HYBE, SM Entertainment, Kakao executives chosen as Billboard power players

Executives from K-pop agencies HYBE, SM Entertainment and Kakao have been selected for the 2023 Billboard International Power Players list, the U.S.-based music chart service announced Tuesday.

Billboard International Power Players, chosen annually by Billboard, honors the executives of music industries outside the United States for their contribution to the music industry.

Under HYBE, HYBE CEO Park Ji-won, Big Hit Music President Shin Young-jae and ADOR President Min Hee-jin have been nominated, with CEO Park and President Shin having been nominated for two years in a row.

“HYBE’s increasingly diversified business fired on all cylinders in 2022,” Billboard explained, citing achievements of boy band BTS, Tomorrow X Together and ADOR’s rookie girl group NewJeans, which garnered noticeable results on Billboard charts.

Two SM executives, chief A&R officer Lee Sung-su and COO Tak Young-jun, have also been nominated for two consecutive years.

“In 2022, former co-CEOs Lee and Tak guided SM Entertainment to sales of $440.6 million,” Billboard said. SM Entertainment’s girl group aespa and boy band NCT 127 had both landed at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 chart in 2022, according to Billboard.

From Kakao Entertainment, Joseph Chang, CEO and executive VP and global strategy officer of Kakao Entertainment, has been chosen. Billboard credited Chang’s effort in overseeing the company’s global expansion strategy and business, led by girl group IVE, boy bands The Boyz and Monsta X.

Adam Granite of Universal Media Group, Dickon Stainer from Verve Label Group and Donny Novakovic of Disney Music Group were among the few who had been listed as the Billboard International Power Players this year.

BY CHO YONG-JUN [cho.yongjun1@joongang.co.kr]