CUBE Entertainment

CUBE Entertainment (큐브엔터테인먼트) is a South Korean music label and entertainment company headquartered in Seoul, South Korea.

The label currently manages several artists, namely Jo Kwon, BTOB, Pentagon, (G)I-DLE, LIGHTSUM and notable trainees such as Yoo Seon-ho and Jo Woo-chan. It also manages several entertainers, including Lee Hwi-jae and Heo Kyung-hwan. It was formerly home to K-pop artists such as 4Minute, Beast, G.NA, Roh Ji-hoon, Jang Hyun-seung and CLC.

As of 2017, most of the label's music is distributed by Kakao M (formerly LOEN Entertainment) through a partnership agreement.

History
CUBE Entertainment was founded on August 29, 2006 by Hong Seung-sung (aka Simon Hong), former president of JYP Entertainment, and Shin Jung-hwa (Monica Shin) as Playcube Inc. Due to the founder's past relations, CUBE is sometimes mistaken as a subsidiary of JYP Entertainment, however, it is an independent corporation.

In 2009, CUBE's first two groups debuted, with girl group 4Minute debuting in June and boy group BEAST in October.

In 2011, independent label A Cube Entertainment was founded, managing girl group Apink set to debut in the same year.

In 2012, sub-label Cube DC was launched, managing boy group BTOB which debuted in March.

Comedian Kim Kiri, a regular cast member on Gag Concert, signed onto CUBE in September 2012, making him the first comedian under the label.

During late 2012, Park Chung-min became the CEO of CUBE, after founder Hong Seung-sung stepped down due to his sickness.

In 2013, Korean entertainer Rain signed a contract with CUBE Entertainment. He officially joined after he concluded his military service on July 10, 2013. Three months later CUBE released a digital single for its new soloist artist, Shin Ji-hoon who placed in the top 6 in Korean singing competition K-pop Star 2. Another new soloist, Oh Ye-ri released her debut digital single, "Because of You" on November 6, 2013. She was the winner of MBC's MBC College Song Festival in 2009.

In August 2014, sub-label Cube DC merged with CUBE.

CUBE's second girl group CLC debuted in March 2015.

At the end of 2015, A Cube Entertainment, which manages Huh Gak and Apink, was acquired by its distributor, LOEN Entertainment. LOEN bought 70% shares in A Cube, therefore making it the sole owner of the agency. A Cube became a separate and distinct label under LOEN Entertainment with the new name Plan A Entertainment.

In March 2016, CUBE acquired Starline Entertainment as subsidiary. In June 2016, CUBE's first girl group 4Minute disbanded. At the end of 2016, Shin Dae-nam was elected to be the new CEO of CUBE Entertainment, replacing former CEO Park Chung-min. New boy group PENTAGON debuted in October 2016. This was followed by CUBE's first boy group BEAST leaving CUBE in December 2016.

At the beginning of 2017, Universal Music sold their 8% stake in CUBE. Following this, CUBE Entertainment signed a distribution deal with Kakao M (formerly LOEN) for future music & content circulation.

In mid-2017, CUBE's two male trainees Yoo Seon-ho and Lai Kuan-lin participated in Mnet's Produce 101 Season 2. Lai Kuan-lin was chosen to be part of the final lineup for project boy group WANNA ONE after finishing in 7th place, while Yoo Seonho finished in 17th place. Lai Kuan-lin debuted in WANNA ONE in August 2017, and will be promoting with the group until December 2018. Meanwhile, Jeon So-yeon who participated in the first season of Produce 101 debuted as a soloist in November 2017 with her song "Jelly". Jo Kwon of ballad group 2AM signed as a solo artist under the label in the same month, after staying for 16 years in JYP Entertainment.

TV personality Lee Hwi-jae signed a contract with CUBE on March 5, 2018. In a report released in April 2018, CUBE said that it had successfully made profit in 2017, a welcome improvement after incurring severe losses in 2016. In April 2018, Yoo Seon-ho debuted as a soloist. On May 2, CUBE debuted (G)I-DLE, their third girl group after 4Minute and CLC. On May 5, CUBE Entertainment announced '2018 United CUBE - ONE-' concert. The concert with the CUBE artists took place at KINTEX in Ilsan on June 16 and were sold out in 2 mins.

In August 2018, PENTAGON member E'Dawn and soloist HyunA announced their relationship. On September 13, CUBE Entertainment announced that they would be terminating their contracts, citing that they could not "maintain trust" with them. After backlash from the fans and a drop in stock price, CUBE declared that the situation is still being considered and nothing has been decided yet for HyunA and E'Dawn, saying that the issue will be discussed on a board meeting. On October 15, CUBE confirmed HyunA's departure, announcing that the record label has reached an agreement with HyunA to terminate her contract.

On October 25, CUBE signed contract with Haohao Wenhua Media Company (Hot Idol, Haohao Bangyang Agency) (Chinese: 好好榜样) for activities in China. On November 5, CUBE debuted a non-idol ballad group, A Train To Autumn (Korean: 가을로 가는 기차; RR: 'Gaeullo Ganeun Gicha'), with digital single "That Season You Were In". Kino of PENTAGON participated as one of the lyricists. On November 14, CUBE Entertainment officially confirmed E'Dawn's departure. On November 23, CUBE established a new label, U-CUBE, with Universal Music Japan for activities in Japan. It was reported that CUBE's sales in 2018 increased 46.7% year-on-year to ₩35.8 billion. During the same period, operating profit jumped 809.3% to ₩1.9 billion and net profit turned to profit of ₩1 billion due to the success of BtoB's album sales and concerts, PENTAGON's "Shine", (G)I-DLE's debut and Lai Guan-lin's activities. CUBE's music sales also increased by 58% to ₩8.8 billion due to the popularity of (G)I-DLE's "LATATA" and "HANN (Alone)".

In early 2019, CUBE Entertainment chose NetEase Music as its strategic partner as a platform to promote in China. On January 23, D’Live Co. sought to sell its stakes in entertainment units iHQ Inc. and CUBE Entertainment Inc. Currently, D’Live owns a 45 percent stake in iHQ and a 30 percent stake in CUBE Entertainment. On August 19, Gagman Lee Sang-joon signed an exclusive contract with CUBE. Two days later, it was announced that Produce 48 participant, Han Cho-won and The Unit: Idol Rebooting Project, Lee Joo-hyun were the next to sign. In September, it was reported that CUBE Entertainment partnership with e2PR, Strategic Communications for establishing new promotion team for handling (G)I-DLE's public international relations. In the fourth quarter of 2019, CUBE recorded 22.6 billion won and 40.3 million won in operating profit due to (G)I-DLE's "LION" and PENTAGON's Prism World Tour. Overall, CUBE's sales in 2019 went down 13.9%, operating profit down 51.1% and net profit down 35.8% compared to previous years.

In early 2020, Comedian Park Mi-sun has signed an exclusive contract with CUBE. On February 21, VT GMP reportedly acquired 30.61% stake in CUBE Entertainment, changing Cube's largest shareholder from iHQ to VT GMP, and plans on playing an active role in strengthening the business and pushing the Hallyu Wave through it subsidiary KVLY. On March 26, Shin Dae-nam resigned as CEO of CUBE Entertainment. Ahn Woo-hyung and Lee Dong-kwan was appointed as the new CEO of CUBE Entertainment. Ahn Woo-hyung is the CEO of KVLY and Lee Dong-kwan is the VT GMP vice president. On April 17, CUBE launched a global fan page named U-CUBE for fans around the world to communicate with their artists and providing services such as automatic translation in various languages and systems to apply for music show recordings.

On June 16, 2020, model Moon Su-inn, who debuted as a model in 2014 signed exclusive contract with CUBE Entertainment. On June 23, Seongdong-gu district signed an agreement with CUBE to promote urban regeneration based on cultural contents through various cultural contents such as festival and YouTube content. On June 25, CUBE partnered with VT GMP to launch a new global audition program titled, See Saw Game and is expected to air through Chinese streaming platforms. The audition program is developed by SBS' subsidiary Formattist Co., Ltd. and writer Park Won-woo of King of Mask Singer. On June 2, CUBE signed an exclusive contract with Alibaba Group to support the activities of its artists in China. The artists of CUBE will receive support from Alibaba for activities such as movies, dramas, advertisements, and performances in China. This is the first time that a Chinese IT company has signed an exclusive contract for artist activities with a Korean agency.

In September 2020, CUBE announced they co-hosted an event called, M.O.M (Message of the Moon) Project. It is a project to deliver messages of hope and wishes in the midst of the COVID-19 outbreak, as well as to launch a large artificial moon with the diameter of 12m and 20m high, and 21 small 2m diameter artificial moons and drive-in cinema at Salgoji Park, Seongdong-gu. On October 21, CUBE signed a strategic business agreement with Hanwha Life Insurance to increase brand awareness, strengthen marketing capabilities and developing new content.

On January 6, 2021, CUBE Entertainment announced that they had signed a contract with webtoon platform, Comics Family, to produce video content with their IP. The company plans to produce 12 exclusive video content on webtoon IPs per year with Comics Family.They are planning to distribute the dramas globally through various OTT platforms.

In May 2021, CUBE Entertainment announced that their fourth girl group, LIGHTSUM, is set to debut on June 10.

On August 14, 2021, CUBE Entertainment announced Soojin's withdrawal from (G)I-DLE after alleged school bullying accusations.

On May 20, 2022, a statement was released announcing that CLC had officially disbanded, and the operation of the CLC U-CUBE would be terminated as of June 6.

Current Artists
All artists under CUBE Entertainment are collectively known as United CUBE.

Former Artists

 * 4Minute (2009–2016)
 * Nam Ji Hyun (2009-2016)
 * Heo Ga Yoon (2009-2016)
 * Jeon Ji Yoon (2009-2016)
 * Kwon So Hyun (2009-2016)
 * HyunA (2009-2018)
 * BEAST (2009–2016)
 * G.NA (2010–2016)
 * Roh Ji Hoon(2011–2017)
 * M4M (2013–2015)
 * Rain (2013–2015)
 * Shin Ji Hoon (2013-2017)
 * Park Min Ha (2015–2017)
 * Choi Dae Hoon (2016–2017)
 * Triple H (2017-2018)
 * E'Dawn (2016-2018)
 * Lai Kuan-lin (2017-2021)
 * Jang Hyun-seung (2009-2021)
 * CLC
 * Sorn (2015-2021)
 * Elkie (2016-2021)
 * (G)I-DLE
 * Soojin (2018-2022)

Concerts

 * 2011 United CUBE Concert:
 * London (December 5),
 * São Paulo, Brazil (December 13)
 * 2013 United CUBE Concert
 * 2018 United CUBE - ONE (June 16)

Links

 * Official Website (Korean)
 * Official Website (Japanese)