Chrome Entertainment
Chrome Entertainment is a record label and talent agency founded by Hwang Hyun-chang in 2011, based in Seoul, South Korea. Since 2014, Chrome Entertainment is a label under Sony Music Entertainment.
 | |
Native name | 크롬 엔터테인먼트 |
|---|---|
| Industry | Music Entertainment |
| Genre | |
| Founded | Seoul, South Korea (August 2011) |
| Founder | Hwang Hyun-chang |
| Headquarters | 222-2 kingreon building B1, Nonhyeon-dong, Gangnam District, Seoul, South Korea[1] |
Key people | Kim Jeong-tae (CEO) |
| Products | Albums Concerts |
| Services | Publishing records Entertainment agency |
| Website | www |
History
Hwang Hyun-chang, a commercial photographer, was inspired to create a girl group after seeing T-ara's "Roly Poly" on television. Before that, he had never paid attention to pop idols and only listened to classical music.[2] After an initial investment of 10 million won, he converted his photography studio, Chrome Creative, into Chrome Entertainment. To finance this venture, Hwang sold his camera gear, used up all his savings, and went into debt. He later said, "If I had known how much it would cost, I would never have done it."[3]
The first group that Chrome Entertainment formed and managed was Crayon Pop, who debuted in July 2012. After the success of Crayon Pop's "Bar Bar Bar", which earned the company US$2 million, Chrome was able to debut more groups.[4] Boy band K-Much debuted in January 2014,[5] and two more groups debuted in June 2014: girl group Bob Girls and male duo Zan Zan (Hangul: 짠짠).[6][7] On 2 December 2014, male trot singer Her Min-young signed a contract with Chrome Entertainment.[8] On February 24, 2015, it was announced that Bob Girls had disbanded.[9] Later that year, Zan Zan and Her Min-young left the agency.[10]
In 2016, Chrome Entertainment had major changes in management, with founder Hwang Hyun-chang leaving the agency. Kim Jeong-tae replaced him as CEO.[11]
Partnership with Sony Music
On 13 August 2013, Chrome Entertainment signed a strategic partnership contract with Sony Music Entertainment, which gave Sony international distribution rights to Chrome's music and albums.[12][13] On 7 July 2014, Chrome Entertainment signed a label contract which made Chrome an independent label under Sony Music Entertainment. With this new contract, Chrome has the ability to distribute music from other agencies.[14] In August 2014, it was reported that K-pop trio Lip Service had signed a contract with Chrome Entertainment.[15] The company was subsequently credited under "manufacture" (as Chrome Entertainment Sony Music) on Lip Service's single album, Upgrade, released 20 August 2014.
Concerts
Chrome Entertainment has held several concerts for their artists. The first such concert was on 21 June 2014, called Chrome Happy Concert in Cheongju.[16] On 4 October, the First Chrome Family in Japan Concert was held in Shinagawa, Tokyo. On 3 December, Chrome Family released a single album, 2014 Chrome Family – A Very Special Christmas, with the single "Love Christmas".[17]
Artists
Recording artists
- Bz-Boys
Actors
- Cho Hyung-joon
- Lee Geun-hwa
- Lee Ho-suck
Former artists
- Loki (K-Much, 2014)
- Bob Girls[9] (2014–2015)
- Zan Zan[10] (2014–2015)
- Her Min-young (2014–2015)
- Crayon Pop (2012–2017)
- Be.A (2014–2018)
Discography
| Title | Artist | Released | Type | Distributor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crayon Pop 1st Mini Album | Crayon Pop | 18 July 2012 | EP | CJ E&M Music (2012–2013) Sony Music (2013–present) |
| "Dancing Queen" | 24 October 2012 | Single | ||
| "Bar Bar Bar" | 20 June 2013 | |||
| The Streets Go Disco | 26 September 2013 | EP | Sony Music | |
| "Lonely Christmas" | 26 November 2013 | Single | ||
| Beyond the Ocean | K-Much | 7 January 2014 | EP | |
| "Hero" | Crayon Pop (with Kim Jang-hoon) |
3 February 2014 | Single | |
| "What Should I Do" (Remix) | K-Much | 17 February 2014 | ||
| "Uh-ee" | Crayon Pop | 1 April 2014 | ||
| The 1st Single Album | Bob Girls | 10 June 2014 | ||
| "Chicken Feet" (닭발) | Zan Zan | 16 June 2014 | ||
| "Hey Mister" (Trot Lovers OST Part 1) | Crayon Pop | 20 June 2014 | ||
| Summer Repackage | Bob Girls | 31 July 2014 | ||
| "C'mon C'mon" (High School: Love On OST Part 5) | Crayon Pop | 26 September 2014 | LOEN Entertainment | |
| The 1st Mini Album | Strawberry Milk | 15 October 2014 | EP | Sony Music |
| Pop! Pop! Pop! | Crayon Pop | 19 November 2014 | Pony Canyon | |
| 2014 Chrome Family – A Very Special Christmas | Chrome Family | 3 December 2014 | Single | Sony Music |
| "Y-Shirt" | Soyul | 12 January 2015 | LOEN Entertainment | |
| "December 24" | K-Much | 17 February 2015 | Sony Music | |
| "On the Hook" | 6 March 2015 | |||
| FM | Crayon Pop | 27 March 2015 | EP | |
| The 1st Single Album | Her Min-young | 7 April 2015 | Single | |
| Zan Zan 2nd Single Album | Zan Zan | 25 June 2015 | ||
| Crayon Pop | Crayon Pop | 20 January 2016 | Studio album | Pony Canyon |
| Evolution Pop Vol. 1 | 26 September 2016 | Sony Music | ||
| Magical Realism | Be.A | 25 May 2017 | Extended play | Sony Music |
References
- "Menu: Contact". Chrome Entertainment. Chrome Entertainment. Retrieved 17 January 2014.
- "Chrome Ent CEO Hwang Hyun Chang's Interview about Crayon Pop". CrayonPop.me. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
- "Sing me a new song: What comes after K-pop?". The Economist. 26 October 2013. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
- Mundy, Simon (2 February 2015). "K-pop's production line for Gangnam Style wannabes". Financial Times. Retrieved 7 February 2015.
- Hong, Grace Danbi (7 January 2014). "Male Crayon Pop, K-Much Debuts with 'Don't Know Anything'". enewsWorld. CJ E&M. Archived from the original on 7 February 2015. Retrieved 7 February 2015.
- Jackson, Julie (11 June 2014). "Crayon Pop's agency debuts sexy short-haired Bob Girls". The Korea Herald. Retrieved 20 January 2015.
- Sohn Ji-young (17 June 2014). "Crayon Pop's agency debuts male duo Zan Zan with 'Chicken Feet'". The Korea Herald. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
- Lee Hye-rin (2 December 2014). 트로트가수 허민영, 크레용팝 소속사에 새 둥지. OSEN (in Korean). Retrieved 3 December 2014.
- Jeon Ah-ram (24 February 2015). "Bob Girls Disbands 8 Months after Debut with Jina Diagnosed with Encephalitis". Newsen. Translated by Yeawon Jung. Mwave. Archived from the original on 26 February 2015. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
- Park Su-jeong (2 September 2015). 크레용팝 소속사 남성 듀오 짠짠, 소속사와 전속계약 해지 합의 [Zan Zan belonging to Chrome Entertainment (Crayon Pop) announces departure from the agency]. TenAsia (in Korean). Retrieved 2 November 2015.
- Hyun Ji-min (8 July 2016). "크레용팝, 업그레이드돼 돌아온다…8월 말 컴백" [Upgraded Crayon Pop will have a comeback at the end of August]. TenAsia (in Korean). Retrieved 28 July 2016.
- Cho, Joohee (28 August 2013). "Crayon Pop Hoping to Become the Next Psy". ABC News. Retrieved 7 February 2015.
- Woo, Jaeyeon (13 August 2013). "Sony Music Looks To Korea, Signs Crayon Pop". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 30 November 2014.
- Kim, Erika (7 July 2014). "Crayon Pop′s Agency Chrome Entertainment Becomes a Distribution Label with Sony Music Entertainment Korea". CJ E&M enews World. Mwave. Archived from the original on 4 October 2014. Retrieved 17 September 2014.
- Jackson, Julie (18 August 2014). "Lip Service returning with new addition". The Korea Herald. Retrieved 25 November 2014.
- Kim Myeong-su (12 June 2014). 크레용팝-가물치-단발머리-짠짠, 크롬 합동 콘서트 21일 개최. Top Star News (in Korean). Retrieved 14 November 2014.
- Jo Hye-jin (20 November 2014). 크레용팝-케이머치-단발머리-짠짠, 크리스마스 캐럴로 뭉친다 '러브 크리스마스' 발매 [Crayon Pop–K-Much–Bob Girls–Zan Zan, to release Christmas Carol 'Love Christmas']. Top Star News (in Korean). Retrieved 20 November 2014.