Music&New Forms 25 Billion KRW 'Jion NEW K-Content Investment Fund'

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Hyowon] Music & New, a music business subsidiary of content media group NEW (Next Entertainment World, Chairman Kim Woo-taek), is forming a K-Content investment association to foster promising content IPs.

Music & New announced on the 17th that it recently formed the ‘Zion NEW-K Content Investment Association’ worth 25 billion KRW in partnership with Zion Investment, a venture capital firm recognized as a strong player in the cultural content sector.

This fund was made possible after Zion Investment, which has built a successful investment portfolio in films, dramas, music, and performances, was selected as the general partner (GP) in the cultural account venture investment sector of the first regular investment project of the Korea Fund of Funds this year.

Music & New is participating as a strategic investor (SI), with Korea Fund of Funds and Lala Media also listed as major investors. The ‘Zion NEW-K Content Investment Association’ is the largest fund ever formed by Zion Investment in the cultural content field and is designed to invest broadly across various content rather than focusing on specific works.

Using the investment association, Music & New aims to focus investments on killer content from artists with proven box office success and early-stage content production companies and projects with high growth potential, thereby strengthening the growth engine of the next-generation content industry in the long term. To ensure the sustainable growth of the content industry, the plan is to invest in promising early-stage companies and create a virtuous cycle that enables new content production, supporting their growth into mid-sized companies. Through fund management, the association plans to nurture killer content and steady-seller IPs, expecting development not only in idol production and investment and music-based video content but also in non-music content.

Regarding this, Music & New CEO Kim Seung-min said, “With this investment association focused on fostering content IPs, we will expand our business scope from distribution to production and investment to secure future competitiveness. By establishing a production base for promising content companies and projects, we will maximize IP added value and investment returns and build a business model where content and investment companies coexist and prosper in the long term.”

Following this, Executive Director Lee Young-moo, the lead fund manager of this investment association, stated, “‘Zion NEW-K Content Investment Association’ plans to invest more than 60% in early production and underserved sectors and over 20% in early-stage content companies, actively conducting project and equity investments according to company needs. Our main goal is to simultaneously achieve revitalization of the content industry and improved profitability through cross-border investments across various fields.”

Meanwhile, Music & New, a music business subsidiary of content media group NEW, started its business with artist production management and has established a one-pass process covering music distribution, content planning and production, and logistics. To leverage the global success and synergy of K-content, it continuously pursues OST planning, production, and distribution businesses for films, dramas, and web content, while forming a solid network with global music streaming platforms such as YouTube and Spotify.

Recently, Music & New’s YouTube channel surpassed 1 million subscribers and 1.1 billion cumulative views. It also signed a music rights participation claim investment platform Music Cow and music rights transfer contracts and partnerships, actively developing music IP utilization businesses based on future value.