J.Tune, Starship, and WM Entertainment Named as Possible Candiates for Next SM C&C Merge

An interesting article came out today, August 28 KST, in which the author, speculating upon the direction of SM Entertainment after the recent merge between its subsidiary SM C&C and Woollim Entertainment to create the “Woollim Label“, mentions J.Tune Entertainment (home to MBLAQ), Starship Entertainment (home to SISTAR), and WM Entertainment (home to B1A4) as possible candidates for another merge. A source from one of the entertainment companies commented cautiously, “We have talked to SM but nothing has been decided.” It seems the agencies are waiting to see how SM will help the growth of Infinite, who is under Woollim Entertainment, first before making any decisions. According to the author, although Infinite has started their world tour, they have been running into some trouble with promotions and other areas. If SM can help Infinite successfully complete their world tour, the author predicts a new merge will quickly happen soon after.

There seems to be nothing certain about possible mergers between the aforementioned agencies and SM. But the author does bring about the suggestion that SM will continue to seek mergers with other agencies in the K-Pop industry to make its way to become a major global music company in the likes of Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group, and Sony Music Entertainment. 

Some of the questions that need to be asked is 1) Will SM establish itself as a monopoly in the K-Pop industry? 2) If so, what are the dangers of such monopolization? 3) What will be the benefits for the smaller agencies to join forces with SM? 4) For the bigger and long-term picture, what will the establishment of SM as a major global music company mean for K-Pop in terms of the music and the international reach?

Source: Sports World