AEG Presents to bring huge K-pop event to France
A live edition of South Korea’s popular TV chart show, M Countdown, will take place in France later this year.
The AEG Presents-promoted event, titled M Countdown France, will take place on 15 October at the 40,000-capacity La Défense Arena in Paris.
The concert will “present a wide range of special programming with original content specially crafted for European fans,” alongside activities where concertgoers can “enjoy K-culture and K-pop to their fullest”. Information on the lineup, tickets and live streaming will be released in the coming weeks.
Launched in 2004, M Countdown is broadcast by MNet, a subsidiary of Korea’s largest media conglomerate CJ ENM.
“We will dedicate our best efforts to spread K-pop through an unrivalled stage setup”
CJ ENM is the organiser of the popular global K-pop music festival KCON, which was first held in Southern California in 2012 and has since expanded to ten countries.
“We are delighted to showcase our signature music show M Countdown in France,” says Joon-beom Sim, head of music entertainment at CJ ENM. “We will dedicate our best efforts to spread K-pop through an unrivalled stage setup and also make this show a festival where global fans can unite through music.”
CJ ENM’s parent company CJ Group is currently working with AEG on a “revolutionary” entertainment complex in Seoul, South Korea.
The 1.8 trillion won (€1.3 billion) development in Goyang City comprises a 20,000-capacity arena and an outdoor performance space capable of accommodating 40,000 people.
Meanwhile, the KPOP LUX x SBS SuperConcert is coming to The O2 in London from 22-23 September. The event will star 10 leading K-pop acts and also serve as a celebration of 140 years of diplomatic ties between South Korea and the United Kingdom.
Artists confirmed include Itzy, The Boyz, Zerobaseone, WEi and Xikers for the opening day, with Tomorrow’s X Together, Itzy, Oneus, Yena and Billlie, and another appearance from Xikers set for day two.
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Korea’s CJ ENM invests in AmazeVR
South Korean entertainment giant CJ ENM has bought a stake in US-based virtual reality (VR) content platform AmazeVR.
The move is intended to enhance CJ ENM’s presence in the metaverse and expand opportunities for K-pop and unscripted content, according to Variety.
Los Angeles-based AmazeVR claims to be the first and only company using its exclusive and proprietary technology, to capture hyper-real 9K+ live-action footage of artists performing. This gives fans front-row seats in 3D stage environments, making VR concerts easily scalable and faster to produce.
The startup has previously developed immersive experiences with Megan Thee Stallion and worked with Korean girl group Aespa on real-world and virtual concerts.
It recently formalised a joint venture with K-pop juggernaut SM Entertainment to produce upcoming VR concerts for other K-pop artists.
“We are talking to iconic names in music to continue to bring the best experiences to their fans”
In January this year, AmazeVR raised US$15 million, bringing the amount of capital raised to nearly $31m since its debut in 2015. It has attracted other Korean investors in earlier funding rounds – Mirae Asset Management and Quantum Ventures Korea.
CJ ENM, which operates music TV channels, organises music award shows and the KCON conventions, says the investment in AmazeVR is part of its strategy to expand its digital and technology-related business sectors related to AR/VR tech, metaverse, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and other tools.
Earlier this year, it acquired a minority equity stake in Hyperreal Digital, a US-based metaverse firm developing ‘digital humans’ technology.
“We are excited to partner with AmazeVR, a company that is leading premium VR content production technology, to lead a new paradigm in the entertainment industry,” says CJ ENM CEO Kang Ho-Sung.
AmazeVR CEO Ernest Lee adds: “With the support of our dedicated investment partners, we’re excited to enter the next age of VR concert production and deliver some really amazing performances. We are talking to iconic names in music to continue to bring the best experiences to their fans.”
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