CJ ENM has unveiled a blueprint for its music business in 2025 aimed at a new global leap to celebrate Mnet's 30th anniversary.
On the afternoon of the 15th, a CJ ENM MUSIC media lounge was held at The Class Cheongdam located in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. The event featured Shin Hyung-kwan, Head of Music Content Business Division at CJ ENM, and Kim Ji-won, Head of Mnet Plus, who shared the global music business strategy of CJ ENM and the vision of Mnet Plus.
CJ ENM stated that in celebration of Mnet's 30th anniversary this year, it will focus on three core pillars of its music business: global multi-labels, global production studios, and global platforms, and will strengthen its competitiveness around these pillars. They expressed their determination to expand their presence in the global music market through the establishment of new global labels, expansion of global target content, and the launch of new services from Mnet Plus within the year.
Shin Hyung-kwan announced plans to establish a new global label connecting domestic and international artists and fans, following Wake One and Japan's Rapone Entertainment.
Shin stated, "We plan to launch a new global artist label, and I believe we will be able to share more details in the first half of the year," and urged, "Please look forward to the new label established in partnership with a global company."
In terms of global production studios, they will expand large-scale projects that can collaborate with global artists beyond K-pop. They will present 'World of Street Woman Fighter', a national competition featuring global dance crews, 'Boys Planet', the first project to be produced and broadcast simultaneously in Korean and Chinese, and an 8-episode competition series 'K-Pop'd (tentative title)' in collaboration with Apple TV+, as well as a band project (tentative title) to expand the global survival genre.
Shin emphasized, "Especially pay attention to 'Boys Planet'," adding, "We have done many audition programs, but this scale is unprecedented. Participants from over 110 countries have applied, and more than 600 domestic and international agencies have contacted us expressing their desire to participate."
He further added, "This is a project to create two teams simultaneously in the different cultural spheres of Korea and China. Since this is a project we are trying for the first time, we hope you will take an interest."
A new lineup was also revealed for the first time. The new Japan-Korea joint hip-hop project 'Unpretty Rapstar: HIPPOP PRINCESS' is being prepared for broadcast in the second half of 2025, created by the production teams of 'Unpretty Rapstar' and 'Street Woman Fighter'.
Introducing 'Unpretty Rapstar: HIPPOP PRINCESS', Shin stated, "While hip-hop and rap genres are not as popular in Japan as they are in our country, I believe they have tremendous potential," and announced, "The production teams of 'Unpretty Rapstar' and 'Street Woman Fighter' are preparing a Japan-Korea joint hip-hop project to create the 'IZ*ONE' of the rapper world."
CJ ENM emphasized that it will continue to expand its music business ecosystem model through MCS (Music Creative eco-System), which is a music-based IP ecosystem system, providing opportunities for talented artists, collaborating with small and medium-sized agencies, and forming global partnerships.
Additionally, they plan to enhance fan communication and community-centered fan experiences through 'KCON', the world's largest K-pop fan & artist festival, and the global K-pop awards 'MAMA AWARDS', as well as the global digital platform Mnet Plus, which has long served as a representative platform for the globalization of Korean culture.
Kim Ji-won, Head of Mnet Plus, stated that Mnet Plus plans to enhance its platform based on three core elements: K-POP content, communication with fans, and global commerce. Mnet Plus has surpassed 27 million subscribers and 7 million monthly active users (MAU) in just three years since its launch, achieving remarkable growth with nearly 320 million cumulative votes.
This year, they plan to significantly strengthen original content such as 'Hide and Seek', as well as streaming and VOD services for Mnet programs, concerts, KCON, and MAMA AWARDS, along with various K-POP related content. They will also expand fan-interactive content such as voting, support, digital, photo collect, and real-time talk, and provide communication features such as fan club management, artist postings exclusive to fans, and 1:1 chatting through 'Plus Chat'.
In addition, in April, they will connect online and offline commerce using CJ ENM's IP through the beta service of 'Mnet Plus Merch', and strengthen the competitiveness of the fandom platform with differentiated curation such as limited edition products.
Kim Ji-won expressed the ultimate goal of Mnet Plus, saying, "When a boy in any country globally tells his friend that he is interested in K-pop, I hope Mnet Plus is mentioned. I hope Mnet Plus becomes the first gateway to K-pop and an essential app."
[Lee Da-kyum, Star Today Reporter]
