SM Entertainment CFO explains leadership’s opposition to HYBE’s “hostile takeover” of the K-pop agency

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Korean tech giant Kakao has gained the upper hand in the battle for control of K-pop agency SM Entertainment, after HYBE Corp., the firm behind music idols BTS, said Sunday that it had called off its takeover bid. SM is the second largest talent Korean music talent firm and is behind music acts including Super M, Aespa, BoA and Red Velvet, Girls’ Generation, H.O.T., EXO, Super Junior, SHINee and NCT Dream. HYBE said on Sunday that it will “discontinue the acquisition process […] after observing that the market has been showing signs of overheating due to competition with both Kakao and Kakao Entertainment,” something that it said could “damage shareholder value.”

City's Cancelo stance

Iggy Pop has shared a new mini-documentary that features an in-depth conversation with Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea – watch below.The 26-minute film, titled Bitten By Flea!, sees the two musicians sit down together to talk about a range of topics, including The Stooges‘ influence on Flea, their experiences working with producer Andrew Watt, and Pop’s commitment to starting the morning with “a good face”.“If you’re not in a good mood – fool yourself, motherfucker! Don’t get down, don’t let yourself get down,” the legendary singer continues before mimicking a chirpy TV morning show host.Elsewhere, Pop recalls receiving an open letter from U2 frontman Bono: “He said, ‘In rock ‘n’ roll, or modern popular music, there is a sort of regency in which certain people occupy the castle and pull up the drawbridge. And it seems to me that when you hurtle yourself headfirst into the crowd, you are throwing away your crown’.”Pop responds by saying, “Fuck the regency!”, referring to the lyrics to ‘The Regency’ from his 2023 album ‘Every Loser’.The record, which was produced by Watt, features contributions from Flea’s RHCP bandmate Chad Smith, the group’s former guitarist Josh Klinghoffer, and late Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins.Directed to Thom Zimny, Bitten By Flea! also contains behind-the-scenes footage of Pop’s time in the studio with Watt.Explaining his approach to recording music with Pop, the Grammy-winning producer says: “[With] somebody who is in the latter part of their career, I think it’s very important for – even if the music is happening quick, and the energy is there, and the creative stuff is like ‘Bam, bam, bam’ – just taking your time to go through it.

Iggy Pop‘s Dog Day Afternoon event, with Buzzcocks and Lambrini Girls now joining the bill.Back in November, the Punk icon announced that he will take over Crystal Palace Park on Saturday, July 1 with a special one-day event, featuring sets from Blondie and Generation Sex.The latter band features Billy Idol and Tony James of Generation X, as well as Sex Pistols‘ Steve Jones and Paul Cook.

Malina Saval Associate Editor, Features In the face of rampant antisemitism and hate crime statistics soaring in the United States and abroad — per the FBI, Jews are the most targeted ethno-religious group in the U.S. — the ADL (Anti-Defamation League) has announced the launch of its ADL Entertainment Leadership Council, a cohort of top executives and creatives in the film, television, music and media space. The group’s collection mission: to combat societal hate, including antisemitism.  “ADL is the oldest anti-hate organization in America. We’ve been focused on fighting antisemitism, and all forms of bigotry, for 110 years,” says Jonathan Greenblatt, ADL CEO and national director. “And one of the issues that is obvious to us, and I think that is obvious to all, is that popular culture shapes the public conversation. In a world in which there’s a high degree of cynicism and distrust about institutions–whether it’s the government or the media or other large entities–today, more than ever, entertainers and influencers shape public opinion and have a direct impact.” 

The K-Pop world is currently going through one of its biggest ever corporate dramas, with SM Entertainment, the label of BoA, Girls Generation, EXO and Super Junior, fighting off what its management is describing as a hostile takeover from its rival HYBE, home of BTS. 

In a new interview, Prince Harry dives deeper into his New York Times bestselling memoir Spare, touching on the trauma that’s been a part of his life ever since he was a little boy.

Manchester City's FA Cup quarter-final tie against Vincent Kompany's Burnley will take place on Saturday, March 18.

Manchester United's FA Cup quarter-final tie at home to Fulham will be played on Sunday, March 19 at 4.30pm.

Manchester City beating Bristol City to advance to the FA Cup quarter-finals throws up another fixture rescheduling headache for the Premier League in the final months of this season.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief HYBE Corp., the talent firm behind K-pop sensation BTS, has launched a campaign to woo the shareholders of SM Entertainment, the rival Korean talent empire in which it is poised become the largest single shareholder. In a letter and video package, issued Thursday, HYBE said that it was launching a campaign website detailing its business strategy and the ways in which it plans to prioritize SM shareholders. The documents directly criticized SM’s current management and also struck out at Korean entertainment-tech giant Kakao, with which SM has recently struck an alliance.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Fox has named John Hesling its new head of Alternative Entertainment, the broadcast network’s in-house unscripted studio. Responsible for overseeing the development and production of all unscripted series owned by Fox Entertainment (FAE), as well as programs FAE produces for third-party buyers in the U.S. and abroad, Hesling will be based in Los Angeles and report to Allison Wallach, president of unscripted programming at Fox Entertainment. “I am so excited for John to join FAE and lead the incredible team we have assembled,” Wallach said. “His creative vision and vast experience as both a producer and an executive working on a global scale will be key to our strategy of building FAE as a leading provider of innovative series and formats for Fox and third-party platforms throughout the world.”

Manchester City are back in action this midweek as they resume their FA Cup campaign.

Deputising Newcastle goalkeeper Loris Karius has praised the defensive stability of Manchester United in Sunday’s Carabao Cup final triumph.

A confident Newcastle fan who got a 'cup winners' tattoo three days before his side's Carabao Cup final defeat to Manchester United has said he has no regrets.

CMU’s Andy Malt and Chris Cooke review key events in music and the music business from the last week, including Hybe CEO Park Ji-won’s defence of his company’s recent acquisition of shares in rival SM Entertainment after its management hit out at the deal, plus concerns raised by two more US senators about TikTok and its Chinese parent company Bytedance and what access the Chinese government has to users and user-data on the video sharing platform.SECTION TIMES01: Hybe (00:06:51)02: TikTok (00:19:11)(Timings may be slightly different due to adverts)SUBSCRIBE TO SETLISTListen to Setlist and sign up to receive new episodes for free automatically each week through any of these services…Acast | Amazon Music | Apple Podcasts | audioBoom | CastBox | Deezer | Google Podcasts | iHeart | Mixcloud | RSS | Spotify | Stitcher | TuneInSTORIES DISCUSSED THIS WEEK• Hybe CEO defends his company’s bid to control rival SM Entertainment• Hybe boss sets out vision for SM alliance• Two more US senators hit out at TikTok over data concerns• European Commission bans staff from using TikTok on work devices over data concernsALSO MENTIONED• David Bowie archive acquisition (V&A press release)MORE FROM CMU• Upcoming CMU webinars• Buy MMF and CMU Insights’ Dissecting The Digital Dollar book on Amazon• Sign up to receive the CMU Daily news bulletin• Listen to the full Setlist theme tune

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag says Avram Glazer wanted to "show his intentions" with his presence at the League Cup final victory over Newcastle.

MONSTA X and Jessi have been announced as the final K-pop acts to join the line-up for We Bridge, a music festival set to take place in Las Vegas.We Bridge announced yesterday (February 23) that both acts would be joining the performing line-up for day one (April 21), with MONSTA X set to headline the first night of the festival. Both acts will be sharing the bill with Dreamcatcher, CIX and soloist Kang Daniel.‼️ FINAL LINEUP ANNOUNCEMENTWe are excited to announce that @OfficialMonstaX will also be joining the final lineup of the #WeBridge concert as the headliner on day 1 ✨Get your tickets: https://t.co/9xhUMDB6HC pic.twitter.com/fT0bXdWddi— WE BRIDGE Expo (@WeBridgeExpo) February 23, 2023‼️ FINAL LINEUP ANNOUNCEMENTWe can’t wait to see Jessi on stage in Las Vegas! Don’t miss her performance as she joins day 1 of the #WeBridge Expo ✨Get your tickets: https://t.co/9xhUMDB6HC pic.twitter.com/8mikPCLBZX— WE BRIDGE Expo (@WeBridgeExpo) February 23, 2023Earlier this month, ENHYPEN was announced as the headliner for the festival’s second night (April 22), sharing the stage with boy group ONEUS and soloist Be’O, as well as girl groups VIVIZ and fromis_9.

Pep Guardiola has explained that he is playing Bernardo Silva at left-back because he helps Manchester City control games and be less predictable in their attacking play.

Here are your latest Manchester City evening headlines on Tuesday, February 21.