CEOs and major executives of SM Entertainment and HYBE have been selected on Billboard’s list of “Indie Power Players”.
According to the 2023 Indie Power Players list released on the U.S music media Billboard on June 12th (local time), SM CAO (Chief A&R Officer) Lee Sung Soo, SM COO (Chief Operation Officer) Tak Young Joon, Big Music CEO Shin Young Jae, and Source Music’s CEO & Master Professional So Sung Jin.
Vice president of SM’s U.S. branch Dom Rodriguez also appeared on the list.
CAO Lee Sung Soo and COO Tak Young Joon have been chosen for the second consecutive year, while CEO Shin Young Jae has been named for the third year since 2021.
Regarding SM’s performance, Billboard evaluated, “Even in the midst of a management dispute earlier this year, aespa records the highest first-day sales for a K-pop girl group with their new album ‘MY WORLD’ by selling 1.7 million copies”.
In the case of the two labels under HYBE, Big Hit Music and Source Music, Billboard highlighted the solo activities of BTS members and the achievements of BTS’s junior groups, such as TXT and LE SSERAFIM.
Billboard said, “Despite their group activity hiatus in 2022, BTS still completed ‘Yet To Come Concert in Busan’ and Las Vegas concert successfully, followed by the solo promotions of J-Hope, RM, Jin, Suga and Jungkook.”
They added, “TXT stayed on ‘Billboard 200’ chart for 14 weeks with their mini album ‘minisode 2: Thursday’s Child’ and completed their first world tour”.
Regarding Source Music, “Acquired in 2019 by HYBE (previously known as Big Hit Entertainment), Source Music is a label specializing in girl groups that introduce the world-famous group LE SSERAFIM”, adding “LE SSERAFIM recently entered ‘Billboard 200’ chart at No.6, recording their own best record with the album ‘UNFORGIVEN’.”
Billboard’s “Indie Power Players”, announced annually since 2017, is a list that recognizes leaders of agencies that achieve independent success in the global music market, excluding the three major labels in the U.S. (Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, and Warner Music Group), as well as other labels and distributors.
Source: Daum
