[Exclusive]B-Wave, RBW Left Oneers IP Acquisition In Blitz..CEO Koo Bon-young's sincerity [★ Lab interview②]

*This content was translated by AI.

[Editor’s Note] [★Lab] Star News meets people who drive the entertainment industry and delves into their own unique know-how and success strategies. Here are the practical experiences and philosophies of those who silently make their way behind the colorful star.

-Following the interview ①.

Koo Bon-young, CEO of B-Wave Entertainment, once again embraced ONEUS, a boy group who shared his debut moment while working at RBW. After the contract with RBW ended on the 20th of last month, ONEUS transferred all schedules and activities to B-Wave from the next day.

In particular, B-Wave has completed all IP purchases related to ONEUS at RBW according to the members' wishes. There are no restrictions or regrets on working as ONEUS in non-RBWave. In fact, behind the transfer was the unexpected unity of ONEUS members, even CEO Koo Bon-young.

"I knew that ONEUS' contract was coming to an end, but I didn't intend to sign him as a non-wave. But the members came to see me first. Usually, they find a new company or negotiate a contract renewal at the end of their contract, but ONEUS didn't do either. When I asked why, he said, 'Why do I have to find another company and renew my contract with RBW when the CEO is here?' and 'Our choice would be the CEO anyway.' I was very interested in ONEUS, but there were many mountains to overcome, so I asked them to wait first. After that, I started working on it, and I wanted to give the members good conditions, but I couldn't. Fortunately, ONEUS understood, and the members first said, "I think we need to make a lot of money."

It may be thought that it is simply a reunion with an old family member, but it is also based on thorough business judgment. CEO Koo announced his goal of connecting ONEUS' profit model more firmly to Japan, the Americas and Europe through hits targeting a large number of fan bases, not just music that collects fandom.

"ONEUS has more overseas fandom than in Korea. Especially in North America. I always sold out wherever I went in North America. We recently performed at a similar level in Europe. (Producer from non-wave) I want to make popular hits with RT in Korea as well. I hope there will be a hit song that can encompass everyone, not just music that only collects fandom and sells albums. It's a small but cohesive group with a strong fandom, so if you use your firepower and promote it hard, they're always possible."

However, from the perspective of CEO Koo, he did not intend to recruit ONEUS in the first place, so he might have been burdened when he first received an offer from the members. In this regard, he said, "B-Wave is a company that started with the idea of 'I want to make good artists such as BTS (BTS) and BLACKPINK.' Since it was not a company that wanted to increase corporate value by recruiting large FA artists, I was most grateful when ONEUS said it wanted to come. It wasn't a burden. However, it is not a company alone, and there are employees, executives, and investors, so I was worried about 'how will I feed these friends?' and 'Wouldn't it pose a risk to the company?' he said.

When asked about the meaning of ONEUS in his career to CEO Koo, he answered "family" without hesitation. Beyond my business partner, I'm sad about small things, and I'm the first to contact them when something happy happens. He also expressed deep affection for having relied on him during the various painful times that ONEUS suffered.

"When you're disappointed when it's nothing, but you have a hard time, the first thing that comes to mind is your family. There are times when ONEUS and I can't tell if it's good or bad because it feels like this. Please rely on me a lot when I'm having a hard time and pain, so I hope I get a lot of settlement in B-Wave. Including my trainee years, I've devoted almost 10 years, so now I want to say, "You guys made money, too."

One Earth's new emergency is about to begin. CEO Koo said he is planning a full comeback of ONEUS around August-September this year, and will continue his active activities for about a year after that.

-Continued in Interview 3.

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*This content was translated by AI.