SM C&C, 'Music IP Business' in full swing in 2026..Diversifying Business Portfolio

*This content was translated by AI.

SM Culture & Content Co., Ltd., SM Entertainment's group company and Korea's leading cultural content company, will make a structural transformation to expand the boundaries of its business starting in 2026.

Based on the achievements of the 'Music IP (Intellectual Property) Business' that SM&C has established throughout 2025, it has started to secure a new growth engine in earnest. In the second half of last year, SBS audition program "Our Ballad," which was produced by SM C&C as a joint operator, was successfully settled, and it established a record division within the entertainment business division and signed an exclusive contract with "Our Ballad Top 11" artists. As a result, the vertical integration of the music business value chain from sound source IP production to management and performance has been completed.

SM C&C further advanced its business portfolio by adding singer management capabilities to the existing unique MC/entertainers and actors line-up. In particular, as a group company of SM Entertainment, it is receiving favorable reviews for extending the horizon of K-pop to the 'ballad' genre.

This move by SM C&C has become a key momentum for realizing a new corporate vision beyond just expanding its business area. If existing management focused on supporting artists' activities and managing human resources, this new business has established an IP business model that can maximize added value by fostering artists through its own incubation system and diversifying the IP (Intellectual Property) profit structure derived from sound sources, performances, and goods.

The foundation is the solid management history of Korea's top MC groups, including Kang Ho-dong, Jeon Hyun-moo, and Jang Do-yeon, and the know-how of the "experts group" accumulated in the domestic top-tier advertising and content production agency business. 2025 is the first year that organically combines the strengths of artist discovery, branding, and content production based on these core capabilities, and 2026 is ready to maximize profitability by securing its own IP (ballad singers and sound sources) and settling the business structure beyond the existing business model.

The achievements of "Our Ballad," which was the beginning of the new business, are encouraging. The program, which aired through SBS and Netflix, recorded a 7.6% viewer rating per minute, which is unusual for terrestrial weekday entertainment, and proved its high popularity by ranking second in Netflix's Korean top 10 series. More than 400 of SM C&C's original YouTube videos have created a strong fandom, surpassing 100 million views* online. (*Based on self-aggregated data as of the end of December, 2025)

This led to the reaction of the music market, and a total of 95 songs in the "Our Ballad" series released during the broadcast were ranked high on the chart (50 songs from "Our Ballad STORY" and 45 songs from "Our Ballad Best") and 22 more songs released through the spin-off program SBS "Urban Radio" were also able to continue their popularity. The steady music release strategy, which has continued since September last year, has created a solid ballad fandom by continuing the ballad craze until March this year.

In addition, the tour concerts in five cities nationwide from January to March this year set a box office record that exceeded about 130,000 cumulative visitors, with all the Seongnam and Daegu performances sold out. As a result, SM C&C succeeded in diversifying its business, which encompasses performance and music distribution, and secured a strong new growth engine through music.

Another thing to note is the synergy between SM Entertainment groups. Top 11, which will begin its full-fledged career as a singer this year, will promote collaboration with competent composers at home and abroad of SM Entertainment Group, which leads the Korean music industry. Through this, the company plans to increase its musical perfection and expand its market influence by releasing about 18 songs within this year.

In the performance field, SM Entertainment's unique expertise adds synergy. Based on the global know-how and capabilities accumulated through the global tour of K-POP, the planning and directing of the "Our Ballad" nationwide tour was in charge of overwhelming quality. Through this, the audience is given the best performance experience and is increasing brand value.

SM C&C's internalized AI technology is also introduced in the production of music videos. SM C&C plans to produce and introduce its own music video during the first half of the year, adding its own AI solution to its content capabilities to maximize production efficiency and video quality. This also shows the differentiated potential of SM C&C to move toward an integrated business model with not only simple sound source IP retention but also content production solutions.

SM C&C plans to make 2026 the year of full-fledged music IP business and start substantial growth.

Their artists Hong Seung-min and Choi Eun-bin released OSTs for dramas "I Have a Baby" and "My Dear Bandit," respectively, while Song Ji-woo released a remake new song "Spring Rain" on the 10th. Through the 708090 remake project 'SM:ALL ROOM', SM&C plans to continue its project to reinterpret past masterpieces with today's emotions and deliver impressions beyond the times. In addition, Top 11 will focus on simultaneously increasing external growth and profitability through various activities, including promotions linked to various projects run by SM C&C.

Park Tae-hyun, CEO of SM C&C, said, "If 2025 was the year that laid the foundation for growth by strengthening the professionalism of singer management, 2026 will be a year to prove practical business performance by establishing the music IP business in a stable manner."

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*This content was translated by AI.