Antenna (
Korean: 안테나) is a South Korean music and entertainment agency founded by
You Hee-yeol of the project band
Toy in 1997. Formerly an independent label, it was fully incorporated as a subsidiary under
Kakao Entertainment in August 2021. Antenna is known for its motto: "Good people, good music, good laughter".
History
1997-2011: Formation and first generation of artists
In 2007, the label's name was changed from "Toy Music" to "Antenna Music". It means introducing music that is faithful to the essence of music and spreading good musical waves to everyone even if it is a small radio wave.[1][2] In the same year, Antenna Music debuted South Korean rock band Dear Cloud.[3][4]
In April 2010, the first label concert called "The Great Disappointment Show" was held as a gimmick to prove the best vocal artist of the agency.[9]
In 2011, with the success of the first label concert, a second label concert was held called "Antenna Music Warriors: Yes, we are together" with a follow-up concert called "Encore Antenna Music Warriors Concert: Always, We Are Together".[10][11][12]
2013-2020: 2nd generation of artists and producers
From 2013 to 2017, You Hee-yeol served as a judge on Seasons 3–6 of the reality television competition show K-pop Star. During this time,
Sam Kim,
Kwon Jin-ah,
Jung Seung-hwan,
Lee Jin-ah and
Lee Soo-jung signed to the label after successfully auditioning for the program and finishing in the top three of their respective seasons.[13][14][15]
In 2015, the name "Antenna Music" was changed to "Antenna".[16]
On April 10, 2016,
Sam Kim debuted with his E.P. called "My Name is Sam".[17]Lee Jin-ah then made her debut under the label with the single "I'm Full" on June 10.[18]Kwon Jin-ah also made her debut with the full-length studio album called "One Strange Night" on September 19.[19] On September 23–25, the third label concert was held called "Hello Antenna:The Label Concert". This is a joint concert between the "Antenna Warriors" (Seniors namely:
You Hee-yeol,
Jung Jae-hyung,
Lucid Fall,
Peppertones and
Park Sae-byul) and "Antenna Angels" (Juniors namely:
Sam Kim,
Kwon Jin-ah,
Jung Seung-hwan,
Lee Jin-ah) with the exception of
Lee Soo-jung who was in the U.S. at the time to focus on finishing her studies.[10][20][21][22] On November 29,
Jung Seung-hwan made his debut with the EP "Voice".[23]
In March 2017, "Antenna Angels", had their first joint concert named "We, Begin".[24] Antenna had another label concert tour named "With, Antenna" where all the label artists performed for the first time in 5 cities both of South Korea and U.S. namely Seoul, Busan, Daegu, L.A., and New York[25]
On March 18, 2019, Antenna announced that they had signed jazz pianist and producer
Yun Seok-cheol.[26] On June 19,
Lee Soo-jung (Chai) released her first single under the label called, "Give and Take".[27]
In 2020, with the difficulties caused by global pandemic
COVID-19, the label held online contents and live streams under the tag "Everything is OK" with Antenna. A re-released song by
Peppertones named "Everything Is OK" (with Antenna Ver.) became its theme song where the Antenna's artists participated.[10] All proceeds were used for the purpose of overcoming COVID-19.[28] On September 1, Antenna signed singer-songwriter and guitarist Jukjae.[29] He was followed by composer and producer Seo Dong-hwan who joined on November 30.[30] On December 20, Antenna's first agency Christmas carol named "Our Christmas Wish For You" was released that featured all their artists at that time.[10]
2021: Partnership with Kakao Entertainment
In March 2021, Antenna acquired a new office building located at
Nonhyeon-dong,
Gangnam-gu,
Seoul. It is their first privately owned office building after 14 years.[31] In May 2021,
Kakao Entertainment acquired 19% of Antenna's shares, establishing a strategic partnership between the two companies.[32][33] On May 1, Antenna announced
Lee Soo-Jung's departure from the company.[34] On July 14, Antenna had signed television personality
Yoo Jae-suk, the first non-musician to be managed by the label.[35] On August 17, Kakao acquired Antenna's remaining shares, making it a fully owned subsidiary.[36] On October 1, Kakao TV's "Dereumyi TV: Udang Tangtang Antenna" (Clumsy Antenna) was aired as an entertainment project with the goal to promote and showcase the charm of Antenna's artists.[37] On November 17, Antenna had signed singer, dancer, entertainer and
Lovelyz member
Mijoo.[38] On December 1, Antenna released their second agency Christmas carol named "Hello Antenna, Hello Christmas" featuring all their artists and producers including newly signed Yoo Jae Suk and Mijoo.[39]
2022-Present: Agency Expansion with New Music, Film and Entertainment artists
On January 7, 2022, Antenna had signed producer from
Super Band 2 and member of Lofibaby, Meum and THE FIX, Hwang Hyeon-jo.[40] On November 15, Antenna established an independent entertainment studio through Antenna Plus. As a start, a
YouTube Channel called "Ddeun Ddeun" was opened to create a variety of content.[41] On November 21, singer-songwriter, DJ and guitarist Lee Sang-soon signed with the company.[42]
On February 26, 2023, it was announced that Antenna had signed singer and television personality
Lee Hyori following her husband Lee Sang-soon.[43] On May 17,
Mijoo had her debut single album under Antenna called "Movie Star" with a lead single of the same name and a ballad track, "Miss You".[44] On June 30, Jukjae's contract expired and left Antenna.[45] In July 2023, CEO
You Hee-yeol bought back 21.37% of Antenna shares [46] which was followed by
Yoo Jae-suk buying 20.7% stake leaving
Kakao Entertainment with 57.93% stake.[47] On August 6, Antenna debuted a new artist, singer-songwriter and producer
Drewboi (Park Jong-hyuk) with his single "Sunday".[48][49] On August 7, Antenna announced that they had signed singer, musical theatre actor and
Super Junior member,
Cho Kyu-hyun.[50][51] On October 12,
Lee Hyori made her comeback with her first single under Antenna called "Hoodie and Shorts".[52]On November 1, Antenna officially signed its first actor
Lee Seo-jin.[53]
On January 9 of 2024,
Cho Kyu-hyun released a new EP called Restart; his first solo album under Antenna.[54] On January 16, Antenna announced that they had signed all-round entertainer
Yang Se-chan.[55] On March 8, Antenna announced
Sam Kim's departure from the company after 10 years since his debut.[56] On March 19, Antenna introduces their first boy band to debut called Dragon Pony consisting of four members: vocalist Ahn Tae-gyu, bassist Pyeon Seong-hyeon, guitarist Kwon Se-hyuk, and drummer Ko Kang-hoon.[57]
^
abPark Joo-ho (July 14, 2021).
"유재석, 유희열이 이끄는 안테나와 전속계약··· 非음악인 영입 처음" [Yoo Jae-suk, exclusive contract with Antenna led by Yoo Hee-yeol... First non-musician recruitment]. Naver (in Korean). Seoul Economic Daily. Retrieved July 14, 2021.
^Hong, Hye-min (February 16, 2023).
"이효리, 결국 이상순·유재석과 안테나 품으로" [Lee Hyo-ri, eventually with Lee Sang-soon and Yoo Jae-seok as an antenna] (in Korean).
Hankook Ilbo. Retrieved February 16, 2023 – via
Naver.
^Hwang Ji-young (November 30, 2020).
"'버클리 휴학생' 서동환, 안테나 전속계약" [Seo Dong Hwan joins Antenna label as producer line]. JoongAng Ilbo (in Korean). Daily Sports. Retrieved July 14, 2021.