SM Entertainment's publishing subsidiary Kreation Music Rights (KMR) has announced that it has signed 86 songwriters to its roster since launching in September. The fast-growing music publisher also announced plans to expand into Europe and North America.
The company says its “highest priority” is to hire top songwriters around the world, not just writers within the SM Entertainment network. KMR began its global expansion in December 2023 with the launch of its European office to recruit local talent, starting with writers who have worked on songs for SM and K-pop artists for many years. They include Norwegian label Dsign Music (“Genie” by Girls' Generation, “ISTJ” by NCT DREAM) and Sweden-based songwriting duo Sunshine (“Psycho” by Red Velvet, “Highway to Heaven” by NCT 127, “Spicy ” from aespa).
KMR will next expand into North America, as noted in a press release on Thursday (March 7), establishing a North American subsidiary and additional partnerships with local companies. According to the publication, “KMR aims to maximize its synergy with SM and quickly secure market dominance in the K-pop market,” while aiming to be “Asia's leading music publishing company within the next five years.” .
KMR also announced that it has acquired two South Korean music publishers — Monotree and The Hub — to quickly establish its dominance in the country's music publishing space. Founded in 2014, Monotree has 33 songwriters on its roster, including A-list producer/writers Hwang Hyun, Yoo Ji-sang (aka G-HIGH) and Lee Joo-hyung. The Hub, which was founded in 2020 by Brian You, has 13 songwriters in its gender. KMR reports that the company had an annual sales growth rate of 53% in 2020-2023.
According to KMR, the company now consists of three separate groups — MonoTree, The Hub and SMASH HIT — which operate as “CICs” (company within a company), which is similar to what is known as a “joint venture” in the market of USA. KMR notes that it plans to expand the number of CICs through more investments and partnerships in the future.
from our partners at https://www.billboard.com/business/publishing/sm-entertainment-expand-publishing-company-europe-north-america-1235628317/
