"Trendsetter" agency SM Entertainment announced its entry into the NFT business through Solana's "Breakpoint 2021" conference. In his discussion, General Producer Lee Soo Man introduced CAWMAN and NFT, as well as explained concepts of SMCU and "Pink Blood" in the rising metaverse market.
SM producer Lee Soo Man claimed that K-pop will lead the metaverse market. On November 9, SM Entertainment founder participated in the "Breakpoint 2021" conference held in Portugal and virtually by Solana, a public blockchain platform.
During his talk, Lee introduced the ideas of NFTs, CAWMAN, SMCU and Pink Blood, which will lead the metaverse world in the future.
What are SMCU, 'Pink Blood' and CAWMAN? Lee Soo Man Explains Concepts Related to Metaverse of K-pop
In his speech, Lee Soo Man first defined metaverse.
"It is a new universe that enables what is not in reality, and it is about creating a whole new world. It can be directly connected to our real lives, not just a virtual concept," he said.
With this idea, Lee then explained how he decided to incorporate metaverse in the entertainment industry, through the concept SMCU.
"SM Culture Universe (SMCU) is a future entertainment world where this world is connected without real and virtual boundaries through culture," Lee added.
In the conference, it was also revealed that prior to the launch of aespa, SM's new girl group, this metaverse has been prepared for years, with the prediction that robots and celebrities can co-exist in the future.
Furthermore, Lee Soo Man shared that aespa is only one of the projects under SMCU, and revealed that the company is also preparing CAWMAN.
ALSO READ: SM Entertainment's Lee Soo Man Shares Plan to Make a Hollywood Movie about aespa's Worldview
"CAWMAN is mixed video content genre through SMCU videos. It is a combination of C-Cartoon, A-Animation, W-Webtoon, M-Motion Graphic, A-Avatar and N-Novels. [...] 'CAWMAN' is a new type of video expression technique in which elements of different genres express stories according to their respective characteristics."
"As Korea creates a new universe and expands the market through the virtual world and Metaverse, it will become a leader in Metaverse world and NFT content," Soo Man said, drawing attention by emphasizing Kpop's goal to become a powerhouse in Metaverse and content.
However, all of this will be possible only with the help of "Pink Blood," fans of SM Entertainment artists and releases. Lee Soo Man revealed that the fandom name was selected to imply that there is a "pink blood" running through the veins of its fans, the symbolic color of SM.
Lee Soo Man Introduces NFTs Role and Importance in K-pop's Metaverse
As the conference went on, Lee Soo Man also hinted at SM Entertainment's entry into the NFT business.
"Each content that forms the world view or story of Metaverse will all lead to NFT. It should be created in the form of 100 to 1,000 people gathering their heads from all over the world, exerting their creativity to create one NFT content together, and owning the percentage of NFT content. The NFT contents created in this way have 'Lifetime Value.' It will not be consumed once and disappear, but all people involved, such as prosumers and producers, will have value during their lifetimes."
To explain the concept of NFT in a simple term, these NFT are any digital contents or items that hold value. Once bought or acquired, the user will be given a certificate of authenticity or ownership. Since it is backed by blockchain technology ( a digital ledger), it can't be copied or altered.
As Lee Soo Man's speech concluded, the founder promised, "I and SM have continued to make new attempts by combining culture and technology, and we will not stop taking innovative challenges in music, visuals, and performances in the future. We will try to create more diverse Re-Created contents and create infinite content universities."
READ MORE: aespa, Eternity, & More: 5 Korean Female Artists with Virtual Members – Is Metaverse the Future Growth Engine of K-pop?
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Written by Eunice Dawson
