Nikki Semin Han, a leading figure in the Korean pop music (K-pop) industry, has teamed up with several of his former colleagues from SM Entertainment to launch Titan Content.
The U.S.-based company styles itself as “the world’s first premier multinational K-pop powerhouse music company.” With studio facilities in Seoul and Los Angeles, the company aims to break K-pop artists in the U.S. market
Titan has pulled off an initial seed finance round that was led and closed by RW3 Ventures and Raptor Group, with Dreamus Company serving as a co-lead investor. Other multinational investors and strategic partners include Animoca Ventures, Sfermion, Bell Partners AB, Heros Entertainment, Infinity Ventures Crypto, Scrum Ventures, Planetarium, and Avalanche.
Korean industry sources suggest that Titan aims to launch two K-pop girl groups, two boy groups, one male soloist, and one female soloist by 2028. It will begin global auditions to scout talent through 2024 and unveil the first new acts in 2025.
Once operational, it aims to combine traditional K-pop business models and content with Web3, metaverse, and AI innovation.
Han (aka Han Se-min) was previously CEO of SM Entertainment, the K-pop talent agency founded by father of K-pop Lee Soo-man, and which represented acts including BoA, Girls’ Generation, EXO and Super Junior. Han departed the company and became president of Astory, producer of “Extraordinary Attorney Woo,” and CEO of Astory’s subsidiary AIMC.
Other key executives in the new company include: CEO Katie Kang (aka Kang Jung-ah); chief performance officer Lia Kim; chief visual officer Guiom Lee; and chief business officer Dom Rodriguez.
Kang has created casting, training and producing systems that have become the cornerstone of K-pop artist development and worked with TVXQ, Super Junior, Girls’ Generation, F(x) and SHINee.
Kim was previously behind Korea’s iconic 1Million Dance Studio and has trained female acts including Twice, Itzy, Girls’ Generation and CL of 2NE1.
Lee, previously sales head for Prada in Korea and founder of Dazed Korea, has previously worked with The Boyz, Seventeen and GOT7.
Rodriguez is a multi-platinum producer and was recognized on Billboard’s 2023 “40 Under 40” list and as a 2023 “Indie Power Player.”
“Think of Titan like the ‘Avengers’ of the K-pop community joining forces to redefine the industry. With a proven record of elevating global superstars, TITAN’s founders and executives have played key roles in helping shape K-pop and making it a global lifestyle with passionate fans across the world,” said Han. “Together, we’re creating a company where artists thrive, fans come first, music takes center stage, and industry disruption reigns supreme.”
“By connecting the East and the West, Titan plans to lead the K-pop revolution on a global scale,” said CEO Katie Kang. “Not only will we utilize our vast experience and expertise to develop and create beloved K-pop artists and brands, we will also push the industry forward through savvy Web3 disruption.”
Patrick Frater
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