The State of K-Pop 2k21 Remix with Bernie Cho, president, DFSB Kollective

Please respect that the discussions in this lecture series are off-the-record, with a no social media policy.

In this week’s Rezak lecture, we will go deep on one of the world’s biggest trends/phenomenons: K-Pop. Seoul-based Bernie Cho runs a well-respected artist services company and is a leading global voice and super-connector when it comes to Korean music and the Korean music industry. Cho will begin class with a presentation on the Korean business. And we will discuss topics ranging from K-Pop giant Hybe’s recent purchase of Scooter Braun’s management company, to the latest music and music tech trends emerging from Seoul, to opportunities for Western acts in Korea and much more.

Bernie Cho, president, DFSB Kollective

Bernie Cho is the president of DFSB Kollective, a Seoul-based artist and label services agency that specializes in providing digital media, marketing and distribution solutions to 600+ Korean pop music artists. As more K-Pop acts aspire to go independent and international, DFSB Kollective creatively collaborates with artists and their management companies to devise customized strategies that directly connect them to their local and global fans.

Since 2009, the agency has successfully produced numerous K-Pop concerts and showcases in North America, Asia and Europe as well as secured No.1 digital music chart debuts for various K-Pop albums in the U.S., Canada, Japan, Korea, Greater China, Southeast Asia, Australasia and Europe. In order to raise the recognition of Korean music internationally, DFSB Kollective is a member of Merlin Network (global digital music rights agency for the world’s leading independent labels) and an official content provider to top international DSPs (digital service providers) such as Apple iTunes Music, Spotify, Amazon, YouTube Music, Deezer, Pandora, iHeart Radio, TIDAL, Facebook, TikTok, Tencent Music Entertainment, NetEase Cloud Music, KKBox, JOOX, AWA, JioSaavn, Boomplay, Anghami, Yandex and more.

As one of the first and foremost K-Pop music exporters, DFSB Kollective and its artists have been featured speakers and or performers at top international music industry events (BIGSOUND, Clockenflap, CMJ, CMW, SXSW, Coachella, The Great Escape, Glastonbury, Summer Sonic, Music Matters, MusicBiz, MIDEM) and profiled in leading international media outlets (ABS-CBN, Arte, BBC, Billboard, Bloomberg, CNN, Discovery, E!, Forbes, Monocle, MTV, MusicAlly, Newsweek, The New York Times, NBC, NPR, Pitchfork, SCMP, Spin, Time, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post).

And as one of the most experienced experts on the Korean music market, DFSB Kollective has also served as special project consultants for international advertising agencies (RGA/Octagon), video game developers (Ubisoft/Riot Games) and movie and documentary production studios (A24/YouTube Originals/Vice Media).

Prior to founding DFSB Kollective, Cho served as the head of MTV Korea’s digital media production and worked for nearly two decades in the Korean music industry as a creative planner, T.V. program producer, T.V. show host and radio commentator. He has earned a bachelor of arts degree from Dartmouth College in government and Asian studies and has graduated from the Vancouver Film School (Foundation Film Program).