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Now that Woollim Entertainment and SM C&C have merged to form Woollim Label, we may just yet be seeing INFINITE perform at SMTOWN concerts along with Girls' Generation, Super Junior, TVXQ, f(x), SHINee, and EXO!

 

Tasty has currently been confirmed to perform at the October SMTOWN in Beijing concert. Because of INFINITE's previous schedule for their global tour, it'l be difficult for them to participate in the SMTOWN concerts yet - however, there are rumors and media reports that claim INFINITE will also be joining the SMTOWN concerts as well. 

 

SEE ALSO: INFINITE members shed tears while talking about the SM C&C and Woollim merger

 

 

The band Nell will not be joining SMTOWN concerts as of yet. How do you think SMTOWN would look when INFINITE has joined the rest of the SM Entertainment artists on stage?

 

Source: Kuki News via Daum, Osen via Daum

I'm the type who likes to look on the bright side of things; I've been trying to avoid talking about this because I know that it's a sensitive topic in that a lot of people have strong opinions on this matter, and some of those opinions could be hurtful to me (an SMTOWN stan) so I just decide not to get involved in it. However, I'm in a writing mood this morning, and there are actually a lot of intelligent people in the Kpop fandom :) So here's my two cents.

I'm trying to look at this Woollim and SM C&C M&A as something positive that will bring out benefits for both parties involved. SM, by merging with Woollim gets to expand its empire while Woollim, a smaller agency, gets to become part of the largest entertainment label and South Korea, which will also have garner more positive results for the artists under that label. For example, INFINITE and Tasty, though incredibly talented and well-known in their own right, might not have gotten the best promotion opportunities because of insufficient funding or whatever reason. But now, because of the merger, their label may have a bigger budget on promotions and TV appearances, thus allowing them to reacher a broader range of audiences and making them more accesible to fans and supporters. 

No one really knows the full details of this M&A, so it's hard to form a fair opinion on it. When it comes to these business agreements, the idols don't get much of a say about what goes on, so its hard to judge whether or not the deal made between CEOs was a friendly or unfriendly one. In qualification, I hope that the distinct SM and Woollim music styles don't try to change one another. I see a lot of people saying that they don't want SM messing with the music styles of INFINITE, or Tasty and Nell, but it is also possible for the music-changing to occur the other way around since SM might want to change their style to better fit the style of the label they acquired. Both SM and Woollim have very distinct styles when it comes to the music they produce, and I think that distinctness is what I love about these two companies. The uniqueness of each of their sounds and their conviction about not compromising their artistry is what makes SM, SM and what makes Woollim, Woollim. And I don't want either of the companies to compromise their music and dance styles. 

Of course, if they keep their distinct styles and perform alongside each other at family concerts, concerts which are supposed to showcase unity and cohesion, it'll look a bit off and awkward. But there always have to be a few setbacks, and the mismatched concert line-up is going to be one of those things. The music won't mix well, and the chemistry between the company artists may seem forced; that's only natural for a merger like this. But I'm willing to give it a chance and make it work somehow. I absolutely love INFINITE and their classic 80's sound and sharp dance moves, Sunggyu is a long-time place holder on my bias list, and Nell's "Ocean of Light" is basically my jam right now. I think having the opportunity to see them alongside my favorite SM artists is going to be a lot of fun; the more, the merrier, I say. Sure, the first they appear it will just be plain weird; of course it'll be weird. But I'm okay with the weirdness.

There's also the rumor that SM may enforce the same "strict, money-mongering idol policy on Woollim idols that they do on their own SM idols". I'm not exactly sure what that means. I'm thinking it has a lot to do with people saying that SM's insatiable lust for money, power, and fame drives them to mistreat their idols, turning them into virtual slaves in order for the big suits' own selfish gain and enforce strict policies and such. While that may have been true at some point or another, I really don't buy into it anymore. I really don't think SM will be as concerned by the Woollim artists as they will be with their own idols in terms of monitoring and controlling the kind of songs they produce and dances they do since they'll understand that the Woollim artists have their own styles, styles that were carried and produced by the Woollim agency. I really don't think much is going to change with INFINITE, Tasy, and Nell. Not much every really changes with these M&As. 

For example, Yahoo! acquired Tumblr in June and although everyone was upset over it, nothing much really happened and everyone still uses Tumblr is pretty much the same way as before. Only real difference is that there's now more advertisements than before. T-Mobile was acquired by AT&T in 2011, Skype was acquired by Microsoft, and nothing much has really changed. 

Also, I'm just tired of everyone trying to blame SM for everything. After the DBSK lawsuit, SM got a pretty bad rep, and nowadays, they're trying to make up for their losses, and you can't exactly blame them for that; every company has the right to make a profit off of the risks they are taking and the money they are investing in their idols. I mean, as long as they're not doing anything blatantly illegal or immoral or mistreating anyone, then by all means, collect your profit. The Woollim/SM C&C M&A was described as a merger, and in order for that to happen, there had to be two parties involved. So it wasn't just SM involved; the Woollim board was obviously there, too, and agreed to the merger. These are people who went to university and got degrees in business, administration, economics, things like that. Maybe I don't like their decision entirely, but I trust that they foresaw some positive outcomes if they agreed to this. 

On the idols' side of the argument, they said that they trust their respective companies' decisions. I think the central problem that Woollim stans ahve with this merger is that they wanted an identity separate from that of SM stans; they want Woollim to be their thing and no one else's. And that is completely understandable. SM, as one of the largest music production labels in Korea, does take steps to show just how much influence they have over the industry and SM artists seem to everywhere nowadays; the problem with this merger then lies in that Woollim stans wanted INFINITE to be one of the fews good things untouched by SM. And I totally get you guys. That's a very human thing to believe. But I really don't think that SM acquiring Woollim means that they're taking Woollim away; it just means Woollim and SM are standing side-by-side now.

 I don't believe that the merger or acquisition was made in order to victimize the idols or enfore some kind of control over them. They're just trying to do good business, and the idols just want to perform and live out their dreams. I don't think INFINITE is going to be made to change or compromise their styles. I don't think of it that way for Tasty or Nell either. Woollim still has complete control over their artists; the only difference now is that the two companies are now one. I don't want to think of this as something negative; there are enough people who don't like this at all. But, I told myself that I would support SM and that I would support INIFNITE no matter what, and I'm sticking to that. Now that SM C&C and Woollim Entertainment have merged to form Woollim Label... Woollim Label, hwaiting!

I'm open to hear other people's opinions as well! Comment yours below! :D