Singaporean Alan Chan had
been a stock broker for over 20 years. When he was first introduced to K Pop by
his daughter, coupled with the nudging of his Korean associates who mostly have
their own entertainment companies, he decided to invest in something entirely
different - the currently red-hot K Pop industry, and eventually became the
founder and CEO of Alpha Entertainment, which launched the five-member girl
group, SKarf.
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| 5-member Kpop girl group, SKarf, formed and managed by Alpha Entertainment |
We spoke to the entreprenuer on what it takes to
make it in the highly competitive Kpop business, and though he may be
relatively new in the industry, he knows that in order to survive in the long
haul, he cannot simply just ride on the the Kpop trend, but to see it as part
of something bigger from Asia.
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| Mr Alan Chan, Founder and CEO of Alpha Entertainment |
“(The Kpop wave) will
always be there like the J Pop and C Pop. It will tapper off from the peak.
That is why we will never focus just on K Pop. We want to be more Asian Pop
that includes J Pop, K Pop and C Pop,” Alan explains, and this is perhaps why SKarf
now consists of 5 members of different nationalities i.e. Singaporeans, Koreans
and Japanese. The company undertakes a glocalization strategy of the band
members in order to increase the group’s ability to adapt faster and reach out
to big Kpop markets like Japan.
Describe your risk appetite. Is it more risky to
invest in the seemingly fickle entertainment industry or in stocks? How has
your investment worked for you?
I have been a stock
broker for more than 20 years and I know all about risks. To be able to enter
into K Pop by a foreigner is itself an achievement. It will take time but we
will see decent returns. Don’t forget, we have the best training director and
artistes manager in Korea working for us now. Together these two have trained
and managed artistes like TVXQ, SNSD, SHINee, SJ, SJm, F(X) and Rain.
You’ve started Alpha Entertainment since 2010. How has
been the journey like so far? What are the company’s major milestones?
It is not easy to break
into Korea whether it is the entertainment or any other industry. They are very
closely knitted. So far it has been quite smooth. Different countries have
different cultures and ways of doing things. You have to adapt. The major
milestones in Korea I would say is the first Singaporean in K Pop and also
first Singaporean to host any TV shows. Winning The Raising New Star 2012
within 3 months of launch is also a major achievement. And of course the latest
appointment of SKarf by Korean Tourism Organization (KTO) as Global
Ambassadors. All these are recognition of what we have done so far.
Recruitment, training, production, marketing/
promotion, distribution: What is Alpha Entertainment’s focus and how does it
balance all this?
We focus on casting,
training and management. All other promotions will be taken care of by CJ, they
are our Global Distributors. Experienced staff is not difficult to find in
Korea. We have just setup a training school in Singapore and it is doing well. We
will probably focus a little more time into it. Financials will always be the
biggest issues. Just to launch a mini album can cost anything from US half a
million and this is expensed off.
You have offices in Singapore, Korea and China. How
has this helped you in expanding your business in Asia?
China is a huge market
and it is near to HK, Taiwan, Japan and Korea. Take for instance, the Luv Virus
MV on Youtube has about 120,000 hits whie in China’s yinyuetai has about 1.05m
hits. That is about 10 times. We are planning for a Chinese album next year.
Surprisingly, SKarf has good following in South America as well.
What does it take for a Kpop group/ band to be
successful?
It is a combination of
everything and of course luck. With SKarf, our next group will be slightly
easier. It is still a long way to where we want SKarf to be. It takes time but
will come eventually.
What are the main revenue streams for a kpop band like
SKarf?
Performances and
endorsements.
SKarf first released a single, followed by a mini
album this year. Was this intentional to minimize risk? Why not a full album?
It is not a practice in
Korea. Even those from Hong Kong now realize this. It is better to have 2 to 4
mini albums followed by a full one.
How can SKarf stand out from the cookie clutter of Kpop
bands?
It’s in their concept and
songs. It is back to the early days of K Pop. Too many female groups are going
for the “sexy and aggressive” image. SKarf has to be different to stand out.
Other than SKarf, are there any other artistes under
the group? Previously in another interview, you mentioned that there were plans
to launch a girl group and a boy band every year. How has that worked out so
far?
That was our plan and we
still hold to that except that we need to make sure SKarf is where we want it
to be, among the top. This will make the launch of other groups easier.
What do you think artistes of other genres or
backgrounds could learn from their Kpop counterparts?
Must always work extremely
hard and continue to train even after debut. Forget about sleep and freedom.
You have now become a public asset and many youths look up to you for
inspiration and belief. It is never a smooth passage, learn along the way and
always remember your roots. There is no place for Prima Donnas.
