The Boyz and IU Set for Tours, While IVE Heads for Lollapalooza Chicago as Kakao Entertainment Seeks Bigger Role in K-Pop

A year after winning a bitter corporate battle for control of pioneering K-pop agency SM Entertainment, South Korean tech firm Kakao Entertainment says it is accelerating its expansion in music.

Kakao already has a controlling stake in Melon, Korea’s leading subscription-based music streamer. It defeated BTS-backer Hybe Corp. in the first half of last year in a fight for control of SM Entertainment that was kicked off by SM founder Lee Soo-man’s decision to sell his share stake.

In the first half of 2024, the company concentrated on the world tours of various artists under its labels to expand its fans worldwide and will seek to expand its so-called multi-label system. It also wants to establish partnerships with global music platforms and other local platforms in order to further spread K-pop overseas.

SM Entertainment & Kakao Entertainment America will unveil a project to debut a new British boy band that has been working in collaboration with global entertainment Moon&Back Media to make stronger inroads into global markets including Europe and the U.S.

This group “is the result of combining Kakao Entertainment’s business experience and global networks with SM’s expertise in developing and producing music and artists,” Kakao said and features in new six-part series “Made in Korea: The K-Pop Experience,” airing on the U.K.’s BBC One and iPlayer. This series follows the band members as they are put through the original K-pop training process for 100 days.

Established Korean artist, IU is set to tour six cities in the U.S. – Newark, Atlanta, Washington D.C., Rosemont, Oakland and Los Angeles – from this month. Earlier this year she toured in Asia and Europe.

IVE will perform at Lollapalooza Chicago in August and Summer Sonic 2024 in Japan. The band’s first world tour “Show What I Have,” has spanned 27 cities in 19 countries since last year. They will also play at the Tokyo Dome in September.

The Boyz will kick off their third world tour “Generation II” in the second half of the year, covering Asia, Europe and the Americas. This follows the July release of their third Japanese-language album “Gibberish.”

“In the second half, we plan to leverage our global management system to diversify the activities of artists, expand and reinforce our network with various partners in the global entertainment industry, and produce global IP in collaboration with SM,” said Joseph Chang, co-CEO of Kakao Entertainment. “This will enable us to further strengthen the competitiveness of the music business on the global stage and solidify our position as a key player in K-pop.”