SM Entertainment (hereinafter SM, co-CEOs Jang Cheol-hyeok·Tak Young-joon) unveiled the blueprint "SM NEXT 3.0" on the 20th as a new leap beyond its 30th anniversary.
SM released two videos on its official YouTube channel that day and, based on the "SM 3.0" system established over the past three years, announced a vision to evolve into a "multi-creative" system centered on "people" and "artists." It also presented key agendas to lead the company's future, such as IP strategy, business and global strategy, and management and investment strategy, and co-CEOs Jang Cheol-hyeok and Tak Young-joon and CAO (Chief A&R Officer) Lee Seong-soo personally explained the company's future direction to shareholders and fans.
▲ 'multi creative' beyond 'multi production'... production innovation centered on people and artists
SM declared the introduction of a "multi-creative" system, advancing one step from the results of its existing five multi-production system. Tak Young-joon said, "With a focus on artists, we aim to achieve growth and change simultaneously by exploring and assigning the optimal creators," and added, "As artists' worldviews evolve and require new artistic grammar accordingly, we will flexibly build creative lineups optimized for project objectives to realize artists' changes with the highest level of completion."
He also formalized the debut of a rookie boy group in 2026, saying, "One boy group is scheduled to debut in 2026. The male trainee team SMTR25 members will also be eligible, and they will be showcased step by step through a variety show titled 'Reply, High School' to be aired early this year."
It also specified its global local IP strategy. Tak Young-joon said, "While centering on SM's creative capabilities, we will carry out production and marketing through active cooperation with strong local partners," and said, "China is in talks with Tencent Music Entertainment, Thailand with True, and we are discussing with multiple partners in Japan."
▲ strengthening SM A&R global infrastructure through organic synergy with publishing subsidiaries
SM has built an A&R system optimized for each artist and has strengthened its A&R global infrastructure through organic collaboration and synergy with music publishing subsidiary KMR (Creation Music Rights).
CAO Lee Seong-soo said that using KMR, SM has continuously strengthened its A&R system and network, adding, "KMR secured a foundation for a global repertoire by expanding into the United States in 2025 following Korea and Europe, and has signed exclusive or sub-publishing contracts with more than 370 composers and holds a core K-pop catalog of over 7,000 songs." He added, "Through KMR, SM aims to own Asia's largest and best publishing company within the next five years and, based on that, grow it into a hub for intellectual property (IP)."
He also mentioned the direction for upgrading the A&R system using AI technology, such as having AI analyze the tens of thousands of songs SM has accumulated over 30 years to recommend tracks with high suitability for each artist to fans.
▲ strengthening artist protection and expanding fan services
SM also mentioned policies to strengthen artist protection and improve fan satisfaction. CEO Jang Cheol-hyeok said, "Since the implementation of KWANGYA 119, about 300,000 reports have been received over roughly two years, recording a response rate of 99.8%, and from 2026 we are preparing to share the status of responses such as lawsuits and reports with fans on a quarterly basis," and said, "We plan to implement measures to enhance the fan experience in stages."
▲ expansion of performance·MD·platform businesses and full-scale Kakao AI synergy
SM also explained business and investment strategies to respond to changing fandom consumption patterns. CEO Jang Cheol-hyeok said, "Live performances play a very important role in the changing K-pop industry trend, and we are working to provide performance experiences optimized for each regional fandom," and added, "With secondary businesses based on artist IP continuing to grow, SM is planning MD so that it becomes a medium to experience an artist's worldview rather than a simple product, leading new trends, and we will expand into lifestyle MD areas in the future," signaling expectations for boundaryless collaboration through crossover with various industries.
He also mentioned that "we have made DearU, which operates the fan communication platform 'Bubble,' a consolidated subsidiary, and will provide fans with diverse K-content experiences through collaboration with global platforms."
Regarding the use of AI, a future core driver, CEO Jang Cheol-hyeok said, "SM has the advantage of being able to leverage the AI technical capabilities of its parent company Kakao, so we expect strong synergy at the intersection of rapidly changing K-pop and AI," and added, "We will more actively seek M&A opportunities within music and related industries than in the past three years and inject capital to accelerate growth."
Co-CEOs Jang Cheol-hyeok and Tak Young-joon concluded the video by saying, "SM NEXT 3.0 combines creative innovation centered on people with the musical essence SM does best, along with technology and platforms, to achieve boundaryless expansion," and expressed the ambition, "We will prove our position as a global leading company through sound growth and investment."
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