[NEWS] SM Holds the writers & publishers conference in Paris

SNSD's Tiffany and Lee Soo Man

June 13, 2011

SM Holds the Writers & Publishers Conference in Paris, France on the 11th!

The Producer, Soo Man Lee Received a Standing Ovation on His Speech of CT Theory!

S.M.Entertainment held not only the ‘VISIT KOREA YEAR 2010-2012’ SMTOWN LIVE WORLD TOUR in PARIS, but also the conference aimed at European writers and publishers.

Approximately 50 famous European writers and publishers attended the conference held at the Marriott Rive Gauche hotel at 1:00 p.m (Paris time) on June 11th and showed their interests for SM and its music.

Especially, the producer Soo Man Lee gave a speech on the steps and future of Hallyu(Korean-wave) as well as the SM’s producing based on CT(Culture Technology) theory. He also introduced the overall system and features of the process of music production drawing European writers and publishers’ attention and received a standing ovation.

Also, a world-renowned producer, Teddy Riley who has produced albums of Michael Jackson and Lady Gaga said in his speech “I became interested in K-pop while I was working on music with SM. After I saw ‘SMTOWN LIVE in PARIS’ concert, I realized that K-pop which started with SM is a Movement. When I first made and used New Jack Swing, it wasn’t just a musical genre but it was a phenomenon or a Movement and I had a similar feeling through ‘SMTOWN LIVE in PARIS.’

In addition, the famous European publisher, Willy Morrision also stated his view on SM’s future by saying “I saw the SMTOWN LIVE concert for the first time yesterday and it was very impressive. The scene of the audience was like enthusiastic fans at the Beatles concert in Britain. SM will be the most powerful company in the world in 5~10 years. The SM’s driving force to grow this much is Philosophy. Because there has been CT, the foundation of philosophy that wants everything to be perfect, it’s different from European music and it could have grown this much.

Moreover, Tiffany from Girls’ Generation attended the conference and intrigued the attendee by introducing the training courses in SM and how she feels the change in global status as an Asian pop artist.

This conference was designed to let European writers and publishers know musical style which SM pursues and to build more active exchange and ties with them. Actually, they gained results by interacting good music and ideas through the conference.

Meanwhile, Universal Music Publishing Sweden representative, Pelle Lidell, the composer group from ‘Design Music’ who composed Girls’ Generation’s ‘Genie’, Alex Cantrall who composed f(x)’s ‘Pinocchio and other composers who involved in SM artists’ hit songs also attended. SM is planning to hold continuously a conference or a Song Writing camp in other countries like this event and build networks with foreign composers and publishers.

Wow! The Korean wave is really hitting globally! We should look forward to what K-Pop brings us! :D

Source: SM TOWN Facebook page

[News] SMEnt's Lee Soo Man on expanding Korean Wave

The Korean Wave is advancing into Europe. Korea's largest showbiz management agency SM Entertainment is making the first move with "SM Town Live" at the 6,700 capacity concert venue Le Zenith de Paris on June 10 and 11.

The concerts proved extremely popular, with tickets for the first show selling out online in just 10 minutes. SM Entertainment originally planned to hold just one concert, but on May 1 several hundred French K-pop fans demonstrated in front of the Louvre and demanded a second.

SM founder and CEO Lee Soo-man is the person who is leading the bold move. "At one point, I was worried that we might be making reckless investment in something that could happen only in the far future," he told the Chosun Ilbo from the U.S. "But the plans to globalize our pop culture that we've been quietly preparing for more than a decade are starting to bear fruit."

SM Town Live in Paris will feature five popular Korean bands -- TVXQ, Girls' Generation, Super Junior, SHINee, and f(x).

"We've been building relationships and content with composers in various countries for a long time to globalize K-pop," Lee said. "This series of concerts is the fruit of those long-term efforts. SM has a pool of over 300 composers and producers in the U.S. and Europe, so we're capable of producing music that can appeal to people all over the world. I'm confident that we can captivate young people in France, the U.S., Britain and Germany with our music."

Asked about criticism that Korean-style showbiz management relies on "slave" contracts that bind singers and actors to their agencies for 10 years or more, Lee said, "These criticisms come from people who don't realize that this system is the driving force of the globalization of the Korean Wave. We select talented youngsters with a lot of potential at an early age, and nurture them into highly competitive entertainers through rigorous training."

But he claimed agencies are "also committed to giving them a normal education. There is a limit to American and European agency system as it only makes investment in already proven stars. But in Korea, we have a system that constantly discovers new stars. There is no place for those who seek a windfall or jackpot with a one-off investment in the Korean entertainment industry. We have produced stars through long-term planning and investment." In fact, he insisted the U.S. and Europe "are trying to learn from our system these days."


Source: [english chosun]
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