their natural state allows the public to further understand the stars' personalities, personalities, specialties and other aspects. I got to know Korean singers and became interested in them because of watching Korean entertainment programs. On the other hand, TV stations use the popularity of artists to increase ratings. Due to the celebrity appearances, fans are bound to watch every episode, so this method can lock in the audience. TV stations can cooperate with artists in such a comprehensive way, and the most fundamental thing is that they all have marketing concepts and understand that the audience or fans are the basis of their survival. Therefore, both in terms of program setting and star cooperation, great emphasis is placed on considering the audience's perspective. Through cooperation, both parties can achieve their respective goals. Of course, driven by the interests of both parties, bribery is inevitable. Because bribing TV and radio programs with high ratings or listening ratings can give unknown talents more opportunities to grow into superstars. In fact, as competition intensifies, only one out of 20 newcomers can succeed. In order to avoid wasting investment in maintenance, it has become necessary for the company to spend money to buy exposure. While paying bribes, large entertainment companies also gradually took control of radio programs. After HOT was disbanded, S.M. Company banned three other members and warned TV stations and other media that if JTL dared to appear, their own singers would never come to the relevant TV stations. In addition to traditional media, there is increasing attention to new media. Various entertainment companies have increased their efforts to promote artists online. Almost every star has his or her own personal homepage, where not only the latest official news is available, but also the artist's own messages, allowing for interactive communication with everyone through the Internet. In addition, some new songs will be put online to further expand the scope of promotion.

Method 2: Sales promotion. On-site book signings are a particularly good example. Being able to have close contact with celebrities and get their autographs is tantamount to a 50% discount at the mall for fans. The temptation is very great. In addition, including photos of artists in albums is also a common promotion method. Carefully crafted limited edition records are also a great temptation for loyal fans. Often in limited editions there are things that have never been released or are more private to satisfy fans' desires.

Method 3: Public relationship. You can achieve your goals through charity events, special events, but the most important thing is to use good news. The first two are easier to understand. Generally speaking, there will be an album press conference when a new album is released, a fan meeting at the end of the year, and a small birthday party on birthdays, sometimes with the fans. Through some charity performances or donations, you can establish a good image and leave a good reputation. At present, these two forms of public relations are not well developed in China. Fan meetings are very random, while charity events depend entirely on the artist's consciousness. Apparently unaware of their importance. The most powerful tool in public relations is the press. Not only make good use of existing news, but also create news when necessary. This is not about making fake news, but about creating news by attracting attention through actions. For example, spreading scandals and hyping something up. At this point, we must pay great attention to the Internet, because online news updates the fastest, and many news are the first to break out on the Internet.

Method 4: Participate in the selection of various awards. This method is unique to this industry. First of all, authoritative awards are full recognition of a singer's ability. Through these awards, the audience's attention can be increased and popularity can be ensured. Various entertainment companies also attach great importance to this, and there are many shady cases among them. In 2002, almost everyone knew that Shinhwa would win another major award, even BoA knew it. But on that day, SM told M'net and Seoul Awards: Don't award this award to Shinhwa, but to BOA, which is developing overseas, to prevent BOA's local popularity from declining, so the final winner became BoA.

Compared with the complex and diverse commercial promotions of Korean stars, our local stars seem to be much more leisurely. On the one hand, domestic media do not yet have such a large number of well-produced entertainment programs, and on the other hand, entertainment companies do not realize the importance of such entertainment programs. In Korean entertainment programs, I often see stars with gauze wrapped around their hands. This also shows that Korean stars are often rushed from one announcement to the next, with no chance to breathe at all. It is this kind of comprehensive publicity and their unremitting hard work that makes them what they are today

Step 4: Money Printing Machine to Recover Investment (Agency Department)

Through the above series of Measures, the company invested a lot of manpower, material and financial resources to create stars. Of course the cost is also considerable. Before a future superstar becomes famous, the company needs at least US$50,000 to promote them, and it will cost about US$350,000 to expose key training targets, and this is only spent on TV. Ultimately the money needs to be earned back by making the singer famous. Like other industrial rules, high costs inevitably mean high profits. Koreans have also obtained benefits that are enviable to others when they spend high operating costs to package their idols. SM's artist HOT's fourth album "I YAH" was a global hit, with sales exceeding 12 million copies. After BoA ??entered the Japanese market, the three albums it released all sold more than 1 million copies.

The fourth album, which has officially entered the Chinese market, includes "My Name" and "My Prayer" sung by BoA in Chinese, and is scheduled to sell 200,000 copies. The idol group TVXQ's ability to make money is equally astonishing. In the past three months alone, the cost of advertising shooting has reached 350 million won. In the first year since their debut, they have earned approximately 1.4 billion won in advertising fees alone. Of course, there is no free lunch in the world. Without the company’s dedicated training, how could celebrities be making so much money today? Therefore, most of the money earned by Korean stars generally belongs to the company.

After an artist becomes popular, his own value becomes considerable. When a company has such resources, it will never be lonely. Almost all entertainment companies in South Korea place more emphasis on open source, which is the development of related products. Fame is a huge intangible asset for entertainment companies, and every company is trying their best to maximize its effectiveness. For example, various limited editions and revised records are launched every year to allow fans to buy them repeatedly; various concerts are held at home and abroad; artists are allowed to take on various advertisements and become product spokespersons; take over filming of Korean idol dramas when possible; and go to TV stations Being a host, etc., and of course the company gets the majority of the income from these activities. As the artist's fame further increases, the revenue from recordings can be boosted. This creates a virtuous cycle.

At this point, a complete Korean star-making operation mechanism has been presented. From the comparison of various links, our country's entertainment industry lags far behind, and there are many things we can learn from. After all, this is pop music, the entertainment industry with the greatest variables. If you want to make a difference in this field, you must constantly update your ideas, keep up with the trends of the times, and even lead the trends of the times. From the perspective of entertainment companies, the updating of concepts is the first problem to be solved. "The good wine is not afraid of the deep alleys" is no longer suitable for the fast food-style entertainment industry. Comprehensive borrowing of management concepts from other industries such as marketing will bring unexpected benefits to the company. For artists, there is more to reflect on. Their level of professionalism is still very low. Singers are not just good at singing. The quality and intensity of their work need to be further improved. As our country gradually attaches great importance to the cultural industry, I believe that in the near future, China will also have an entertainment agency as outstanding as South Korea's S.M Company.