[2024 Korea Conference]
Contents Technologies (CT), led by CEO Jangwon Lee, has grown through a unique business structure called IP Library business. IP library is a collection of previously released music, movies, and dramas.
Among these, CT focuses on music. It earns revenue through royalties when listeners listen to music through its platform or when music is used in movies and dramas.
The company mainly buys and manages ‘older songs’ that have been released for four to seven years, rather than newly released new songs.
In fact, IP such as music has already become an investment product in the market. Last year, Justin Bieber made headlines when he sold the rights to his songs and sound recordings for $200 million.
The company is also involved in a variety of other businesses. Other businesses include Fluxus, which helps distribute Korean music globally, and Contents X, which provides business solutions for entertainment companies.
The company is involved in almost everything except music production. “Music doesn’t necessarily have to be a box office industry,” Lee said. He believes that pop culture will eventually evolve with technology, and is focusing on the technological aspects that will further develop the music industry.
Developing singers and producing music is a high-risk, high-return business, making it similar to the box office business.
However, Lee has been looking for a variety of ways to make a stable profit while doing business related to music. This approach resonated with many investors and attracted over 70 billion Korean Won (roughly $52 million) in investment.
Lee is looking to expand globally based on his track record and investments and is expecting active networking at the Korea Conference to expand into the U.S. market.
In the next 10 years, he plans to invest not only in music but also in movies and dramas, where he is also eyeing to become an entertainment agency that produces music and artists. However, for this, he said, it is a prerequisite to have the best technology in all fields before production to reduce the probability of failure.
“We are confident that the Korea Conference will be the stepping stone for our expansion to global entertainment business fields.”
