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Kakao Entertainment partners with Columbia Records in the US
By Chris Cooke | Published on Monday 27 March 2023
South Korea’s Kakao Entertainment last week announced a partnership between its American division and Sony Music’s Columbia Records. The tie-up, it says, “aims to expand Kakao Entertainment’s music distribution network and elevate its position in the global market by leveraging Columbia Records’ unparalleled expertise in the North American music business”.
The first release via the partnership will be the debut album from K-pop outfit Ive, who are managed by Kakao’s Starship Entertainment subsidiary. They will release ‘I’ve Ive’ on 10 Apr.
Joseph Chang, Head Of Kakao Entertainment America, says he is “THRILLED to be embarking on Ive’s global journey with Columbia Records, a company with a rich history in pop music”.
“This partnership holds significant meaning for us”, he adds. “By strengthening the production and distribution capabilities of our music and artists in North America, we look forward to increasing the global competitiveness of Kakao Entertainment’s music business”.
Kakao Entertainment, like rival South Korean entertainment firms Hybe and SM Entertainment, has big ambitions for global expansion, especially in the US market.
Those global ambitions are one of the reasons why Kakao has been pursuing a partnership with SM back home, reckoning the two companies can compete better globally when working together.
That was a partnership which proved controversial, of course, when it was opposed by SM founder Lee Soo-man, who unsuccessfully tried to block the alliance with the help of Hybe.
