SM to launch boy group in the UK

(From left) SM CAO Lee Sung-soo; M&B co-CEOs Nigel Hall, Russ Lindsay and Dawn Airey; SM CEO Jang Cheol-hyuk; SM Creative Executive Kangta; SM Music Executive Ben Karter; and SM CBO Joseph Chang gathered in Seoul to sign a strategic partnership. (SM Entertainment)

SM Entertainment has joined hands with the British entertainment company M&B to launch a boy group in the UK.

The K-pop powerhouse announced Thursday that it has inked a strategic partnership with M&B in Seoul.

M&B is led by Nigel Hall, known as the producer of British competition shows such as “The X Factor” and “Britain’s Got Talent.”

M&B co-CEO Dawn Airey is also known as a former CEO of Getty Images, and another co-CEO Russ Lindsay is one of the founders of James Grant Media Group, the UK’s largest independent media, music and sports talent agency.

M&B will be in charge of casting the members to debut while SM will be providing the know-how of K-pop music, music videos and choreography.

The songs this group debut with will be produced by SM’s music publishing affiliate, Kreation Music Rights.

Through this partnership, SM aims to increase its share in the European music market.

“This project is our meaningful first step in the European market. We will use our unrivaled K-pop producing capability and network to expand our reach to major music markets including the US, Latin America and Europe. We will play a pivotal role in accelerating the global growth of the K-pop industry,” said Joseph Chang, SM’s chief business officer.

By Hong Yoo(yoohong@heraldcorp.com)