Stone Music Entertainment (

Hangul The Korean alphabet is the modern writing system for the Korean language. In North Korea, the alphabet is known as (), and in South Korea, it is known as (). The letters for the five basic consonants reflect the shape of the speech organs ...

: 스톤 뮤직 엔터테인먼트), is a South Korean music distribution company under

CJ ENM CJ ENM Co., Ltd (, CJ Entertainment aNd Merchandising) is a South Korean entertainment and retail company founded in 1994. CJ ENM was established as a result of the merger of two CJ Group subsidiaries, CJ ENM Entertainment Division, CJ E&M and ...

, as part of a partnership with the music streaming store

Genie Music Genie Music (), a subsidiary of KT Corporation, is a South Korean company that specializes in the production and distribution of music content. Its music streaming service is the second most used in South Korea with 2.5 million subscribers as ...

since 2021. It was one of the largest co-publisher companies in South Korea. The company was also formerly a music production and management company, which managed artists such as SG Wannabe,

Davichi Davichi () is a South Korean pop duo formed in 2008, consists of Lee Hae-ri and Kang Min-kyung. The duo has released three studio albums and six extended plays to date, and featured on several soundtracks for television dramas such as ''Big'' ...

, Roy Kim,

Son Ho-young Son Ho-young (; born March 26, 1980) is a South Korean- American singer and musical actor based in South Korea. Best known as a member of g.o.d, he made his debut in the entertainment industry with the group in 1999 and pursued a solo career as ...

Eric Nam Eric Nam (; born November 17, 1988) is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality based in South Korea. Since his debut in 2013, he was named ''GQ Koreas Man of the Year in 2016'','' included on ''Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia ...

, Fromis 9, HEDY, and TO1, before the business closed in April 2021. Under its previous name CJ E&M Music, it was named ''Music Distributor of the Year'' at the Gaon Chart K-Pop Awards in 2014.

History

The company was originally established as Mediopia in May 1993 and later renamed to Mediopia Technology Co., Ltd in June 1994, as a manufacturer and distributor of electronic devices. In January 2002, the company was listed on

KOSDAQ The Korean Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (KOSDAQ; ) is a trading board of Korea Exchange (KRX) in South Korea established in 1996. Initially set up by Korea Financial Investment Association as an independent stock market from the Korean ...

. In August 2004, Maekyung Hudson was incorporated as a subsidiary. In July 2006, their largest shareholder changed from Poibos Co., Ltd. to CJ Corporation and was incorporated as an affiliate of CJ Corporation. The company later became a part of CJ Media Co., Ltd. In September 2006, the company was later established again as Mnet Media, following the merger with GM Agency, MaxMP3, and ID Icheon Entertainment. In January 2007, the company established the entertainment company Core Contents Media, then headed by producer Kim Kwang-soo. In May 2007, CJ Music was merged into Mnet Media, which operated in the music distribution and broadcasting businesses. In January 2011, Mnet Media was merged into CJ E&M and renamed as CJ E&M Music. Following the merger, the company was revoked from the KOSDAQ listing in March 2011. In December 2013, CJ E&M Music acquired 19% of

Jellyfish Entertainment Jellyfish Entertainment (), is a South Korean entertainment company established by composer and producer Hwang Se-jun in Seoul, South Korea. Jellyfish Entertainment is the home of artists including Jang Hye-jin, VIXX, Verivery, Evnne and fo ...

's shares to form a partnership. In March 2014, the CJ E&M label system was introduced with

, The Music Works, MMO Entertainment, and 1877 Entertainment joining the system. In April 2014, CJ E&M Music launched a joint venture with Japan's

Victor Entertainment is a subsidiary of JVCKenwood that produces and distributes music, movies and other entertainment products such as anime and television shows in Japan. It is known as JVC Entertainment in countries where Sony Music Entertainment operates the RC ...

, which was called ''CJ Victor Entertainment''. In September 2015, CJ E&M Music acquired B2M Entertainment. In October 2015, CJ E&M Music signed a strategic partnership deal with the hip-hop label Hi-Lite Records. In January 2016, CJ E&M Music signed a strategic partnership deal with hip hop label AOMG. In 2017, CJ E&M Music established a new label named Stone Music Entertainment. The label began producing music for artists under CJ E&M Music, such as Wanna One,

, and JBJ, and managed Idol School's winning group, Fromis 9. In August 2017, CJ E&M Music established the High Up Entertainment joint venture with the production team

Black Eyed Pilseung Black Eyed Pilseung () is a South Korean music production and songwriting duo made up of Rado (Song Joo-young) and Choi Kyu-sung, formed in 2014. They have produced hit K-pop songs such as Sistar's " Touch My Body"; Miss A's " Only You"; Twi ...

. In the same month, CJ E&M acquired an additional 32% of

's shares, beyond the 19% of the label's shares previously acquired in 2013, effectively becoming the label's largest shareholder, with a total stake of 51%. In November 2017, CJ E&M Music acquired Amoeba Culture. In April 2018, Stone Music Entertainment was officially registered and CJ E&M later merged into Stone Music Entertainment in May 2018. In June 2018, Stone Music Entertainment established the exclusive label Swing Entertainment for managing Wanna One since the latter ended their contract with YMC Entertainment, with Shin Dong-il (who is the former manager under YMC Entertainment) as the label head. In August 2018, CJ E&M sold its 51% stake in High Up Entertainment back to Black Eyed Pilseung, making the former an independent company. In September 2018, Stone Music Entertainment established the exclusive label Off The Record Entertainment for managing the '' Produce 48'' winners,

Iz*One Iz*One ( ; ; ; stylized in all caps) was a South Korean–Japanese girl group formed through the Mnet (TV channel), Mnet reality competition show ''Produce 48''. The group was composed of twelve members: Jang Won-young, Sakura Miyawaki, Jo Yu-r ...

, and '' Idol School'' winners Fromis 9. In October 2018,

acquired distribution rights to Stone Music Entertainment's releases in digital format after it merged with the latter's sister company, CJ Digital Music. The two companies will still release physical albums separately.Genie Music poses threat to Melon by acquiring CJ Digital Music
(Jun Ji-hye,

The Korea Times ''The Korea Times'' () is a daily English-language newspaper in South Korea. It is a sister paper of the ''Hankook Ilbo'', a major Korean language, Korean-language daily. It is the oldest active daily English-language newspaper in South Korea. ...

, 2018-10-09) On January 31, 2019, Stone Music Entertainment confirmed the establishment of an exclusive label, LM Entertainment for managing

Kang Daniel Kang Daniel (; born Kang Eui-geon, December 10, 1996), stylized as KANGDANIEL, is a South Korean singer-songwriter, actor, television host, and businessman who rose to fame in early 2017 as the first-place winner of the Produce 101 Season 2, s ...

and Yoon Ji-sung since February 1, following the ending of their contract with MMO Entertainment. The label is headed by Shin Dong-il, who also headed their former label Swing Entertainment during the time in which Wanna One was active. On April 20, 2021, Sport Kyunghang announced that CJ ENM applied to close Stone Music Entertainment from April 8. According to the news, CJ ENM stated that they are “working on reorganizing its sub-labels for efficiency.” In May 2021, CJ ENM integrated their music label Stone Music, One Effect, Studio Blue, and Off Record with the launch of a new music label,

Wake One Entertainment WakeOne (, stylised in all caps) is a South Korean entertainment company under CJ ENM's entertainment division. Their current artists include Roy Kim, Ha Hyun-sang, Jo Yu-ri, Kep1er, Zerobaseone, and Izna. History 2014–2018 The company w ...

. The first artist TO1 were confirmed to be managed under the new label.

Partnerships and Music distributions

Labels and Investments * 143 Entertainment * Biscuit Entertainment *

Blockberry Creative Blockberry Creative (; stylized as BlockBerry Creative) was a South Korean record label formed in 2016. It was a subsidiary of Polaris Entertainment. The label previously managed soloist Sunye, and the girl group Loona. History Blockberry Cr ...

* Swing Entertainment * AOMG * Amoeba Culture *

H1ghr Music H1ghr Music (stylized as H1GHR MUSIC; ) is an international hip hop and R&B record label founded by Korean American musician Jay Park and long time Seattle affiliate Cha Cha Malone in 2017. Stationed primarily in South Korea, the label was crea ...

* HighUp Entertainment *

MNH Entertainment MNH Entertainment (Korean: 엠앤에이치엔터테인먼트) is a privately held multinational entertainment group and talent agency based in Seoul. Founded in November 2014 by Lee Ju-seop, a former manager at JYP Entertainment. The company was f ...

Distribution *143 Entertainment *

Ambition Musik Ambition Musik () is a South Korean hip-hop label founded by rappers Dok2 and The Quiett on September 29, 2016. History The label was founded on September 29, 2016, under Illionaire Records with artists Keem Hyo-eun, Changmo, and Hash Swan. As ...

* Amoeba Culture (affiliate) * AOMG (affiliate) * Biscuit Entertainment *

* BRD Entertainment * Craft&Jun * Dooroodooroo Artist Company * Dorothy Company * Feel Ghood Music *

(affiliate) * Hi-Lite Records (affiliate) *

Hybe Corporation Hybe Co., Ltd. (; stylized as Hybe Corporation; commonly known as simply Hybe) is a South Korean multinational entertainment company established in 2005 by Bang Si-hyuk as Big Hit Entertainment Co., Ltd. The company operates as a record l ...

** Belift Lab (former affiliate) * 1llionaire Records * In Next Trend * Jellyfish Entertainment * Mapps Entertainment * MNH Entertainment * RBW * Swing Entertainment * Vismajor Company *

WM Entertainment WM Entertainment (Hangul: WM 엔터테인먼트) is a South Korean entertainment company established in 2008 by former singer Lee Won-min (birth name: Kim Jung-soo). The company is responsible for managing artists such as B1A4, Oh My Girl, and ...

* YNG & RICH Entertainment * Ballin ' All Day * Oui Entertainment * KQ Entertainment (co-managed by E&M Division with

KMP Holdings KMP Holdings (acronym for Korean Music Power; ) was a South Korean music distribution company. It was headquartered in Gangnam-gu, Seoul and was opened on March 18, 2010. History In March 2010, KMP Holdings was established via a joint venture be ...

and

) * Star Road Entertainment *

Mnet M-Net (an abbreviation of Electronic Media Network) is a South African pay television channel established by Naspers in 1986. The channel broadcasts both local and international programming, including general entertainment, children's series, ...

(for music program releases) * tvN (for drama soundtrack albums) * OCN (for drama soundtrack albums)

Former entities

Recording artists

* Bubble Sisters (2003–2005) *

Hong Jin-young Hong Jin-young (born August 9, 1985) is a South Korean trot singer, actress, and entertainer. She was a member of the short-lived South Korean girl group SWAN, which debuted in 2007. In 2009, she returned to the music scene, debuting as a trot ...

(2006–2008) *

Kim Jong-kook Kim Jong-kook (; born April 25, 1976) is a South Korean singer, entertainer, and actor. Kim debuted as a member of South Korean duo Turbo in 1995. The duo was considered to be one of the most popular idols in that time and sold out millions of ...

* SWAN (2007–2008) *

Lee Hyori Lee Hyo-ri (; born May 10, 1979) is a South Korean singer. She debuted as a member of group Fin.K.L in 1998, which became one of the most popular girl groups in South Korea during the late 1990s and early 2000s. Aside from Fin.K.L, she has als ...

(2006–2010) *

Ock Joo-hyun Ock Joo-hyun (; sometimes spelled Ock Ju-hyun; born March 20, 1980) is a South Korean singer and musical theatre actress, known mostly for her role as the lead singer of the South Korean girl group Fin.K.L. After their unofficial breakup in 20 ...

Yangpa Lee Eun-jin (; born March 17, 1979), better known by her stage name Yangpa (, lit. ''Onion''), is a South Korean singer. She debuted in 1996 with the hit single "Novice's Love." History 1990s Yangpa debuted in 1996 with the album ''Novice's Lo ...

Busker Busker Busker Busker () is a South Korean indie band who rose to fame through their runner-up performance in the South Korean music audition television program '' Superstar K3'' on Mnet. The band consists of guitarist and vocalist Jang Beom-june, ...

(2011-2013) * TimeZ (co-managed with Super Jet Entertainment) *

Yoo Seung-woo Yoo Seung-woo, also stylised Yu Seung Woo (, born February 26, 1997), is a South Korean singer-songwriter and guitarist. Career 2012-2014: Superstar K4 and debut In 2012, Yoo Seung-woo made his television debut when he competed in Mnet (TV ...

(2012–2015) (managed under sub label UK Muzik) *

Parc Jae-jung Parc Jae-jung (; born December 25, 1995) is a South Korean singer. He is the winner of the 2013 television singing competition '' Superstar K 5'' and a member of the R&B project group MSG Wannabe. Early life Parc was born in Seoul, South Kor ...

(2013–2015) *

Jung Joon-young Jung Joon-young (; born February 21, 1989) is a South Korean former musician and sex offender who was convicted in 2019 for gang-raping two different victims on two occasions in 2016. Jung first gained recognition in the 2012 season of the mu ...

(2013–2016) * JJY Band (2015–2016) *

I.O.I I.O.I (; also known as IOI or Ideal of Idol) was a South Korean girl group formed by CJ E&M through the 2016 reality show ''Produce 101'' on Mnet. The group was composed of eleven members chosen from a pool of 101 trainees from various entertai ...

(2016–2017/2019) (co-managed with

YMC Entertainment YMC Entertainment () was a South Korean entertainment company established in 2010 by Cho Yoo-myung, the eldest son of trot singer Tae Jin-ah. The company has been formerly home to artists such as Shin Bo-ra, Kassy and Soulights, as well as act ...

and Studio Blu) *

Spica Spica is the brightest object in the constellation of Virgo and one of the 20 brightest stars in the night sky. It has the Bayer designation α Virginis, which is Latinised to Alpha Virginis and abbreviated Alpha Vir or α Vir. Analys ...

(2012–2017) (co-managed with B2M Entertainment) *

Emma Wu Emma Wu Ying-chieh (; born 11 August 1989), also known as Gui Gui (), is a Taiwanese people, Taiwanese singer and actress. Early life Wu Ying-chieh, nicknamed ''Gui Gui'', was born in Keelung City, Taiwan on 11 August 1989, and is the only ch ...

(2016–2017) *

Kevin Oh Kevin Oh (, born August 29, 1990), is a South Korean and American singer-songwriter. He is the winner of ''Superstar K7''. He released his first EP, ''Stardust'', on January 20, 2017. He was also a contestant on the JTBC show, '' Superband''. ...

(2017) * JBJ (2017–2018) (co-managed with

Kakao M Kakao M Corp. (; formerly Seoul Records, YBM Seoul Records and LOEN Entertainment) was a South Korean entertainment company established by Min Yeong-bin in 1978. It was one of the largest co-publisher companies in South Korea. The company opera ...

Fave Entertainment IST Entertainment () is a South Korean entertainment company under Beyond Music. History Plan A Entertainment In 2011, A Cube Entertainment was established as an independent label of Cube Entertainment. A Cube signed its first solo artist Huh G ...

) * Wanna One (2017–2019/2022) (co-managed with Swing Entertainment) * Lee Seokhoon (2015–2019) * X1 (2019–2020) (co-managed with Swing Entertainment) *

In2It Skye (Korean: 스카이; RR: ''Seukai'') is a South Korean boy band formed through Mnet's 2016 survival show '' Boys24'', currently consists of Yoo Ji-ahn, Jung Yeon-tae, Hwang In-ho, Han Hyun-uk, Lee In-pyo, and Isaac Voo. Originally an eight- ...

(2017–2020) (co-managed with MMO Entertainment) *

Kim Feel Kim Feel (; born August 27, 1986) is a South Korean singer-songwriter. He was the runner-up of the television talent show '' Superstar K 6'' in 2014. Kim signed contract with CJ E&M in May 2016 and managed under CJ E&M label MMO Entertainment. ...

* Hoons (co-managed with FRON+DESK) *

Heize Jang Da-hye (; born August 9, 1991), better known by her stage name Heize, is a South Korean singer-songwriter, rapper, composer and producer currently signed to P Nation. The name Heize was inspired by the name of an American rapper Angel Haz ...

(2017–2020) (co-managed with Studio Blu) *

(2018–2021) (co-managed with Swing Entertainment) * SG Wannabe *

* Ash-B * TSUN * Nieah * MAMAN * Yoon Ji-sung (2019–2022) * Truedy (2018–2021) * Soovi (2019) * $ammy (2019–2021) * Song Su-woo (2021–2022)

Actors

Lee Beom-soo Lee Beom-soo (born October 16, 1969) is a South Korean actor. He is well known for his role in '' Singles'' (2003), ''Giant'' (2010), ''On Air'' (2008), '' Surgeon Bong Dal-hee'' (2007), as well as in'' History of a Salaryman'' (2012). Career ...

Song Seung-heon Song Seung-heon (; born October 5, 1976) is a South Korean model and actor. He has acted in various Korean drama, television dramas, notably ''Autumn in My Heart'' (2000), ''East of Eden (South Korean TV series), ''East of Eden' (2008), ''My ...

* Kim Min-Jae

Subsidiaries

* Core Contents Media (acquired by MBK Co., Ltd. as

MBK Entertainment MBK Entertainment () was a South Korean entertainment company established by Kim Kwang-soo. MBK Entertainment is known for managing multiple successful K-pop artists, such as T-ara, DIA, Davichi, SeeYa, F-ve Dolls, Shannon, Coed School, and S ...

) *

Maroo Entertainment Maroo Entertainment () is a South Korean entertainment company established in 2010. The company operates as a talent agency, music production and distribution company, and film/drama production company. The company currently manages idol group ...

Controversies

Price manipulation

CJ E&M Music (then Mnet Media) was one of the 15 companies fined and sued by the Korean FTC for price rigging in 2011.

Plagiarism

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Broadcasting companies of South Korea Electronic music record labels K-pop record labels Record label distributors Record labels established in 1994 2021 disestablishments in South Korea Synth-pop record labels South Korean record labels Talent agencies of South Korea Defunct record labels of South Korea