Photo Credit: STE / SMTME Entertainment
K-pop agency SM and China’s Tencent Music unite to launch a joint venture to develop a new Chinese idol group and manage SM artists in Greater China.
South Korean agency SM Entertainment has announced a joint venture with Tencent Music Entertainment Group in China with plans to develop a new idol group focused on the Chinese market. On August 27, SM said that the new company, dubbed STE, had been established in Beijing, with boy band Super Junior-M member Zhoumi appointed as its CEO.
As one of the joint venture’s first major projects, the development of a new Chinese idol group will unfold with preparations already underway. The group is expected to make its debut within the next two to three years. STE will oversee auditions and artist casting for the project and will also undertake the group’s local management in China.
Further, the company will also expand its role in managing SM artists active in the Greater China region. These include Renjun of the boy band NCT Dream and Yangyang and Xiaojun of WayV, providing localized promotions and support for their entertainment endeavors.
Zhoumi’s appointment as CEO makes full use of his experience as both an artist and an entertainment industry executive, according to SM Entertainment. The singer has spent nearly 20 years working in the K-pop industry, both as a member of Super Junior-M and as a solo artist. He has also served as a director of SM’s Chinese subsidiary, giving him experience in both entertainment management and the local market.
“I am delighted to serve as the representative of this joint venture, which was born from the solid trust and strategic vision between SM and TME,” said Zhoumi. “By fully combining SM’s unique strengths in IP and content production with the characteristics of the Greater China market, we will present differentiated content and generate meaningful results by serving as a bridge between the two companies.”
The formation of STE follows a memorandum of understanding signed by SM and Tencent Music back in May to bolster cooperation between the two entertainment giants.